Template:Short description Template:For Template:RedirectTemplate:Use mdy datesTemplate:Infobox Gridiron football team The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks were founded in 1949 as the Edmonton Eskimos and have won the Grey Cup championship fourteen times (including a three-peat between 1954 and 1956 and an unmatched five consecutive wins between 1978 and 1982), most recently in 2015 and the most of any CFL club based in Western Canada. The team has a rivalry with the Calgary Stampeders. The team discontinued using the Eskimos name in 2020, with the new name Elks formally announced on June 1, 2021.<ref name=Elks>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

OwnershipEdit

The Edmonton Elks were a "community owned" team (owned by local shareholders) since their inception in 1949 to midway through the 2024 season.<ref name=owned/>

Edmonton Elks Football Team, Inc., was governed by a ten-member board of directors.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The board consisted of a chairman, treasurer, secretary, and seven directors. The club's president and CEO was Chris Presson until he was fired on November 22, 2021.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As of 2024, Larry Thompson, longtime Elks fan and shareholder, bought the team outright, becoming the first private owner in club history.<ref name=owned />

HistoryEdit

Football in Edmonton 1895–1939Edit

The Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club, unaffiliated with the current team, was an early Canadian football-rugby union team based in Edmonton. The team played its first organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football League in 1895. In 1908 the name Esquimaux was adopted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos and was briefly called the Edmonton Elks during 1922. (The city was represented by the Edmonton Civics in 1914 and the Edmonton Canucks in 1919.) After appearing in and losing the 9th Grey Cup and 10th Grey Cup games (being the first western teams to play for the Cup) the team folded in 1925, but returned for two seasons beginning 1928, and then folded again. It was succeeded by the Edmonton Boosters, who played for three more seasons, and the Edmonton Hi-Grads in 1936 (a team of high school graduate all stars.) Elite-level football returned to Edmonton in 1938 with a team once again called the Eskimos, this time in the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). This team ceased operating after only two seasons because of the Second World War.

Team historyEdit

File:Johnny bright topps card 1962.jpg
Johnny Bright with Edmonton in 1962

The current incarnation of the team began in the 1949 WIFU season as the Edmonton Eskimos under head coach Annis Stukus, for whom the CFL's annual coach of the year award is named. The team played home games at Clarke Stadium and quickly saw success under quarterback Jackie Parker and running back Johnny Bright, winning the Grey Cup three years in a row from 1954 to 1956. The team did not win the Grey Cup again until 1975, the longest drought in team history. The team moved to Commonwealth Stadium in 1978.

The team won five consecutive Grey Cups (1978–82), led by superstar quarterbacks Warren Moon and Tom Wilkinson and head coach Hugh Campbell. After a brief absence, Campbell returned to the team in 1986 and worked for Edmonton in an administrative capacity until his retirement in 2006. This five-year dynasty, followed by the dominance of the city's NHL team the Edmonton Oilers, led the city to be nicknamed the "City of Champions" in the 1980s. Edmonton made it to nine Grey Cups in a ten-year span from 1973 to 1982.

In the 1980s and 90s the team's marquee player was Gizmo Williams who still holds many CFL records in punt and kickoff returns and was a key part in Grey Cup victories in 1987 and 1993 under head coach Ron Lancaster. During this period the team was also known for its stellar defensive line, with future Canadian Football Hall of Famers like Danny Kepley and Danny Bass winning Defensive Player of the Year Awards and Willie Pless winning the trophy a record five times.

After winning the Grey Cup in both 2003 and 2005, under quarterback Ricky Ray, who is Edmonton's all-time leader in passing yards, the team missed the playoffs the following year, for the first time in 34 years, a North American professional sport record. This led to a ten-year Grey Cup drought. After a gap of ten years, Edmonton won the Grey Cup again in 2015, under the leadership of quarterback Mike Reilly, their most recent championship.

In 2020 pressure mounted from team sponsors such as Belairdirect, Boston Pizza,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Sports Interaction, a First Nations–owned betting company, for the team to change their name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The term Eskimo is an offensive term historically placed on Inuit people.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The team officially dropped all use of the word "Eskimo" from the team on July 21, 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In response, the team temporarily rebranded as the "Edmonton Football Team" or, secondarily, the "EE Football Team", confirming their plan was to rebrand with a nickname starting with "E" to continue the use of at least some of their branding, most notably the interlocked double-E logo. This move was supported by multiple Indigenous groups, including the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a group representing over 60,000 Inuit across Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On June 1, 2021, the team formally announced that the new Edmonton team name would be the Edmonton Elks, a name used by the Edmonton football club of 1922.<ref name=Elks/>

File:CFL EDM Jersey Combinations.png
2012–2015 uniform combinations as the Edmonton Eskimos

Franchise great Warren Moon, who led Edmonton to a record five straight Grey Cups between 1978 and 1982 stated, "The name Eskimos, to me, just means pride and it means winning with that organization". However, he stated that he was ultimately supportive of the move because some people might be offended by the name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Saying, "If this is something that is insensitive to another group of people, that is something I can understand being a minority myself."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This came around the same time as the Washington Redskins of the National Football League rebranded as the Washington Commanders, and the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball rebranded as the Cleveland Guardians.

