On today’s date in 1962, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by one point in the 50th Grey Cup, which became known as the “Fog Bowl.”
The game began the previous day, on Dec. 1, at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, a multi-purpose venue that formerly stood at Exhibition Place (where BMO Field now stands). The contest was halted with 9:29 seconds remaining in the final quarter due to heavy lakefront fog. The Blue Bombers were leading 28-27.
The game was completed the following day, on Dec. 2, after the fog dissipated. The Blue Bombers eventually won 28-27.
To read more about the famed “Fog Bowl,” click here for a story from Alan Christie, who watched the game on TV alongside his father.
CFL COMMEMORATION
In 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint issued an eight-coin set to mark the 100th Grey Cup (where the Toronto Argonauts beat the Calgary Stampeders 35-22). As part of the set, each team—the Tiger-Cats, Blue Bombers, Stampeders, Argonauts, BC Lions, Montreal Alouettes, Edmonton Eskimos, and Ottawa Roughriders—was commemorated on a 25-cent coin issued alongside a pair of stamps issued by Canada Post.
The 25-cent commemorative coin salutes Hamilton’s 15 Grey Cup Championships in 29 appearances—a legacy that continues to inspire the team and its fans to this day.
With a weight of 12.61 grams, the cupro-nickel coin has a 35-millimetre diameter and features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. Filip Mroz, of Bensimon Byrne, designed the reverse.