Edmonton Eskimos Information & Edmonton Eskimos Links at HealthHaven.com

Edmonton Eskimos
	Edmonton Eskimos
Founded	1949
Based in	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Home field	Commonwealth Stadium
League	Canadian Football League
Division	West Division
Colours	Green and gold;
Nickname(s)	Esks, Eskies
Head coach	Richie Hall
General manager	Danny Maciocia
Owner(s)	"Community" (shareholder) owned
Grey Cup wins	1954, 1955, 1956, 1975; 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981; 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003,; 2005
Mascot(s)	Nanook and Punter
Website	www.esks.com
Uniform

For the former hockey club, see Edmonton Eskimos (hockey). For the former baseball club, see Edmonton Eskimos (baseball).

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian Football League team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Eskimos are the most successful CFL franchise of the modern era (1949-present), having won the league's Grey Cup championship thirteen times, including an unmatched five consecutive wins between 1978 and 1982, and most recently in 2005. The Eskimos play their home games at Commonwealth Stadium.

[edit] Team facts

Founded: 1949, although other teams named the Edmonton Eskimos existed 1895 to 1923 and 1929 to 1939.

Formerly known as: Esquimaux 1897 to 1910.

Helmet design: Yellow background, with a gold "EE" monogram on a green oval.

Uniform colours: Green, gold, black, and white.

Past uniform colours: Blue and white 1938 to 1939, black and yellow 1907 to 1937

Stadium: Commonwealth Stadium (1978–present).

Past stadium: Clarke Stadium (1954–1978).

Grey Cup Championships: 13—1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2005

Runner-up: 9—1952, 1960, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2002

Western Division championships (regular season): 22—1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003.

Main rivals: Calgary Stampeders (See Battle of Alberta), Montreal Alouettes (11 meetings in the Grey Cup, once in the East Final).

2008 Regular Season Record: 10 Wins, 8 Losses.

[edit] Ownership

The Edmonton Eskimos Football Club is one of three remaining "community owned" teams in the CFL (owned by local shareholders). This was once the most common type of ownership in the CFL.^[1] The current board of directors as of the 2008 annual general meeting includes Diane Brickner (president and CEO of Peace Hills Insurance), Harold Roozen (chairman and CEO of CCI Thermal Technologies Inc.), Douglas Goss, and Allan Sawin, Terry O'Flynn, John Moquin and Bruce Bentley. Goss is the chairman, Sawin is the treasurer, and Bentley is secretary. The club's president and CEO is Rick LeLacheur.

For the 2008 year, the club announced revenue of $14.868 million, and a profit on the football side of the franchise, but a net loss of $504,049 because of loss of investments in the stock market due to the economic recession.^[2]

[edit] Franchise history

Edmonton played its first series of organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football Union in 1895. In 1897 the name Esquimaux was adopted. In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos. Since 1978 the Eskimos have played their home games in Commonwealth Stadium, which is now the only grass field in the CFL. They are one of the most successful teams in Canadian football history, having won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the Toronto Argonauts, and being the run-away leader in attendance for many years.

The team holds many impressive records, including five consecutive Grey Cup wins (1978 to 1982), and 34 consecutive years in the playoffs (1972 to 2005), a record no other North American professional team (regardless of sport) has equalled. Former Eskimos have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (E. Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith), and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong).

During the glory years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Edmonton Eskimos won five Grey Cup championships in a row. No other team in the CFL, since Edmonton re-entered the CFL in 1949, has even won three in row, let alone five. Their achievements were documented in the book, Decade of Excellence, with photographs by Bob Peterson. The Eskimos have also enjoyed great attendance in the stands as they lead the league.

The Edmonton Eskimos' recent uniform combinations.

[edit] Origin of the uniform

The current uniform colours, green and gold, were adopted when the Eskimos received uniforms from the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team, which was dormant due to a lack of competition in 1949. The colours have remained since that time, and the Golden Bears maintain them to this day as well. Overall, the jersey and colours have remained relatively the same over the years with only minor modifications made every so often. Along with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, they are one of the few teams to alternate the pants and jersey combinations of their uniforms within a season.

[edit] Wall of Honour

The Eskimos have a policy of honouring the players who have best represented the team on the field; similar to a team retiring a number, the Eskimos keep the number in circulation, although the number is hung on the edge of the concrete separating the upper and lower decks of Commonwealth Stadium.

