What was the CFL US Expansion?
Well, it was in 1993 and all the way to 1995 that the US Expansion, as it were was under way. The very first American team to join in with the league or rather be accepted into the ranks was The Sacramento Gold Miners. This of course was in 1993.
In all there were 7 US teams to have been in the CFL during this expansion, and they were divided into a division all their own…what was known as the South Division, understandably.
CFL Former Teams During US Expansion
Sacramento Gold Miners
Las Vegas Posse
Baltimore stallions
Shreveport Pirates
San Antonio Texa
nsBirmingham Barracudas
Memphis Mad Dogs
Interestingly enough, the Gold Miners and the Texans were one in the same…because of a change of location and ownership, one would become the other during this short-lived expansion.
The Posse sadly did very badly and they apparently hold the record for one
of the worst CFL teams—ever. They only played a single season during the expansion—the 1994 season.The Pirates were sadly also very unsuccessful, despite the fact that their fan base was strong and they did play more seasons than the aforementioned Posse…2 to be exact …1994 and 1995.
The Barracudas finished third in the South Division in 1995, the only season they were around for.
Interestingly enough, the Mad Dogs were founded by the founder of Fed Ex, b
ut it looks like this was one package that didn’t get delivered!! Can I get a sting, please…? (A sting is a short drum sequence played by a drummer to punctuate a joke, especially an obvious one, as per Wikipedia).No? Eh…was worth a shot. Anyways, they only played the 1995 season—finished fourth in that South Division.
Former American Champions
The only team I haven’t mentioned is of course Baltimore, and that’s for a very good reason. I figured they should have their own section. And why the special honor? Well, because they were the only American team during the expansion to actually win.
That’s right; they were the 1995 Grey Cup Champions.
Interestingly enough, after the abandonment of the US expansion into the CFL, it was attempted that the Stallions would be merged with what was at the time, the newly moved Cleveland Browns to become the Baltimore Ravens, but this did not go through…(there’s so much more to this story, but this is the gist…people often think that the Stallions became the Ravens and it’s incorrect); instead, the former Baltimore Stallions were in fact brought into Montreal and would eventually become the embodiment that is today the Montreal Alouettes…the team’s third reconstitution.
So in the end, the expansion was a wee bit of what can be considered a dud. It didn’t do well with the fans and it didn’t do well monetarily either. What we were left with was a ton of defunct teams and three seasons that hardcore CFL fans like or rather tend to ignore.
In the end we can’t ignore history but we can certainly learn from it.
Just a little while ago, apparently Dwayne Johnson, owner of the XFL and Randy Ambrosie, commissioner of the CFL, talked about a merging of sorts of the CFL and the XFL…talks that were apparently pleasant according to Johnson himself, but both parties decided to part ways.
Johnson said of the meeting:
“We were all in alliance at that time (in 2021) for some sort of partnership between the XFL and the CFL in the spirit of growing the game because we all love the game of football…We got down the line and eventually those conversations started to stall. We all agreed: respectfully, let’s put the pencils down [and] wish each other the best of luck.”
via bnnbloomberg.caAmbrosie would most definitely concur:
“While we remain open to finding new ways to work together in the future, we and our XFL counterparts have jointly decided to not pursue any formal arrangements at this time.”
via bnnbloomberg.ca (link above)
We wonder only if advisers spoke to them of the horrors that were the CFL US Expansion. Better off having two distinct leagues I guess. In the end, there’s more football to watch and as far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing, folks.
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David Tress
November 14, 2022 at 10:59 am
The problem with US expansion was that it was an all-or-nothing affair. There was a US based team or two that wanted to remain competitive in the CFL, but the way it went was, if they fold one, they’ll fold them all. Also, the American fans were looking for marquee players to cheer for. The salary cap as it is wont work because no-frills leagues in the States just spectate a sea of empty seats.
Andy Hawk
January 24, 2024 at 11:11 am
Baltimore did really well at the gate during their inaugural season, and it was less so after the Browns announced their move. If the Browns had not moved to Baltimore, the city would probably have continued to have a CFL team, at least for a while. The original Colts never should have left, but when they did they should’ve had to change their name. I always loved how the CFL Colts tried to stick to the NFL and Indy.