1976 CFL season

The 1976 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 23rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 19th Canadian Football League season.

CFL News in 1976
For the first time in Canadian Football League history, more than 2 million fans attended CFL games with 2,029,586.

Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points


 * Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.
 * Saskatchewan and Ottawa have first round byes.

Grey Cup playoffs
The Ottawa Rough Riders are the 1976 Grey Cup champions, defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 23–20, at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, in the highest shut out recorded in CFL history. This was the third championship game between the two Rough Riders with Ottawa winning two out of three games. Ottawa's Tom Clements (QB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Offence and Saskatchewan's Cleveland Vann (LB) was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player on Defence. Ottawa's Tony Gabriel (TE) was named Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

Offence

 * QB – Ron Lancaster, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * RB – Jimmy Edwards, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
 * RB – Jim Washington, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
 * RB – Art Green, Ottawa Rough Riders
 * TE – Tony Gabriel, Ottawa Rough Riders
 * WR – Rhett Dawson, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * WR – George McGowan, Edmonton Eskimos
 * C – Al Wilson, BC Lions
 * OG – Ralph Galloway, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * OG – Dave Braggins, Montreal Alouettes
 * OT – Dan Yochum, Montreal Alouettes
 * OT – Butch Norman, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Defence

 * DT – Granville Liggins, Toronto Argonauts
 * DT – John Helton, Calgary Stampeders
 * DE – Bill Baker, BC Lions
 * DE – Junior Ah You, Montreal Alouettes
 * LB – Harry Walters, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
 * LB – Mark Kosmos, Ottawa Rough Riders
 * LB – Roger Goree, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * DB – Lorne Richardson, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * DB – Brian Herosian, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
 * DB – Dickie Harris, Montreal Alouettes
 * DB – David Shaw, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
 * DB – Paul Williams, Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * DB – Lewis Porter, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

1976 CFL Awards

 * CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Ron Lancaster (QB), Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Tony Gabriel (TE), Ottawa Rough Riders
 * CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Bill Baker (DE), BC Lions
 * CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award – Dan Yochum (OT), Montreal Alouettes
 * CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – John Sciarra (QB), BC Lions
 * CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service Award – George Reed (RB), Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * CFL's Coach of the Year – Bob Shaw, Hamilton Tiger-Cats