1981 Ottawa Rough Riders season

Canadian football team season March 2026 Ottawa Rough Riders 1981 5–11 2nd, East Allan Waters Jake Dunlap George Brancato Lansdowne Park Lost Grey Cup File:CFL OTT Jersey 1980.png Rough Riders seasons The 1981 Ottawa Rough Riders finished the season in second place in the East Division with a 5–11 record. They appeared in the Grey Cup game, in what would be their last Grey Cup appearance in franchise history, and the last for any Ottawa-based CFL team for 34 years. Offseason CFL draft Rd Pick Player Position School 0 0 John Park TE Bowling Green 0 0 Ian Beckstead TE Richmond 1 3 Maurice Doyle RB Toronto 2 12 Don Burns WR Ottawa 4 30 Eric Boss DT Toronto 5 39 Larry Ring DB Bishop's 6 48 Anthony Refosso OT Toronto 7 57 Rob Ball DL Queen's Preseason Date Opponent Final Score Result Attendance Record June 4 at Toronto Argonauts 20–12 Win 28,325 1–0 June 11 vs. Montreal Alouettes 18–17 Win 16,139 2–0 June 21 at Montreal Alouettes 21–17 Loss 21,249 2–1 June 26 vs. Toronto Argonauts 35–25 Win 14,092 3–1 Regular season Standings OTT Schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 July 3 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 21–47 0–1 22,023 2 2 July 11 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 10–47 0–2 22,345 3 3 July 17 vs. Montreal Alouettes W 33–31 1–2 24,827 4 4 July 25 at BC Lions L 17–31 1–3 26,661 5 Bye 6 5 Aug 7 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 38–11 2–3 22,658 7 6 Aug 15 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 16–32 2–4 18,408 8 7 Aug 21 at Calgary Stampeders L 18–30 2–5 30,276 9 8 Aug 28 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 8–31 2–6 26,031 10 9 Sept 4 vs. BC Lions W 17–7 3–6 18,393 11 10 Sept 13 at Toronto Argonauts W 23–6 4–6 30,340 12 11 Sept 20 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 23–26 4–7 28,335 13 12 Sept 26 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 16–30 4–8 20,451 14 13 Oct 3 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 24–44 4–9 15,523 15 14 Oct 12 at Edmonton Eskimos L 6–24 4–10 45,805 16 15 Oct 18 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 21–10 5–10 15,002 17 Bye 18 16 Nov 1 at Montreal Alouettes L 15–39 5–11 20,867 https://www.profootballarchives.com/1981cflott.html 1981 Ottawa Rough Riders (CFL) - Pro Football Archives Postseason Round Date Opponent Score Result Attendance East Semi-Final Nov 8 vs. Montreal Alouettes 20–16 Win 17,554 East Final Nov 15 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17–13 Win 28,104 Grey Cup Nov 22 Edmonton Eskimos 26–23 Loss 52,478 Grey Cup 69th Grey Cup Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalEdmonton Eskimos 0 1 14 11 26Ottawa Rough Riders 13 7 0 3 23https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_greycup_recap1981 HISTORY >> Grey Cup >> 1981 | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League 2017-08-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20130819184624/http://cfl.ca/page/his_greycup_recap1981 2013-08-19 dead First quarter Ottawa – FG – Gerry Organ 34 yards Ottawa – FG – Gerry Organ 37 yards Ottawa – TD – Jim Reid 1-yard run (Gerry Organ convert) Second quarter Ottawa – TD – Sam Platt 14-yard run (Gerry Organ convert) Edmonton – Single – Dave Cutler 24 yards missed Field Goal Third quarter Edmonton – TD – Jim Germany 2-yard run (Dave Cutler convert) Edmonton – TD – Warren Moon 1-yard run (Dave Cutler convert) Fourth quarter Ottawa – FG – Gerry Organ 28 yards Edmonton – TD – Warren Moon 1-yard run (Marco Cyncar 2 point convert pass from Moon) Edmonton – FG – Dave Cutler 27 yards Roster 1981 Ottawa Rough Riders final rosterQuarterbacks  8 I Jordan Case  2 I Kevin Starkey  6 I J. C. Watts Running backs 35 I Calvin Fance 24 N John Park 34 I Derrek Peels 26 I Sam Platt 32 N Jim Reid Wide receivers 18 N Jeff Avery  3 I Kelvin Kirk 23 N Pete Stenerson 14 N Pat Stoqua  1 N Bruce Walker Tight ends 77 N Tony Gabriel Offensive linemen 54 N Ian Beckstead T 68 I Val Belcher G 64 N Tim Hook C 59 N Malcolm Inglis T 67 I Rudy Phillips G 50 N Kevin Powell T 56 N Bob Stephen G 55 N Larry Tittley C Defensive linemen 63 N Randy Fournier DE 66 I Greg Marshall DE 73 N Jim Piaskoski DE 79 I Mike Raines DT 61 N Doug Seymour DE 52 I Ron Simmons DT 51 N Ian Ward DT Linebackers 76 N John Glassford 36 I Eric Manns 43 I William Mitchell 53 I Mike Peerman 75 N Rick Sowieta Defensive backs 25 I Ricky Barden  7 I Carl Brazley 30 I Larry Brune 20 N Gary Cook 22 N Glenn Cook 15 I Billy Hardee 17 N Mark Philp 21 I Randy Rhino  5 I Jerome Stanton 27 I John Sutton Special teams 71 N Gerry Organ K/P Injured list 65 I Pat Staub G -- I Joe Taylor WR Italics indicate International player Awards and honours James S. Dixon Trophy --Eastern Division Championship Lew Hayman Trophy -- Tony Gabriel Grey Cup Most Valuable Player J.C. Watts - Offense John Glassford - Defence CFL All-Stars East Division Val Belcher -- Offensive Guard Tony Gabriel -- Tight End Mike Raines -- Defensive Tackle Randy Rhino -- Defensive Back Larry Brune -- Defensive Back Belcher, Raines, and Rhino were also CFL All Stars in their respective positions. References Category:Ottawa Rough Riders seasons Category:James S. Dixon Trophy championship seasons Category:1981 Canadian Football League season by team Category:1981 in sports in Ontario