Do you know your Grey Cup trivia?

You may know your Roughriders from your Rough Riders, but do you really know the ins and outs surrounding the Grey Cup? Test your knowledge of the 98-year-old championship with some mind-bending trivia questions from resident CBCSports.ca CFL columnist Malcolm Kelly,who is nowhere near that old (we think).

The Questions

The 21st century

1. The 96th Grey Cup game in Montreal created some controversy because the Canadiens decided to pick that weekend to retire the sweater of a former player, taking some of the lustre, some felt, from the football game.What player was honoured?

2.This man scored 19 points in B.C.'s 25-14 victory over Montreal in the 95th classic back in 2006.

3. Michael Pinball Clemons took the Toronto Argonauts to a Grey Cup victory over the B.C. Lions in 2004.Who gave Clemons his famous nickname?

4. In 2003,this Montreal coach made headlines by choosing to start a pair of rookie cornerbacks in the game against Edmonton. Didn't quite work out. Who was the famous bench boss?

5. In 2002, Edmonton fought back against Montreal and had to try an onside kick in the dying seconds. It was grabbed bythis Alouettes receiver and run back for a touchdown. He's now a Toronto Argonaut.

The 1990s

1.This quarterback played, and won, the 1991 Cup final with a broken left collarbone.

2. The 1990s was the decade of the poorly-executed attempt to expand the CFL to the United States. Only one of the U.S. teams made it to the championship game (twice).What team?

3. They saidthis quarterback could not play in bad weather. But in 1996 he proved them wrong by winning the first of back-to-back Grey Cups in a Hamilton blizzard.

4. Keep going back to the 1991 game in Winnipeg, where the temperature at game time was -17C.What famous signing for the Argos scored the decisive touchdown on an 87-yard kick return and then was almost beaned by a frozen can of beer in the end zone?

5.What Canadian kicker made five field goals for Toronto in the 1996 game and then left for the Indianapolis Colts where he became one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history?

The 1980s

1. Between 1983 and 1989,only one team would win the Grey Cup more than once. What team?

2.What quarterback, who would go on to become a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, almost led the Ottawa Rough Riders to a huge upset victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1981 Grey Cup game?

3. The 1984 Grey Cup game featuredtwo starting quarterbacks who had actually been traded for each other the previous season. Who were they?

4. James Parker was voted most valuable defensive player at the 1985 Grey Cup, won by his B.C. Lions.What was Parker's nickname?

5. Edmonton and Toronto traded punches for 60 minutes in the 1987 Grey Cup at Vancouver a wild affair that ended on an Eskimos field goal to win.Who kicked that famous ball?

The 1970s

1. In late 1969, the Grey Cup was kidnapped out of the Ottawa Rough Riders' offices and was missing for two months. It was found on Feb. 16 in Toronto when local police received a tip that sent them to a pay phone.Where did they eventually find the cup?

2. In 10 Grey Cup games between 1974 and 1982, this team played in nine of them. They would win six of them. They are the Edmonton Eskimos.What three quarterbacks led the Green and Gold through this era?

3.One of the most flamboyant and talented receivers to play in the league came to Montreal from Nebraska and quickly declared "I'm just an ordinary superstar" in a post-game interview. He helped the Als to the 1974 Grey Cup title.

4.This coach won two Grey Cup games with the Montreal Alouettes and then went to the NFL where he would eventually lead the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances.

5.What little trick did the Montreal Alouettes use in 1977 to overcome the icy field and win the Grey Cup game at the roofless Olympic Stadium?

Ancient history

1. This future CFL head coach played most of the 1954 Grey Cup game for Edmonton on a broken leg.

2. OK, here we go. Can't have a cup quiz without this question. In 1957 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, a Hamilton player picked up a fumble and headed the other way for an apparent touchdown. Someone on the sidelines stuck out a foot and tripped him. Who was the player?

3. The Grey Cup's propensity for bringing a huge, moving party to town each year earned it this sobriquet. The hint is in the word "sobriquet."

4. Six times over nine seasons from 1957, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers met in the Grey Cup, with the Bombers winning four of them. Kenny Ploen was the Winnipeg quarterback through most of that time.Who was the Bombers' coach that went on to a long NFL career?

5. In 1961, the Bombers and Cats started the Cup game on Saturday and finished it on Sunday.Why?

12. Russ Jackson.

The Answers

The 21st Century

1. Patrick Roy. His No. 33 went up to the rafters in the Bell Centre. The Alouettes lost the next day at the Big Owe to Calgary. Coincidence?

2. Paul McCallum. He had six field goals and a single. He also conceded two safeties, so accounted for four of Montreal's points as well.

3. Bob O'Billovich, now the Hamilton Tiger-Cats general manager. When Clemons came to his first camp with the Argonauts in 1989, Obie saw him bouncing off tacklers and said he looked just like a pinball.

4. Don Matthews. He would, however, win five Grey Cups during his long CFL career and take coach of the year honours on five occasions. Second all time winningest coach in league history.

5. Jeremaine Copeland. He's a survivor, by the way, of the one-year XFL experiment that led to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys and then on to Montreal, Calgary and now Toronto. Has two Grey Cup rings.

