text: toronto argonauts the toronto argonauts are a professional canadian football team competing in the east division of the canadian football league ( cfl ) . based in toronto , ontario , the team was founded in 1873 , and is the oldest existing professional sports team in north america still using its original name . the team 's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in north america in the latter half of the nineteenth century . the argonauts played their home games at rogers centre from 1989 until 2016 when the team moved to bmo field , the fifth stadium site to host the team . the current team is coached by scott milanovich and led at quarterback by ricky ray . the argonauts have won the grey cup a record 16 times and have appeared in the final 22 times . most recently they defeated the calgary stampeders 35 – 22 at home in the 100th grey cup in 2012 . the argonauts hold the best winning percentage in the championship game ( 72 . 7 % ) and have the longest active winning streak in games in which they have appeared , at five . the argonauts have faced every current western cfl team at least once in the grey cup , while their most celebrated divisional rivalry has been with the hamilton tiger - cats . the team was owned by the argonaut rowing club for its first 83 years , and has been owned by a series of business interests since 1956 . the argonauts were a fixture on the toronto sports scene for decades , with attendance peaking in the 1970s . in may 2015 it was announced that a consortium of maple leaf sports & entertainment 's larry tanenbaum ( via the kilmer group ) and bell canada would acquire the team . the sale included a scheduled move to mlse run bmo field for the 2016 season , which has long been proposed given attendance under - utilization at rogers centre and plans to install natural grass at the domed stadium , rendering it unfit for football . given the length of franchise history , dozens of players , coaches , and management have been honoured in some form over the years . the team recognizes a select group of players with retired numbers : early greats joe krol and dick shatto , stalwart offensive lineman danny nykoluk , and michael " pinball " clemons who has been the most recent face of the team . name and colours since the team 's foundation in 1873 , the " argonauts " name has been in continuous use , a record in north american professional sports . the chicago cubs ( 1870 ) and the atlanta braves ( 1871 ) franchises of major league baseball are older , but both teams have changed their name more than once , and the braves have also changed cities . the argonauts also claim to be the oldest professional football team in north america . the claim is debatable , as the hamilton tigers date to 1869 ; they merged with the hamilton wildcats in 1950 to form the hamilton tiger - cats . the name " argonauts " is derived from greek mythology : according to legend , jason and the argonauts were a group of heroes who set out to find the golden fleece aboard the ship argo sometime before the trojan war . given its nautical theme , the name argonaut was adopted by a group of amateur rowers in toronto in 1872 . the argonaut rowing club , which still exists today , went on to found the football club with the same name a year later . given their roots in a rowing squad , the team is often referred to as the " boatmen " and less often the " scullers " . in the 19th century , the most renowned rowing teams in the world were from the university of oxford and the university of cambridge in england . the toronto rowers , many of whom had associations with the english schools , adopted uniforms incorporating the light blue of cambridge and the dark blue of oxford . in turn , the footballers adopted the colours and the phrase " double blue " would become synonymous with the team . blue has become the traditional colour of top - level teams in toronto ( e.g. the toronto maple leafs and toronto blue jays ) . the team 's other official colour is white . its current helmet design features an oxford blue background , with an oxford blue and cambridge blue round shield inscribed with a white , capital letter a. for most of the team 's history , the logo featured some form of a boat , often incorporating a football . franchise history 1873 – 1906 the first recorded game of what would become known as canadian football was played in toronto on november 9 , 1861 , featuring university of toronto students . the game at the time was a modified version of english rugby and it gained popularity throughout the 1860s . rugby itself was still an infant game having evolved out of association football ( soccer ) in the 1830s . seeking a way to keep fit after summer , the argonaut rowing club ( arc ) formed their own rugby - football squad on october 4 , 1873 . the argonauts football club would play their first game against hamilton on october 18 of that year ( a victory ) , beginning a storied rivalry . h.t. glazebrook served as their first captain and head coach . establishment of the football team was formalized by the arc on september 17 , 1874 , with a subscription fee of one dollar charged per player . the football team played a handful of challenge matches — one team inviting another to play — as an amateur squad against university and city teams every year throughout the 1870s , with one dormant year in 