Hamilton, Hobart Make a Run at CFL’s Grey Cup Title

The scrambler meets the passer today in the annual Grey Cup at the Olympic Stadium in front of a house that could be half-empty.

The Grey Cup, Canada’s answer to the Super Bowl, brings together the two teams that led their respective conferences during the regular Canadian Football League season.

It will be a matchup between the Hamilton Tiger Cats, led by rushing quarterback Ken Hobart, a refugee of the United States Football League, and the Western champion British Columbia Lions, led by the CFL’s leading passer, Roy Dewalt.

But there could be a lot of empty seats at Olympic Stadium, which holds 60,000. Only about 40,000 seats have been sold and since the local team, the Montreal Concords, were eliminated last Sunday by Hamilton, the local interest is almost nil.

Most of the fans will be invaders from the West in Ontario.

The Lions, who joined the nine-team CFL in 1954, will be making their fourth Grey Cup appearance, all but one against Hamilton. For the Tiger Cats it’s their 25th trip to the game.

BC has only one Grey Cup win against the Tigers Cats in 1964 when Joe Kapp quarterbacked the Lions to the title. Hamilton has won 13 times.

This past season the Lions won both games against Hamilton outscoring the Tiger Cats, 63-19.

Both teams arrived in Montreal Wednesday and immediately went to work preparing for today’s battle.

Hobart, who gained fame for his rushing ability this season, a CFL quarterback record of 928 yards, also can pass.

“There was a rap against me all season, that I couldn’t pass,” said Hobart, who last Sunday threw for 397 yards in the 50-26 victory over Montreal.

“I feel I can play as good as any quarterback in the league. I’ve been confident all my life that I could pass, even though everyone said I couldn’t from the time I was 15.”

Al Bruno, coach of the Tiger Cats (8-8), agrees.

“Ken has proven that he has the making of an excellent passing quarterback,” Bruno said. “And he is just going to get better. He’s peaking now and because of it we are going to surprise a lot of people on Sunday.”

Last year Hamilton lost the Grey Cup to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by 30 points.