The 1990s

1. Matt Dunigan. He told coach Adam Rita "My arm feels like a rag, but coach, I'm finishing it."

2. Baltimore Colts/CFL Colts/CFLers/Stallions. They were the only American team to draw strong crowds, played in the 1994 Grey Cup game and lost, winning in 1995. They would then move to Montreal and become the reborn Alouettes, while the Cleveland Browns went to Baltimore and became the Ravens.

3. Doug Flutie. All 5-foot-10 (officially) of him. He had already won a Grey Cup in Calgary, so ended his CFL career with three. Flutie, who played only eight years in the league, won the most outstanding award six times, threw for over 41,000 yards and is considered by many the best pivot to play north of the border.

4. Raghid "Rocket" Ismail. When he signed with the CFL in 1991 it created the biggest media explosion ever seen in the league. He lasted two seasons, one good, the other not.

5. Mike Vanderjagt. In nine NFL seasons, mostly with the Colts, he would amass a field goal percentage of 86.5 and, in 2003, went the entire season without missing a field goal or extra point.

The 1980s

1. Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in 1984 and 1988. The first one saw Cal Murphy lead a 47-17 wipe out of Hamilton, and the second had Mike Riley at the helm of a tight one point victory over B.C. Winnipeg won again in 1990 and hasn't taken a cup since.

2. J.C. Watts, from Oklahoma. Ottawa took a 20-0 lead and were still way up at halftime before Warren Moon and Tom Wilkinson brought the Eskimos back for the win.

3. Tom Clements and Ralph Dieter Brock. Clements, from Notre Dame, won the game for Winnipeg. Brock, who had an excellent CFL career, would go on to play one strong season with the Los Angeles Rams before retiring.

4. Quick. Parker was a five-time all star and four-time Grey Cup winner. He's now in the Hall of Fame.

5. Jerry Kauric. An interesting twist in that game saw Edmonton starting quarterback Matt Dunigan go down with an injury and be replaced by Damon Allen. Both of those men would later win the Cup at different times with Toronto.

The 1970s

1. The pay phone contained a note and a key that led them to a locker in Union Station. How the thieves got the Cup to Toronto and into the locker undetected remains a mystery. The CFL had a replica made for $550 and the old mug now stays at the Hall of Fame except for when it's presented to the winning team.

2. Tom Wilkinson, Bruce Lemmerman and Warren Moon. Lemmerman was a highly respected backup because of his ability to come in when needed and keep the offence moving. He was out of Cal State Northridge, and played two years with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL before coming north. For much of the 1970s, he played quite a lot as Wilkinson's backup, throwing for over 2,000 yards in 1976.

3. Johnny Rodgers. At Nebraska he won the Heisman Trophy in 1972 and was of such prominence that in 2000 was chosen by Sports Illustrated as the Cornhuskers' Player of the Century. A promising NFL career after the CFL was cut short by a knee injury suffered in practice for the San Diego Chargers.

4. Marv Levy. He would take many of the CFL style offensive plays with him, including the no huddle offence.

5. Larry Smith, or Tony Proudfoot (depends on who tells the story), came up with the idea of putting industrial sized stables into their cleats. When everyone else saw how well it worked, they did it too. Edmonton didn't. Final score, 41-6 for the Alouettes. At that time, by the way, it was perfectly legal. The rule was changed right afterwards.

Ancient History

1. Eagle Keys. His coach, Pop Ivy, gave one of the most understated quotes of all time to reporters afterwards: "I'm mighty proud of the Eagle." Imagine what he might have said if Keys had played on two broken legs. Edmonton won that game, by the way.

2. Ray "Bibbles" Bawel. The perpetrator of the incident took off out of the stadium and wasn't identified. David Humphrey, a young local lawyer who would go on to become an Ontario Court judge, admitted a few years later that he did it. A perfect example of being tripped up by the justice system.

3. The Grand National Drunk. It really took off in 1948 when fans of the Calgary Stampeders rolled east on the Grey Cup Special and turned staid old Toronto on its ear, partying up and down the streets, holding flapjack breakfasts on the steps of city hall, and riding a big white stallion into the lobby of the Royal York. He was on his best behaviour that day, in case you were wondering.

4. Bud Grant. Bud seemed to have used up his magic with the Bombers because he took the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls, and lost all four. Ties him with Marv Levy in that category, and Levy, of course, coached Montreal to a pair of Grey Cup wins before losing the quartet in the NFL's big game with Buffalo. Hint: Don't hire someone to coach your NFL team if they have won the Grey Cup.

5. Fog rolled in off Lake Ontario and left fans at CNE stadium unable to see anything. So it was called off in the fourth quarter and they completed it 24 hours later. The Fog Bowl was also the first game shown nationally in the United States. Great timing.

12. There is no question 12. That was Russ Jackson's number and we couldn't end the test without a salute one of the game's best quarterbacks, and the last Canadian to win a Cup at that position, who wrapped things up in 1968 and 1969 with back-to-back wins for the Ottawa Rough Riders. Thanks Russ. And that's from an Argo fan.