1983 Toronto Argonauts season

The 1983 Toronto Argonauts season was the 94th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 12–4 record and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final and qualified for the Grey Cup for the second year in a row. Toronto defeated the BC Lions in the first ever Grey Cup match between the two teams, winning their 11th Grey Cup championship by a score of 18-17. The win ended a 31-year championship drought, which is the longest drought in Canadian Football League history.

1983 Toronto Argonauts season
Head coach	Bob O'Billovich[1]
Home field	Exhibition Stadium[2]
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st, East
Playoff finish	Won Grey Cup
Uniform
← 1982 Argonauts seasons 1984 →

During the regular season, receiver Terry Greer set a professional football record (NFL and CFL) for most receiving yards with 2003 yards. He also set a record for most 200-yard ball games in a year with three.

Offseason

The Toronto Argonauts drafted the following players in the 1983 CFL Draft.^[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
T	T	Kelvin Pruenster	T	Cal Poly
3	29	Kevin Adams	DB	Waterloo
4	35	Boyd Young	DL	Ottawa
5	44	Bryan Black	G	Guelph
6	53	Joel Tynes	TB	St. Francis Xavier
7	62	Dave Waud	LB	Wilfrid Laurier
8	71	Rick Van Maanen	DL	Western Ontario

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record
A	Fri, June 10	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 24–6	1–0	Exhibition Stadium	28,520
B	Wed, June 15	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	L 24–35	1–1	Ivor Wynne Stadium	11,505
C	Fri, June 24	vs. Rough Riders	W 31–15	2–1	Exhibition Stadium	28,107
D	Tue, June 28	at Montreal Concordes	W 25–24	3–1	Olympic Stadium	9,700

^[4]

Regular season

Standings

East Division view talk edit
Team	GP	W	L	T	Pts	PF	PA	Div	Stk
Toronto Argonauts	16	12	4	0	24	452	328	4–2	W2	Details
Ottawa Rough Riders	16	8	8	0	16	384	424	2–4	L2	Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	16	5	10	1	11	389	498	3–2–1	T1	Details
Montreal Concordes	16	5	10	1	11	367	447	2–3–1	T1	Details

^[5]

Schedule

Week	Game	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
				Score	Record
1	1	Thu, July 7	at Calgary Stampeders	W 45–30	1–0	McMahon Stadium	25,124
2	2	Thu, July 14	vs. Lions	W 17–14	2–0	Exhibition Stadium	39,437
3	3	Sat, July 23	vs. Montreal Concordes	W 28–13	3–0	Exhibition Stadium	35,490
4	4	Fri, July 29	at Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 40–21	4–0	Taylor Field	25,734
5	5	Sat, Aug 6	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	L 18–31	4–1	Exhibition Stadium	43,568
6	6	Sat, Aug 13	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	L 16–32	4–2	Winnipeg Stadium	27,796
7	7	Fri, Aug 19	at Ottawa Rough Riders	W 27–17	5–2	Lansdowne Park	30,006
8	8	Fri, Aug 26	vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 36–15	6–2	Exhibition Stadium	35,414
9	Bye
10	9	Sat, Sept 10	at BC Lions	W 32–14	7–2	BC Place Stadium	52,656
11	10	Sun, Sept 18	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 50–16	8–2	Ivor Wynne Stadium	25,128
12	11	Sat, Sept 24	vs. Calgary Stampeders	L 20–49	8–3	Exhibition Stadium	35,679
13	12	Sun, Oct 2	at Montreal Concordes	W 30–17	9–3	Olympic Stadium	20,046
14	13	Sun, Oct 9	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	W 19–15	10–3	Exhibition Stadium	37,746
15	Bye
16	14	Sun, Oct 23	vs. Ottawa Rough Riders	L 19–20	10–4	Exhibition Stadium	36,526
17	15	Sat, Oct 29	at Edmonton Eskimos	W 22–15	11–4	Commonwealth Stadium	53,577
18	16	Sat, Nov 5	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 33–9	12–4	Exhibition Stadium	32,921

^[4]

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record
East Final	Sun, Nov 20	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 41–36	1–0	Exhibition Stadium	54,530
Grey Cup	Sun, Nov 27	at BC Lions	W 18–17	2–0	BC Place Stadium	59,345

^[4]

Grey Cup

Main article: 71st Grey Cup

November 27 @ BC Place Stadium (Attendance: 59,345)^[6]

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
BC Lions	7	10	0	0	17
Toronto Argonauts	0	7	2	9	18

Awards and honours

1983 CFL All-Stars

• Terry Greer, Wide receiver
• Rick Mohr, Defensive end
• Carl Brazley, Defensive back

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

• Condredge Holloway, quarterback (1998)
• Dan Ferrone, guard (2013)
• Hank Ilesic, kicker/punter (2018)
• Terry Greer, wide receiver (2019)

References

1. "All-Time Coaching". Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
2. "Toronto Argonauts Stadium History". Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
3. "1983 CFL Draft Archives". Canadian Football League. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
4. "1983 Toronto Argonauts". Retrieved 2012-04-18.
5. "1983 Regular Season Standings". Archived from the original on 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
6. "1983 Grey Cup Recap". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2012-04-18.