65th Grey Cup - Game Summary

Game Summary

The 1977 Grey Cup was Canada’s version of the Ice Bowl, as the playing surface was more ideal for hockey than football. A blizzard hit Montreal two days prior to the game, and stadium crews put salt on the field to melt the snow. But as the temperature dropped the next day the melted snow turned into a sheet of ice. To combat the conditions, many of the Montreal Alouettes players put staples on the bottom of their shoes in order to get good traction. The move was spearheaded by star defender Tony Proudfoot. It was the third meeting in four years between the Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos. With a record Grey Cup crowd of 68,318 at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, the home team did not disappoint in a 41-6 rout over their Western rivals.

Sonny Wade completed 22 of 40 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Montreal had a total offence of 424 yards, making 21 first downs. The Eskimos were held to just 102 yards and turned the ball over 10 times, six times in the first half alone. The kicking game carried over from the 1975 Grey Cup as both Montreal’s Don Sweet and Edmonton’s Dave Cutler scored all the points in the first half. Sweet was good on three field goal attempts and missed on one for a single point. Trailing 10-0, Cutler finally put the Eskimos on the scoreboard on the final play of the second quarter, as he was good on a nine-yard field goal. Sweet booted two field goals, and Cutler kicked another before a touchdown drought spanning eight quarters between these teams in the Grey Cup was finally put to rest. Edmonton running back Angelo Santucci’s fumble set up an Alouettes scoring drive. Wade threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Peter Dalla Riva to put the Alouettes ahead 23-6. Just prior to the start of the fourth quarter Wade threw a 10-yard major to a wide-open John O’Leary, and the rout was on.

Cornerback Vernon Perry returned an interception 74 yards to help set up Wade’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Bob Gaddis. Sweet added a single and field goal to complete the scoring. Sweet set a number of records in the game, including six field goals and 23 total points, records which still stand. It was the Alouettes' third championship of the 1970s. For the Eskimos, it marked their fourth loss in five trips to the final since 1960.