1879 , likely due to injuries . in 1883 the toronto football club , other city teams from ontario and university squads from toronto , queens university and royal military college formed the ontario rugby football union ( orfu ) ; it was the first rugby football organization with a league and playoff structure in north america . the toronto football club were league victors in the first year . starting in 1884 a " dominion championship " — a precursor to the grey cup — was held , pitting the victors of the country 's two organized leagues , the orfu and quebec rugby football union , against each other ; it was organized nationally by the canadian rugby union ( cru ) from 1892 onwards . in the first true national championship , the montreal football club defeated the toronto football club on november 5 , 1884 by a score of 30 – 0 . argonauts would lose the dominion title in 1901 to ottawa college . the ottawa team and the hamilton tigers were frequent opponents in this era . over the thirty years from 1880 onwards , rule changes were incrementally introduced into the game , including the adoption of the line of scrimmage , scoring that began to resemble the modern version , and the down and yardage structure . popular personalities of the era included player - coach joe wright sr. , one of the best all around canadian athletes at the turn of the century . one major outstanding issue within the cru at the time was the role of professional versus amateur players ; this dispute caused the argonauts to withdraw from the league in 1903 and eventually led to the establishment of a new league , the big four or interprovincial rugby football league . alongside the professionalism dispute , there was serious disagreement over the adoption of the burnside rules , with ontario , quebec , and the intercollegiate league often not in alignment . amongst other critical innovations , the burnside rules reduced the number of men per side to 12 and introduced the ten yards in three downs structure that is central to the modern game . 1907 – 1952 seeking looser rules regarding the employment of professional players , toronto and other cities split from the orfu and formed the interprovincial rugby football union ( irfu ) in 1907 . these clubs were the vaunted " big four " — toronto , hamilton , ottawa , and montreal — that formed the precursor to eastern division of the canadian football league . the irfu continued under the larger auspices of the canadian rugby union . beginning in 1909 , the cru champion was awarded the grey cup , with the big four competing against university squads and eventually teams from western canada . the argonauts first competed for the cup in 1911 , losing 14 to 7 to the university of toronto in front of a then record 13 , 687 spectators at the newly opened varsity stadium . the team would claim their first championship in 1914 , exacting revenge on u of t with a 14 to 2 victory . their star runner and kicker in their first championship year was jack o 'conner , who scored a league record 44 points . after play was halted during world war i , the argos again achieved success in the early 1920s on the back of one canada 's greatest ever sportsmen . lionel conacher , the " big train , " led the team to two perfect 6 – 0 seasons in 1921 and 1922 . in the first season he accounted for 85 of his team 's 167 points , and 15 of the points in the grey cup game , a 23 – 0 drubbing of the edmonton eskimos . it was the first east - west grey cup championship in canadian history . the 1921 grey cup victory was their last until 1933 , at which point the argonauts became the dominant team of an increasingly nationwide sport . they put together a number of grey cup dynasties in the 1930s and 1940s , winning eight of twenty grey cups between 1933 and 1952 . the winnipeg blue bombers were most often on the receiving end of argo grey cup victories in this era . from 1933 to 1941 lew hayman coached the team with a still unparalleled winning ratio of 45 – 15 – 2 . their first back - to - back grey cups came in 1937 and 1938 . this was also the era of the famed stukus brothers — annis , bill , and frank — who proved a potent all - purpose trio in the argonauts ' championship years . joe " king " krol and royal copeland , the so - called gold dust twins , were the best - known players of the 1940s . in an era where players still played multiple positions , they were a threat in every capacity : running , passing , catching , kicking , and playing defence . often connecting with each other for points , they led the argos to a grey cup threepeat between 1945 and 1947 . 1949 and 1950 marked a watershed in argonauts history as the team began large scale importation of american players for the first time . the team also broke a cultural barrier in 1950 with the signing of their first black player : ulysses " crazy legs " curtis would play five strong years with the team . frank clair was brought in as coach in 1950 and left his mark on the revamped roster ; he led the team to grey cup wins in 1950 and 1952 . the first of these was a 13 – 0 victory over winnipeg in the notorious mud bowl . a november snow storm followed by mild conditions turned varsity stadium into a bog and the play was a shambles ; one winnipeg player is reported to have almost drowned in the muck . at some time during this period , the phrase " argo bounce " came to refer to the argonauts ' propensity to receive a lucky bounce of the football . the phrase may date to the grey cups of the 1930s , all of which featured improbable bounces and fumbles favouring the argos ; the phrase was popularized in print by annis stukus in the 1940s . it is still in use today , with a number of fortunate on - field happenings attributed to the " bounce " . 