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July 14, 2016

Tied to history

Charleston Hughes chases Ottawa QB Trevor Harris, in a July 8, 2016, contest. (Photo by CFL/Patrick Doyle)

Last week, the Stampeders and Ottawa RedBlacks played through four quarters of regulation time and two shootout overtime rounds without being able to determine a victor, resulting in a final score of 26-26.

It was the 100th tie in Canadian professional football history and the 73rd of the period since the Canadian Football League was created in 1958.

Even though the first so called sister-kisser in Canadian pro football goes all the way back to 1922 — 23 years before the Stamps were born — and that Calgary is just one of nine teams in the current CFL, the Red and White have been involved in a disproportionate number of draws.

To be precise, the Stamps have been one of the participants in one-fifth of the regular-season ties in Canadian football history (20 of 100) and in more than a quarter of the ties during the CFL era (19 of 73).

There have only been four draws in the CFL since 2004 and the Stamps have now been involved in three of them.

Here are some more notable facts surrounding Stamps ties over the years:

  • Going back to 1953, the first regular-season tie in franchise history was rather unremarkable above and beyond the fact it was the first such result in the then-nine-year-old team’s existence. The game was a 13-13 final against Saskatchewan and came in the final game of a 3-12-1 season that saw the Stamps miss the playoffs. It was also the last game of Bob Snyder’s one and only season as Calgary’s head coach
  • Five years later, the Stamps again tied one on with the Roughriders — this time by a 29-29 score — in another season the Stamps would finish below .500 and out of the playoffs
  • After yet another tie against Saskatchewan in the 1960 season-opener, the Stamps had their first draw against a different opponent later that same season when they played BC to a 21-21 saw-off
  • Nine of the Stamps’ 20 all-time ties have come against the Roughriders while five have come against BC and three against Edmonton. Calgary has tied Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa once apiece but has never played a tie against Hamilton or Winnipeg (or Baltimore, Sacramento, Birmingham, Shreveport or any other U.S. club, for that matter)
  • In 1978, the Stamps had almost as many ties (three) as losses (four). After an Oct. 1 loss to Saskatchewan, Calgary’s record was an unwieldy and unusual-looking 4-4-3 before Jack Gotta’s troops finished the year with five straight wins to clinch the team’s first playoff berth since 1971
  • Since the CFL adopted overtime in 1986, the Stamps have had five games end in a tie. Four of those draws have come since the shootout format was adopted in 2000 (OT consisted of two five-minute periods from 1986-99)
  • From 1988 to 1997 — a full 10 seasons — there were only two tie games played in the CFL and one involved the Stamps. On July 13, 1990, Calgary and BC played to a 38-38 draw. It just happened to be the regular-season coaching debut for Wally Buono, who merely went on to become the winningest coach in team and league history
  • On July 28, 2000, the Stamps and — who else? — the Roughriders played to a wild 52-52 tie in Regina. That was during the one and only season that overtime featured up to four rounds or mini-games to try and break the tie (the maximum was reduced to two rounds in 2001). The game was tied 32-all after regulation and each team scored 20 points in OT including Calgary touchdowns by Allen Pitts and Travis Moore. The extra sessions helped Dave Dickenson pass for 476 yards and a team-record six touchdowns
  • Until last week, the most recent draw in Stamps and CFL history was a 44-44 barn-burner against — surprise! — the Roughriders on Oct. 17, 2009, at McMahon Stadium. Rob Cote and Brett Ralph had overtime TD catches for Calgary while Joffrey Reynolds had three majors in regulation time