Edmonton Eskimos

The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Eskimos are the most successful CFL franchise of the modern era (1949–present), having won the league's Grey Cup championship thirteen times, including an unmatched five consecutive wins between 1978 and 1982, and most recently in 2005. The Eskimos play their home games at Commonwealth Stadium.

Team facts

 * Founded: 1949, although other teams named the Edmonton Eskimos existed 1895 to 1923 and 1929 to 1939.


 * Formerly known as: Esquimaux 1897 to 1910.


 * Helmet design: Yellow background, with a gold "EE" monogram on a green oval.


 * Uniform colours: Green, gold, black, and white.


 * Past uniform colours: Blue and white 1938 to 1939, black and yellow 1907 to 1937


 * Stadium: Commonwealth Stadium (1978–present).


 * Past stadium: Clarke Stadium (1954–1978).


 * Grey Cup Championships: 13—1954, 1955, 1956, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1993, 2003, 2005


 * Runner-up: 9—1952, 1960, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2002


 * Western Division championships (regular season): 22—1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003.


 * Main rivals: Calgary Stampeders (See Battle of Alberta), Montreal Alouettes (11 meetings in the Grey Cup, once in the East Final).


 * 2010 Regular Season Record: 7 Wins, 11 Losses.

Ownership
The Edmonton Eskimos Football Club is one of three remaining "community owned" teams in the CFL (owned by local shareholders). This was once the most common type of ownership in the CFL. IN 2006 the Ottawa Sun reported that shares cost $10 each, but were not open to the general public and required the approval of the 80 existing shareholders. This contrasts with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, one of the other community owned team in the CFL, who have offered shares to the public.

The board of directors included Diane Brickner (president and CEO of Peace Hills Insurance), Harold Roozen (chairman and CEO of CCI Thermal Technologies Inc.), Douglas Goss, and Allan Sawin, Terry O'Flynn, John Moquin and Bruce Bentley. Goss is the chairman, Sawin is the treasurer, and Bentley is secretary. The club's president and CEO is Rick LeLacheur.

For the 2008 year, the club announced revenue of $14.868 million, and a profit on the football side of the franchise, but a net loss of $504,049 because of loss of investments in the stock market due to the economic recession.

Franchise history
Edmonton played its first series of organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football Union in 1895. In 1897 the name Esquimaux was adopted. In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos. Since 1978 the Eskimos have played their home games in Commonwealth Stadium. They are one of the most successful teams in Canadian football history, having won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the Toronto Argonauts, and being the run-away leader in attendance for many years.

The team holds many impressive records, including five consecutive Grey Cup wins (1978 to 1982), and 34 consecutive years in the playoffs (1972 to 2005), a record no other North American professional team (regardless of sport) has equalled. Former Eskimos have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (E. Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith), and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong).

During the glory years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Edmonton Eskimos won five Grey Cup championships in a row. Since Edmonton re-entered the CFL in 1949, only one team has managed to win three in row (Eskimos 1954 to 1956), let alone five. Their achievements were documented in the book, Decade of Excellence, with photographs by Bob Peterson. The Eskimos have also enjoyed great attendance in the stands as they lead the league.

Origin of the uniform
The current uniform colours, green and gold, were adopted when the Eskimos received uniforms from the University of Alberta Golden Bears football team, which was dormant due to a lack of competition in 1949. The colours have remained since that time, and the Golden Bears maintain them to this day as well. Overall, the jersey and colours have remained relatively the same over the years with only minor modifications made every so often. In 2003, the Eskimos introduced white pants to be worn with their away jerseys and have continued to wear them on occasion to this day. In the 2005 CFL season, all CFL teams switched to a Reebok designed template, yet the jerseys for the Eskimos stayed much the same. In that same year, the Eskimos introduced an alternate jersey for the first time in the franchise's history. Green pants were also introduced at this time and have been worn with their home and away jerseys since then. Along with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, they are one of the few teams to alternate the pants and jersey combinations of their uniforms within a season. The alternate gold jersey was last worn in 2007, as they mainly use their green jerseys.

Wall of Honour
The Eskimos have a policy of honouring the players who have best represented the team on the field; similar to a team retiring a number, the Eskimos keep the number in circulation, although the number is hung on the edge of the concrete separating the upper and lower decks of Commonwealth Stadium.

Numbers so honoured :

Team song
During each home game fans stand and sing the "Edmonton Eskimos Fight Song" to the tune "Washington and Lee Swing":


 * We're cheering fight, fight, fight on Eskimos
 * We're marching right, right, right on Eskimos
 * We're charging down the field for all to see
 * and shouting rah, rah, rah, fight on to victory
 * We're fighting on till every game is won
 * The Green and Gold is bold and when we're done
 * we'll tell the world we're proud of Edmonton
 * and the Edmonton Eskimos!