1953 – 1988 the three decades after the 1952 grey cup victory have been called the argonauts ' dark ages . the team went thirty - one years between championship victories and nineteen without even making an appearance in the final . part of the reason was a salary cap introduced in 1953 that cost them many talented players . for the first time in decades , they began ranking at the bottom of the eastern division . the management style under new owner john bassett has also been blamed : young talent was traded or allowed to leave and the team could not form a nucleus of championship players ; coaches came and went rapidly . two notable events occurred off - field at the end of the 1950s : in 1958 the argonauts became a founding member of the canadian football league and a year later found a new home at exhibition stadium . the argonauts did have some standout players in the 1950s and 1960s . the stalwart of the era was dick shatto , an ohioan who played twelve seasons from 1954 to 1965 . listed as a running back , shatto was a dual threat to run and receive and continues to hold the team regular season records for touchdowns ( 91 ) and total yards gained ( 6 , 958 ) . living in toronto year round , shatto set down deep roots in the city and would eventually serve as the argonauts general manager . another american , tobin rote , set numerous passing marks in three years at quarterback from 1960 to 1962 . known for his good living off the field , rote still holds the argos single game passing record with 524 yards against montreal on august 19 , 1960 . a pillar on the offensive line was danny nykoluk at tackle who appeared in an incredible 17 seasons from 1954 to 1971 , including one stretch of 12 years where he didn 't miss a single game . despite these veterans , the era was marked by losing seasons and high attrition on the roster . by the 1960s , the annual ( and often desperate ) mid - season addition of american imports had become known as the " argo airlift " ; american imports often wouldn 't last a game before being cut . eventually , the team became competitive again under head coach leo cahill in the late 1960s . they scored a coup over the national football league ( nfl ) with the signing of a young joe theismann ( and other american stars ) in 1971 . the team also saw an attendance bounce , consistently selling out exhibition stadium . the boatmen 's best chance to end their grey cup drought came that year , when they faced the calgary stampeders in the 59th grey cup , the first to be played on artificial turf . in a defensive struggle at vancouver 's soggy empire stadium , a now infamous late fumble by leon " x - ray " and a possession changing kick out of bounds by harry sealed a 14 – 11 stampeder victory . the 1970s were tumultuous for the team , with numerous hirings and firings of head coaches and consistent losing records . there were stellar players over this era , including all - stars on defence such as jim , jim , and granville " granny " , but the team could not return to winning form . high profile moves such as hiring canadian football icon russ jackson as head coach in 1975 or signing running back superstar anthony davis the next year turned into busts . ironically , the argos reached historic attendance highs in this losing decade — regular season average per game attendance reached 47 , 356 in 1976 . the enlargement of exhibition stadium over 1975 and 1976 in anticipation of the blue jays expansion baseball team allowed for these massive crowds . the argos reached an all - time low in 1981 when they finished 2 – 14 ; this despite having such talented players as quarterback condredge holloway , running back cedric minter , and receiver terry greer . the team began the year 0 – 10 and there was talk of a " perfect " losing season . the team had been inept so long by this point ( 29 seasons without a grey cup win ) that the notion of an " argo bounce " had become inverted ; now " it was the unluckiest bounce in the world , the one that usually arose from the argos ' uncanny ability to lose critical games in the dying minutes by committing an improbable blunder . " however , with the 1982 season came the hiring of bob o 'billovich as head coach and mouse davis as offensive co - ordinator . davis implemented the run and shoot offense , and the argos enjoyed a turnaround , going 9 – 6 – 1 that year ; condredge holloway was the cfl 's most outstanding player . the team ultimately fell short in their quest for a grey cup , losing 32 – 16 to the mighty edmonton eskimos in the final in front of a disappointed crowd at exhibition stadium . the 1983 season finally brought the championship home . the argos finished 12 – 4 and terry greer set a cfl record with 2 , 003 receiving yards . joe barnes and condredge holloway were a potent duo at quarterback . the double blue returned to the grey cup , this time facing the bc lions at bc place stadium in vancouver . despite the hostile crowd , toronto defeated bc 18 – 17 to win their first grey cup since 1952 . the argos were generally competitive for the remainder of the 1980s , thanks in large part to talented players such as gill " the thrill " and darrell k. smith , but a return to the glory of 1983 proved elusive . 