The 1996 Toronto Argonauts season was the 107th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs after missing out during the previous season when they finished 4–14. The 11-win improvement was the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history. Furthermore, the team's 15 regular season wins was the most ever recorded by an Argonaut team until it was surpassed by the 2023 squad 27 years later, which finishing their season with a 16–2 record.

In the playoffs, the Argonauts defeated the newly relocated Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 84th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 43–37, the second highest scoring Grey Cup game in history, and won their 13th Grey Cup championship.

Offseason

CFL draft

Round Pick Player Position School
1 2 Kelly Wiltshire CB James Madison
3 20 L.J. Eiben WR Humboldt State
4 36 Tom Hipsz DE Toronto
6 46 Tim Biakabutuka RB Michigan
7 55 Craig Poole WR Windsor

[3]

Preseason

Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
A June 13 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 27–37 (OT) 0–1 SkyDome 13,247
B June 19 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–6 1–1 Frank Clair Stadium 14,024

[4]

Regular season

Season standings

East Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Toronto Argonauts 18 15 3 0 556 359 30
Montreal Alouettes 18 12 6 0 536 467 24
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 426 576 16
Ottawa Rough Riders 18 3 15 0 352 524 6

[5]

Regular season

Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
1 1 June 27 at Montreal Alouettes W 27–24 1–0 Olympic Stadium 24,653
2 2 July 4 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 36–38 1–1 SkyDome 26,333
3 3 July 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 35–14 2–1 Winnipeg Stadium 24,882
4 4 July 17 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 34–4 3–1 SkyDome 17,288
5 5 July 26 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 40–16 4–1 Taylor Field 24,902
6 6 Aug 1 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 40–31 5–1 SkyDome 20,302
7 7 Aug 8 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 24–21 6–1 SkyDome 20,030
8 8 Aug 15 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 42–19 7–1 Frank Clair Stadium 15,220
9 9 Aug 24 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 28–21 8–1 SkyDome 17,186
10 10 Sept 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 38–7 9–1 Ivor Wynne Stadium 27,517
11 11 Sept 8 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 31–13 10–1 SkyDome 17,576
12 12 Sept 14 at BC Lions L 11–35 10–2 BC Place 15,323
13 13 Sept 21 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 23–22 11–2 SkyDome 27,209
14 Bye
15 14 Oct 5 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 28–12 12–2 SkyDome 17,310
16 15 Oct 14 at Calgary Stampeders L 23–30 12–3 McMahon Stadium 27,436
17 16 Oct 20 at Edmonton Eskimos W 24–17 13–3 Commonwealth Stadium 27,567
18 17 Oct 27 vs. BC Lions W 25–21 14–3 SkyDome 20,657
19 18 Nov 2 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 47–14 15–3 Ivor Wynne Stadium 23,001

[4]

Postseason

Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
East Final Sun, Nov 17 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 43–7 1–0 SkyDome 28,390
Grey Cup Sun, Nov 24 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 43–37 2–0 Ivor Wynne Stadium 38,595

[4]

Awards and records

[8]

1996 CFL All-Stars

WR- Terrance Lawrence [8]

References

  1. ^ "All-Time Coaching". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  2. ^ "Toronto Argonauts Stadium History". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  3. ^ "All-Time Draft List". Toronto Argonauts. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  4. ^ a b c "1996 Toronto Argonauts". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  5. ^ "1996 Regular Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  6. ^ "Most Outstanding Player". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  7. ^ "Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  8. ^ a b 2010 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide (PDF). Toronto Argonauts. 2010. p. 168. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
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