File:Edmonton Elks logo.svg
Elks secondary logo

Team colours and brandingEdit

The team colours, green and gold, have remained essentially the same over the years with only minor modifications to the uniform or logo until 2021, when the EE logo was designated as a secondary logo, and introduced a new logo of a stylized image of an elk and the Elks helmet logo was changed to antlers.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> After keeping the elk-antler helmet for the 2021 season, the team reintroduced the EE logo to their helmets (albeit with it not being enclosed in an oval) in the 2022 offseason, acknowledging fan favourability towards the logo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Edmonton Elks Indigenous Logo.png
Indigenous logo introduced in 2021 following the team rebrand

In 2021, the Elks worked with artist Izaiah Masuskapoe, an Indigenous student at West Edmonton’s St. Thomas More Catholic Junior High School, to create a special logo to celebrate the Indigenous people in Edmonton, which later spread to all of Canada in 2024 as the CFL commemorated the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with logos of their own. This followed a similar effort by the BC Lions months before.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Following new private ownership, the EE logo returned as the primary logo in 2025 and the Elk logo was retained as the secondary logo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Team records and achievementsEdit

With 14 Grey Cup wins, the franchise has won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the Toronto Argonauts, who have 18 wins. This includes more championships than any other team since the CFL was formed in the 1950s. Edmonton holds the record for most consecutive Grey Cup appearances (6 from 1977 to 1982), and consecutive wins (5 from 1978 to 1982). The team is the only one to have won three or more consecutive Grey Cups twice (1954–1956 and 1978–1982).

The Edmonton franchise holds the following CFL records:

  • 5 consecutive Grey Cup wins: 1978–1982
  • 6 consecutive Grey Cup appearances: 1977–1982
  • 34 consecutive playoff appearances: 1972–2005
  • 6 consecutive first place finishes, division: 1977–1982
  • 12 consecutive home playoff victories: 1973–1987
  • 14 consecutive seasons above .500: 1984–1997 (tied by Calgary 2008–2022)
  • 13 consecutive seasons 10 or more wins: 1985–1997
  • 16 wins, season: 1989 (tied by Toronto 2023)
  • 0.906 winning pct., season (minimum 16-game season): 1981
  • 14 games over .500, season: 1989 (tied by Toronto 2023)
  • 9 home wins, season: 1989 (tied by several teams)
  • 27 consecutive seasons .500 or better: 1972–1998
  • 22 consecutive home losses: October 26, 2019–August 10, 2023
  • 22 consecutive winless home games: October 26, 2019–August 10, 2023

The team has the distinction of setting two opposite North American professional sports records: from a success standpoint, Edmonton made the playoffs for 34 consecutive years from 1972 to 2005. At the other end, the Elks hold the dubious record of longest losing streak, home, and longest winless streak, home, set when they passed 21 on July 29, 2023. These streaks ended at 22, with the first home win under the Elks name coming August 27, 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This record was previously held by the 1953 St. Louis Browns.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Elks have also led the CFL in yearly attendance many times. As of August 2016, Edmonton had the highest average attendance in the league 27 times since moving to Commonwealth Stadium in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Team alumni have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Athletes of significance in other professional sports that played for the Elks include professional wrestler and WWE champion Roman Reigns, who played under his birthname Joe Anoa'i in 2008.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Wall of HonourEdit

The Edmonton Elks have a policy of honouring the players who have best represented the team on the field. The player's name, number and seasons played with the Edmonton Elks are displayed on the edge of the concrete separating the field level from the lower bowl of Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks keep most of the numbers in circulation rather than retire them from use. However, the team has had the numbers of Warren Moon (1), Don Warrington (21), and Rollie Miles (98) removed from circulation and are no longer issued.<ref name=Numbers>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Numbers so honoured Template:As of:

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Current rosterEdit

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Current coaching staffEdit

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Head coachesEdit

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General managersEdit

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CFL awards and trophiesEdit

Template:Col-float Grey Cup

N. J. Taylor TrophyTemplate:Ref label

Grey Cup MVP

Dick Suderman Trophy

Most Outstanding Player Award

Most Outstanding Canadian Award

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Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award

Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award

Most Outstanding Lineman AwardTemplate:Ref label

Most Outstanding Rookie Award

Annis Stukus Trophy

Tom Pate Memorial Award

Rogers Fans' Choice AwardTemplate:Ref label

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MascotsEdit

Punter (an anthropomorphic football) and Spike (an elk) are the mascots for the Edmonton Elks. They were introduced in 2004 and 2021, respectively.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nanook, a polar bear, was introduced in 1997, but was retired and replaced with Spike in 2021, coinciding with the rebranding.

Season-by-season resultsEdit

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See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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