For those who have never heard about "Riderville" - that is the home of Saskatchewan Roughrider Nation. The Riders, as they are called, are a team in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
**side note: The CFL rules that there shall be no more than 3 downs, First shalt thou take three downs. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
The Riders this season are sitting 5 and OH. There is no other team in the CFL that has such dedicated fans as Rider Nation. Saskatchewan is hosting the Grey Cup this year and we hope to be in it. So far so good!
Take a look see at what the Rider Nation brings at riderville.com
Organized football in Saskatchewan began on Tuesday, September 6, 1910 with the formation of the Regina Rugby Club. The original idea was for the team to be a rowing club, but three-down football soon found its way to Saskatchewan. The original colours of the Regina Rugby Club were gold and purple. The team lost its first game 7-6 to Moose Jaw.
The next season, the team changed its colours to blue and white to match the Regina Amateur Athletic Association. A third colour change occurred in 1912 when they changed to red and black, which they would keep for the next 36 years.
In 1924, the team changed its name from the Regina Rugby Club to the Regina Roughriders.
Ottawa's Rugby Club had been called the Rough Riders since the 1890's, but dropped it in favor of the "Senators" in 1924. Regina jumped at the chance to adopt the name "Roughriders".
There are two theories on where the name "Roughriders" came from. One states that it came from the North West Mounted Police who were called Roughriders because they broke the wild horse broncos used by the force. The other states there was a Canadian contingent who fought with Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt’s troops became known as the Roughriders. Following the war, the troops returned to Canada, part settling in Ottawa, and the rest moving out West. The colours of the Roosevelt infantry were red and black.
In 1921, East-West interlocking games began being played for the Canadian Championship symbolized by the Grey Cup.
Lacking suitable opposition in this province, in 1936, Regina banded with Winnipeg to form the Western Conference.
The year 1948 was a milestone one for the Roughriders. With the folding of both clubs in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, the Regina Roughriders became a provincially-owned and -operated club, surviving only on the undying support from the entire province. They became the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS".
The team also changed its colours in 1948 to the familiar Green and White. The team was in bad need of new uniforms, and when executive member Jack Fyffe found a set of green and white jerseys at a surplus store in Chicago, for pure economic reasons, the 50 year legacy of the "Green and White" was born and has existed to this day.
In 1956, the Roughriders suffered a terrible tragedy when players Gordon Sturtridge (#73), Mel Beckett (#40), Ray Syrnyk (#56) and Mario Demarco (#55) were killed in a plane crash while returning from an all-star game in Vancouver. Flight #810 crashed into Mt. Slesse in the Coastal Mountains just south of Chilliwack, B.C. The four players’ uniforms are among the eight Roughrider numbers retired by the club. Dave Ridgway (#36), Ron Lancaster (#23), George Reed (#34) and Roger Aldag (#44) are the others.
Ten years removed from the tragic accident, the Roughriders, with coach Eagle Keys at the helm, saw their first great achievement. By defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 in Vancouver's Empire Stadium on November 26th, 1966, Saskatchewan captured its first Grey Cup championship. Lancaster and Reed played key roles in leading the Riders to their first national title.
The Riders remained one of the best teams in the CFL for nearly 15 years, making the post-season every year from 1962 to 1976. Included in that span was five Grey Cup appearances, 1966 (which they won), 1967, '69, '72 and '76
The Roughriders would update their look one more time in 1985, adding black and silver to the Green and White, and featuring a new stylized ‘S’ logo.
The team had several lean years during the late-‘70s and early 1980s, where poor on-field performances led to even worse gates. However, fans remained positive that a turn-around would soon come and it did, by way of one of the best Grey Cup games ever played.
On November 26, 1989, kicker Dave Ridgway nailed a 35-yard last minute field goal to seal the Roughriders’ second ever Grey Cup championship with a 43-40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Toronto’s SkyDome.
Canada’s Team has now made the playoffs six straight years, including four appearances in the Western Division Finals since 2003. The Riders reached the pinnacle of the CFL for the third time in the team’s history when they captured the Grey Cup in Toronto on November 25, 2007 after defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19.
As the Green and White hit the field this season, there is no question this team is primed to continue adding to its storied history.
