Teams in the CFL

For most of the modern era, there have been nine teams in the CFL. There is no clear definition of the "modern era" but many consider it to have started with the 1948 Grey Cup when the Calgary fans went east to Toronto and transformed the Grey Cup into a national party and event.  At that time there were eight teams in the CFL, with the ninth in the form of the BC (then Vancouver) Lions being added in 1954.  From 1954 through 1986, the CFL remained stable with those nine "classic" teams. The Montreal Alouttes folded just prior to the start of the 1987 season, leaving the CFL with only eight teams.  The next change occured with the American expansion era from 1993-1995.  The Sacremento Goldminers were the first Amercian based team in 1993.  Sacremento was joined by the Shreveport Pirates, Baltimore and the Los Vegas Posse in 1994.  In 1995, the Posse folded and Sacremento moved to San Antonio to become the Texans while the Birmingham Barracudas and the Memphis Mad Dogs were added.  1995 became the only year in CFL history where the East and West divisions did not exist, as the league realigned itself into North and South divisions.  The American based teams all folded afte the 1995 season in which Baltimore became the first and so far only non Canadian based team to win the Grey Cup.  While the other teams were dispersed in a draft, Baltimore was moved to Montreal and the Alouttes were reborn and 1996 had the classic nine team CFL line-up again.  Unfortunately, that lasted for only one season as Ottawa folded after the 1996 season and the CFL continued on as an eight team league. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers who normally played in the West division were moved to the East division to balance the teams, the same procedure which had happened when Montreal had folded in 1987.  Ottawa rejoined the CFL in 2002, shiftring Winnipeg back to the West division, and the CFL once more had the classic nine teams from 2002 to 2005.  Ottawa folded for a second time after the 2005 season and again Winnipeg was shifted to the East.  Plans are underway to have Ottawa rejoin the CFL and the hope is that there could be future expansion of the league into other markets.

A Naming Oddity
It is very unusual (and somewhat confusing) for two teams in the same league to have the same nickname. That, however, has been the case for much of CFL history with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Rough Riders.  Actually, their nickname is not the same - notice the space in the Ottawa name!  How this happened is that the East and West divisions of the CFL were once separate leagues and initially didn't even meet for a championship game.  The Western Roughriders or Green Riders were took their name from the inspiration of cowboys riding bucking broncos while the Eastern Rough Riders took their name from lumberjacks riding the logs on the river.  Both names were so well established, that there was no thought given to changing one or t he other when the two leagues merged to form the CFL.  After Ottwaw folded, following the 1996 season, and came back in 2002, they did come back with a new nickname in the Renegades.

The Classic Nine
BC Lions
Calgary Stampeders
Edmonton Eskimos
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Montreal Alouttes
Ottawa Rough Riders/Renegades
Saskatchewan Rough Riders Toronto Argonauts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

American Teams
Baltimore
Birmingham
Los Vegas Posse
Memphis Mad Dogs
Sacremento Goldminers
San Antonio Texans
Shreveport Pirates

Other
Hamilton Tigers
Hamilton Wildcats
Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
London Lords
Montreal Bulldogs
Montreal Cubs
Montreal Hornets
Montreal Indians
Montreal Nationals
Montreal Royals
Montreal Westmounts
Montreal Winged Wheelers
Sarnia Imperials
Toronto Balmy Beach
Toronto Indians