1997 Toronto Argonauts season

The 1997 Toronto Argonauts season was the 108th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The defending champion Argonauts defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 85th Grey Cup to defend their title. Toronto defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 47–23, winning their 14th Grey Cup championship, and repeated as Grey Cup champions.

1997 Toronto Argonauts season
General manager	Eric Tillman
Head coach	Don Matthews[1]
Home stadium	SkyDome[2]
Results
Record	15–3
Division place	1st, East
Playoffs	Won Grey Cup
← 1996 Argonauts seasons 1998 →

Offseason

CFL draft

Rd	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	1	Chad Folk	OL	Utah
1	9	Mathew DuBuc	SB	Texas Tech
2	17	Steve Salter	OL	Ottawa
3	18	Aldi Henry	CB	Michigan State
3	24	Dave Mudge	OT	Michigan State
4	33	Jayson Hansen	OL	Texas Tech
5	41	Mark Giardetti	DE	Evangel College
6	48	Kris Kershaw	QB	Salisbury State

Ottawa Rough Riders Dispersal Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Pos
1	9	Sammie Brennan	DB
2	17	Travis Anderson	WR
3	25	Joe Mero	CB

^[3]

Preseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record
A	June 13	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 18–14	1–0	SkyDome	13,452
B	June 18	at Montreal Alouettes	W 40–0	2–0	Olympic Stadium	6,394

^[4]

Regular season

Season standings

East Division

Team	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Toronto Argonauts	18	15	3	0	660	327	30
Montreal Alouettes	18	13	5	0	509	532	26
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	18	4	14	0	443	548	8
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	18	2	16	0	362	549	4

^[5]

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record
1	June 27	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 38–23	1–0	SkyDome	16,551
2	July 6	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 20–15	2–0	Ivor Wynne Stadium	14,033
3	July 12	at Saskatchewan Roughriders	L 23–27	2–1	Taylor Field	22,956
4	July 17	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 27–20	3–1	SkyDome	17,222
5	July 24	at BC Lions	W 34–20	4–1	BC Place	23,330
6	July 31	vs. Montreal Alouettes	W 46–8	5–1	SkyDome	16,213
7	August 7	at Calgary Stampeders	L 35–45	5–2	McMahon Stadium	25,311
8	August 14	vs. Edmonton Eskimos	W 38–14	6–2	SkyDome	18,031
9	August 21	Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 27–1	7–2	SkyDome	17,330
10	September 1	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 46–3	8–2	Ivor Wynne Stadium	18,377
11	September 7	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 66–25	9–2	Winnipeg Stadium	21,080
12	September 14	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	W 34–9	10–2	SkyDome	20,234
13	September 20	at Edmonton Eskimos	W 25–24	11–2	Commonwealth Stadium	38,619
14	September 28	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	W 41–9	12–2	Winnipeg Stadium	20,004
15	October 4	vs. BC Lions	W 46–3	13–2	SkyDome	17,019
16	October 11	vs. Montreal Alouettes	W 28–21	14–2	SkyDome	17,355
17	October 18	vs. Calgary Stampeders	W 48–17	15–2	SkyDome	24,083
18	October 26	at Montreal Alouettes	L 38–43	15–3	Olympic Stadium	10,801

^[4]

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Results		Venue	Attendance
			Score	Record
East Final	Sun, Nov 9	vs. Montreal Alouettes	W 37–30	1–0	SkyDome	32,085
Grey Cup	Sun, Nov 16	vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders	W 47–23	2–0	Commonwealth Stadium	60,431

^[4]

Grey Cup

Main article: 85th Grey Cup

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Toronto Argonauts	7	13	21	6	47
Saskatchewan Roughriders	3	6	0	14	23

^[6]

Awards and records

• Doug Flutie, Most Outstanding Player Award^[7]
• Mike Kiselak, Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award ^[8]
• Derrell Mitchell, Outstanding Rookie Award^[9]

^[10]

1997 CFL All-Stars

• QB – Doug Flutie
• FB – Robert Drummond
• SB – Derrell Mitchell
• C – Mike Kiselak
• DT – Rob Waldrop
• DB – Johnnie Harris
• DS – Lester Smith
• P/K – Mike Vanderjagt
• ST – Mike "Pinball" Clemons
• WR – {Terrance Lawrence}

^[10]