*Team History from riderville.com
**side note: The CFL rules that there shall be no more than 3 downs, First shalt thou take three downs. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.
The Riders this season are sitting 5 and OH. There is no other team in the CFL that has such dedicated fans as Rider Nation. Saskatchewan is hosting the Grey Cup this year and we hope to be in it. So far so good!
Take a look see at what the Rider Nation brings at riderville.com
Organized football in Saskatchewan began on Tuesday, September 6, 1910 with the formation of the Regina Rugby Club. The original idea was for the team to be a rowing club, but three-down football soon found its way to Saskatchewan. The original colours of the Regina Rugby Club were gold and purple. The team lost its first game 7-6 to Moose Jaw.
The next season, the team changed its colours to blue and white to match the Regina Amateur Athletic Association. A third colour change occurred in 1912 when they changed to red and black, which they would keep for the next 36 years.
In 1924, the team changed its name from the Regina Rugby Club to the Regina Roughriders.
Ottawa's Rugby Club had been called the Rough Riders since the 1890's, but dropped it in favor of the "Senators" in 1924. Regina jumped at the chance to adopt the name "Roughriders".
There are two theories on where the name "Roughriders" came from. One states that it came from the North West Mounted Police who were called Roughriders because they broke the wild horse broncos used by the force. The other states there was a Canadian contingent who fought with Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt’s troops became known as the Roughriders. Following the war, the troops returned to Canada, part settling in Ottawa, and the rest moving out West. The colours of the Roosevelt infantry were red and black.
In 1921, East-West interlocking games began being played for the Canadian Championship symbolized by the Grey Cup.
Lacking suitable opposition in this province, in 1936, Regina banded with Winnipeg to form the Western Conference.
The year 1948 was a milestone one for the Roughriders. With the folding of both clubs in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, the Regina Roughriders became a provincially-owned and -operated club, surviving only on the undying support from the entire province. They became the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS".
The team also changed its colours in 1948 to the familiar Green and White. The team was in bad need of new uniforms, and when executive member Jack Fyffe found a set of green and white jerseys at a surplus store in Chicago, for pure economic reasons, the 50 year legacy of the "Green and White" was born and has existed to this day.
In 1956, the Roughriders suffered a terrible tragedy when players Gordon Sturtridge (#73), Mel Beckett (#40), Ray Syrnyk (#56) and Mario Demarco (#55) were killed in a plane crash while returning from an all-star game in Vancouver. Flight #810 crashed into Mt. Slesse in the Coastal Mountains just south of Chilliwack, B.C. The four players’ uniforms are among the eight Roughrider numbers retired by the club. Dave Ridgway (#36), Ron Lancaster (#23), George Reed (#34) and Roger Aldag (#44) are the others.
Ten years removed from the tragic accident, the Roughriders, with coach Eagle Keys at the helm, saw their first great achievement. By defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 in Vancouver's Empire Stadium on November 26th, 1966, Saskatchewan captured its first Grey Cup championship. Lancaster and Reed played key roles in leading the Riders to their first national title.
The Riders remained one of the best teams in the CFL for nearly 15 years, making the post-season every year from 1962 to 1976. Included in that span was five Grey Cup appearances, 1966 (which they won), 1967, '69, '72 and '76
The Roughriders would update their look one more time in 1985, adding black and silver to the Green and White, and featuring a new stylized ‘S’ logo.
The team had several lean years during the late-‘70s and early 1980s, where poor on-field performances led to even worse gates. However, fans remained positive that a turn-around would soon come and it did, by way of one of the best Grey Cup games ever played.
On November 26, 1989, kicker Dave Ridgway nailed a 35-yard last minute field goal to seal the Roughriders’ second ever Grey Cup championship with a 43-40 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Toronto’s SkyDome.
Canada’s Team has now made the playoffs six straight years, including four appearances in the Western Division Finals since 2003. The Riders reached the pinnacle of the CFL for the third time in the team’s history when they captured the Grey Cup in Toronto on November 25, 2007 after defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19.
As the Green and White hit the field this season, there is no question this team is primed to continue adding to its storied history.
*Team History from riderville.com
No comments:
Post a Comment