Ottawa

Ottawa celebrates beating Calgary in Grey Cup 48 years ago

The Ottawa Redblacks take on the Calgary Stampeders this weekend in the 106th Grey Cup in Toronto. It's the perfect time to dig into the archives and find the last time Ottawa beat Calgary in the Grey Cup.

Fans celebrated on Bank Street after Ottawa defeated Calgary 24-21 in 56th Grey Cup in Toronto

Ottawa football fans celebrate Grey Cup win

8 years ago
Duration 0:29
From the archives, we find fans along Bank Street in Ottawa after the 1968 Grey Cup victory.

In honour of this weekend's Grey Cup in Toronto, we dug into the archives and found ourselves in the fall of 1968, when the Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Calgary Stampeders to win the 56th Grey Cup, 24-21.

Coincidentally, that game was also played in Toronto at Exhibition Stadium.

On Sunday, Calgary and Ottawa will do battle at BMO Field in Toronto for the 104th Grey Cup.

The game in 1968 still holds the record for the longest rush in Grey Cup history: a 79-yard touchdown run by Ottawa's Vic Washington (who was later named the Grey Cup most-valuable player).

Also, Ottawa's head coach was Frank Clair, who, the stadium at Lansdowne Park was named after (that changed when the stadium was rebuilt).

After the game, Ottawa football fans crowded Bank Street between Queen and Albert streets to celebrate the franchise's sixth Grey Cup victory.

In the video you can see the Cathay House restaurant and Gould's Camera and Art Shop (which closed in 1978) along Bank Street, as well as Capitol Cinema on Queen Street (which closed in 1970).

Do you remember? Check it out.