The Toronto Argonauts are a Canadian Football League team that traces its origin to 1873, when a football side formed inside the Argonaut Rowing Club, which had been founded the year before. The Canadian Encyclopedia counts 19 Grey Cup wins, the most of any team in Canadian football, the latest in 2024. Since 2016 the club has played at BMO Field.
The sports history overview gives each Toronto club a few paragraphs. This page goes deeper on the Argonauts: the rowing-club origins, the five venues and owners that shaped the team, the eras when it won in clusters, and the bankruptcy of 2003. The league’s own site could not be fetched, so the account rests mainly on The Canadian Encyclopedia, with a Canadian Press report for the 2024 final, and is marked where a detail appears only there.
From rowing club to football team
The Encyclopedia says the team was established in 1873 as part of the Argonaut Rowing Club, which Toronto resident Harry O’Brien founded the year before, and that H.T. Glazebrook, born in England, was the first captain and head coach. The club’s first game, on October 11, 1873, was a loss to the University of Toronto team. In 1883 the Argos helped form the Ontario Rugby Football Union and won its first championship, defeating Ottawa 9-7 under coach A.H. Campbell. In 1907 they left that union to help form the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, and in 1911 they moved to Varsity Stadium. The rowing club owned the team until 1957.
The Grey Cup in Toronto
The Grey Cup began in 1909, when Governor General Earl Grey donated the trophy for the Canadian football championship. The Encyclopedia’s article on the Grey Cup places the first game in Toronto that year, when the University of Toronto beat Toronto Parkdale 26-6. The Argonauts’ first Grey Cup win appears in the scores table in 1914, a 14-2 victory over the University of Toronto. Before that they lost the final in 1911 and 1912, and they lost again in 1920, the Argonauts article lists.
The Encyclopedia notes that the original conditions required the cup to stay under purely amateur conditions, a rule it says may have come from a newspaper editor rather than Lord Grey.
Winning streaks: 1945 to 1952
After wins in 1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, and 1938, the team won again in 1945, 1946, and 1947. The 1947 final was a 10-9 win over Winnipeg. The Encyclopedia names Allan “Teddy” Morris as coach through 1949 and Frank Clair from 1950. The 1950 victory, 13-0 over Winnipeg, is nicknamed the “Mud Bowl,” and a fifth post-war title came in 1952, 21-11 over Edmonton.
New owners, new league
In 1957 a private group led by John Bassett, with Charlie Burns and Eric Cradock, bought the team. The Canadian Football League formed in 1958, and the Argos moved from Varsity Stadium to Exhibition Stadium for 1959. The Encyclopedia records a lean run afterward, with a loss in the 1961 Eastern final and a Grey Cup loss in 1971, 14-11 to Calgary. Bassett bought the team outright in 1971, William Hodgson in 1974, and Carling O’Keefe Limited in 1979.
1983 and the dome years
After Grey Cup losses in 1982 and 1987, both to Edmonton, the Argos won in 1983 by 18-17 over the BC Lions at BC Place in Vancouver. Harry Ornest bought the team in 1988, and in 1989 it moved into SkyDome, later Rogers Centre. The building is covered in the article on modern landmarks.
In 1991 Wayne Gretzky, John Candy, and Bruce McNall bought the team, and the Argos won the Grey Cup in Winnipeg that year. The Encyclopedia gives the score as 36-21 over Calgary in the text and 36-31 in its Grey Cup table, so the two figures conflict and neither is repeated as settled. TSN Enterprises, a division of Labatt Breweries, bought the club in 1994. Titles followed in 1996 (43-37 over Edmonton, in Hamilton) and 1997 (47-23 over Saskatchewan, in Edmonton). Sherwood Schwarz bought the team in 1999.
Bankruptcy and recovery
The Encyclopedia says the team went bankrupt in 2003 and that the CFL took control. Howard Sokolowski and David Cynamon bought it on November 5, 2003, and the Argos won the 2004 Grey Cup, 27-19 over the BC Lions in Ottawa. David Braley bought the team in February 2010, and the 2012 Grey Cup was won 35-22 over Calgary at Rogers Centre.
BMO Field and recent titles
The 2015 season was the team’s last at Rogers Centre. Braley sold the club to a partnership of BCE Inc. and Larry Tanenbaum, and the Argonauts moved to BMO Field for 2016. BMO Field stands at Exhibition Place, the site of the Canadian National Exhibition covered in the CNE article. The Encyclopedia reports the 2017 Grey Cup win, 27-24 over Calgary at TD Place in Ottawa. Its Grey Cup table also lists wins in 2022 (24-23 over Winnipeg, in Regina) and 2024 (41-24 over Winnipeg, in Vancouver), which are not covered in the narrative text. The Canadian Press report carried by TSN confirms the 2024 game as the 111th Grey Cup, played November 17, 2024, and the club’s 19th title, the most in CFL history.
| Venue | Years |
|---|---|
| Varsity Stadium | 1911 to 1958 |
| Exhibition Stadium | 1959 to 1988 |
| SkyDome (Rogers Centre) | 1989 to 2015 |
| BMO Field | 2016 to present |
The venue years above follow the Encyclopedia, which has the team moving to Varsity Stadium in 1911. Wikipedia’s infobox lists Rosedale Field and Varsity Stadium in different spans before 1916, so early home-field dates vary by source.
Grey Cup wins by decade, per The Canadian Encyclopedia
- 1910s to 1930s: 1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, 1938
- 1940s and 1950s: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952
- 1980s and 1990s: 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997
- 2000s onward: 2004, 2012, 2017, 2022, 2024
Frequently asked questions
When were the Toronto Argonauts founded?
The Canadian Encyclopedia dates the team to 1873, as part of the Argonaut Rowing Club, which was founded in 1872.
How many Grey Cups have the Argonauts won?
The Encyclopedia counts 19 wins from 25 appearances, the most of any team in Canadian football history.
Where do the Argonauts play?
At BMO Field since 2016. Before that the team played at Rogers Centre from 1989 to 2015, Exhibition Stadium from 1959 to 1988, and Varsity Stadium from 1911 to 1958.
Did the Argonauts ever go bankrupt?
Yes. According to the Encyclopedia, the team went bankrupt in 2003 and the CFL took control until new owners bought it on November 5, 2003.
Who owns the Argonauts?
The Encyclopedia says BCE Inc. and Larry Tanenbaum bought the club from David Braley after the 2015 season. Current ownership should be checked on the team’s own site.
Related reading
- The Maple Leafs and their owners
- The Canadian National Exhibition grounds
- The University of Toronto, early Grey Cup champions
- The Blue Jays, who shared the dome
- All of Toronto’s major professional teams
Sources
- Steve Milton, “Toronto Argonauts,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada (last edited November 2024)
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Grey Cup,” Historica Canada
- The Canadian Press, “Argos pull away in fourth to beat Bombers in 111th Grey Cup,” TSN, November 17, 2024
- Wikipedia, “111th Grey Cup” (secondary; date, venue, score)
- Wikipedia, “Toronto Argonauts” (secondary; founding date October 4, 1873, stadium list, which differs from the Encyclopedia on early home fields)
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 25). Toronto Argonauts history: rowing club to 19 Grey Cups. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-argonauts-history
MLA: “Toronto Argonauts history: rowing club to 19 Grey Cups.” History of Toronto, 25 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-argonauts-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Argonauts history: rowing club to 19 Grey Cups.” Last modified October 25, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-argonauts-history.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.