Numbers so honoured as of 2008^[update]:

1 Warren Moon (2001)
2 Henry "Gizmo" Williams (2002)
12 Tom Wilkinson (1982)
13 Larry Highbaugh (1996)
22 Tom Scott (1993)

24 Johnny Bright (1983)
26 Dave Cutler (1986)
27 Don Getty (1992)
30 Danny Bass (1992)
36 Oscar Kruger (1992)

39 Willie Pless (2004)
42 Danny Kepley (1987)
51 Frank "Guts" Anderson (1985)
53 Frank Morris (1984)
60 Chris Morris (2008)

65 Dave Fennell (1984)
66 Roger Nelson (1987)
66 John LaGrone (1988)
67 Rod Connop (2005)
70 Brian Kelly (1989)

76 George McGowan (1985)
77 Tommy Joe Coffey (1988)
91 Jackie Parker (1983)
94 Rollie Miles (1983)
95 Normie Kwong (1984)

[edit] Team song

During each home game fans stand and sing the "Edmonton Eskimos Fight Song" to the tune "Washington and Lee Swing":

We're cheering fight, fight, fight on Eskimos

We're marching right, right, right on Eskimos

We're charging down the field for all to see

and shouting rah, rah, rah, fight on to victory

We're fighting on till every game is won

The Green and Gold is bold and when we're done

we'll tell the world we're proud of Edmonton

and the Edmonton Eskimos!

[edit] Current squad

Edmonton Eskimos roster

Quarterbacks

15 Ricky Ray
5 Jared Zabransky

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Slotbacks

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

97 Justin Cooper DE
93 Kai Ellis DE
99 Jerome Haywood DT
92 Xzavie Jackson DE
90 Greg Peach DE
96 Dee Sterling DL

Linebackers

18 T. J. Hill LB
6 Reggie Hunt LB
47 Maurice Lloyd ILB
20 Anthony Malbrough DB
44 Mark Restelli ILB
42 Shaun Richardson LB
48 Tim St. Pierre OLB

Defensive Backs

10 Randee Drew DB
26 Scott Gordon S
4 Jason Goss HB
38 Tristan Jackson CB
13 Jason Nugent DB
23 Byron Parker DB
11 Elliott Richardson DB

Special Teams

Inactive List

3 Willie Amos DB (9 Game)
91 Adam Braidwood DE (9-Game)
40 Rod Davis LB (1 Game)
39 Lamar Herron DB (9 Game)
66 Garrick Jones T (9 Game)
28 Jesse Lumsden RB (9 Game)
27 Kelly Malveaux DB (1 Game)
19 Mike Maurer FB (Susp.)
31 Calvin McCarty RB (1 Game)
16 Bradley Robinson DB (1 Game)
94 Dario Romero DT (9 Game)
79 Eric Taylor DT
9 Lenny Williams HB (9 Game)
69 Greg Wojt OL (9 Game)

Practice Roster

81 Jason Barnes WR
95 Justin Brown DL
57 Gordon Hinse OL
45 Frantz Joseph LB
25 Ramonce Taylor RB
77 Greg Whelan LB
33 Gemara Williams DB
73 Kevin Wuthrich WR

Italics indicate Import player
Roster updated 2009-10-08
Depth Chart • Transactions
46 Active, 14 Inactive, 9 PR

→ More rosters

[edit] Head coaches

Annis Stukus (1949–1952)
Frank Filchock (1952)
Darrell Royal (1953)
Pop Ivy (1954–1957)
Sam Lyle (1958)

Eagle Keys (1959–1963)
Neill Armstrong (1964–1969)
Ray Jauch (1970–1977)
Hugh Campbell (1977–1982)
Pete Kettela (1983)

Jackie Parker (1983–1987)
Joe Faragalli (1987–1990)
Ron Lancaster (1991–1997)
Kay Stephenson (1998)
Don Matthews (1999–2000)

Tom Higgins (2001–2004)
Danny Maciocia (2005–2008)
Richie Hall (2009-)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[0] "cfl.ca". http://www.cfl.ca/index.php?module=newser&func=display&topicnum=&nid=19352&writer=0.

[1] "Eskimos release annual financial results". http://www.esks.com/default.aspx?tabid=1087.

[1]

[2]

Contents