1989 – present the 1989 season saw the argonauts move into the skydome , a multi - purpose downtown stadium with a retractable roof . it marked the beginning of an eventful few years . in 1990 , one of the most beloved figures in toronto sporting history emerged on the team : michael " pinball " clemons set a cfl record for all purpose yards with 3 , 300 in his first full year , a record he would break in 1997 with 3 , 840 . in 1991 hollywood prestige arrived in the form of a new ownership trio . bruce mcnall , owner of the nhl 's los angeles kings , bought the team . one of his players , hockey great wayne gretzky , became a minority owner , as did canadian - born comedian john candy . the group stunned the league with the signing of raghib " rocket " ismail for an unheard of $ 18 . 2 million over four years . ismail immediately impressed , particularly on kickoff returns , and was named player of the game in the 1991 grey cup , which the argos won 36 – 21 over the calgary stampeders . clemons and quarterback matt dunigan ( who played the final with a broken collarbone ) were the other critical pieces to the championship . however , the argos slumped to 6 – 12 only a year later , beginning a slide that only accelerated when dunigan and ismail left after the season . the 1992 season was the first of four consecutive losing seasons ; while they made the playoffs in 1994 , they were promptly eliminated by the baltimore stallions in the division semifinals . trouble also struck off the field : mcnall was convicted of conspiracy and fraud at the end of 1993 , while candy died prematurely the next year . attendance also began to slide in the mid - 1990s , raising questions over the team 's viability that persist to this day . the per game average was just above 16 , 000 in 1994 and 1995 , much less than half the team 's 1970s peak . championship material did eventually reemerge in 1996 . doug flutie , one of the greatest quarterbacks in cfl history , was signed for the season and surrounded with key personnel . the team included linebacker mike o 'shea , veteran wide receiver paul , and running back robert drummond . derrell " mookie " mitchell was added at receiver in 1997 . the boatmen took the grey cup in both 1996 and 1997 . flutie would set team records for single season passing yards with more than 5 , 500 in each year and for touchdowns thrown with 47 in 1997 ( one less than his cfl record of 48 ) before crossing the border to join the buffalo bills the next year . retired in 1999 as the team 's all time pass reception yardage leader . clemons ended his own successful career in 2000 before returning to coach until 2007 . the years after their back - to - back championships saw a return to mediocrity for the argos . ticket sales remained flat , and there were changes in ownership . to attract fans were greeted with criticism . the argos seemingly bottomed out in july 2003 when the cfl stripped control over the team from owner sherwood schwarz . the team had amassed debts of over $ 20 million , including $ 17 . 4 owed to schwarz himself . new ownership under david cynamon and howard sokolowski brought immediate dividends with another grey cup win in 2004 . veteran damon allen led the team to a team to 27 – 19 victory over the b.c. lions , with jon avery a critical running threat . allen would continue with the team until 2007 , and retired with professional football 's all - time leading passing yardage ( 72 , 381 ) . the argonauts saw winning seasons from 2005 to 2007 before bottoming out the next two years . they finished 2009 with just three wins . critical players over this half decade included receiver bruce iii , defensive star byron parker , and all - star punter noel prefontaine . the team generated some controversy in 2006 when they lured running back ricky williams from the nfl . williams had repeatedly violated nfl drug policies and was under suspension for the year ; he played just one season with the argos . in 2010 the team again saw an ownership change , with construction magnate david braley , who also owns the lions , taking control . after breaking even in 2010 and going 6 – 12 in 2011 , the argonauts again acquired a championship nucleus in 2012 . ricky ray was brilliant at quarterback while chad owens emerged as arguably the league 's best special teams player . owens broke michael clemons cfl record for all purpose yards and won the cfl most outstanding player award that year . the 2012 grey cup was played in toronto and the team took their first championship victory in the city since 1952 , a 35 – 22 win over calgary . championship summary the toronto argonauts currently lead the canadian football league in total wins and in winning percentage in the grey cup . early success in the final can partly be attributed to the weakness of western teams : between 1921 and 1952 the argonauts won in nine straight appearances , including six straight against the winnipeg blue bombers . the team 's success is not merely an historical aberration , however : they have won six of their nine appearances since the formation of the cfl , including their last five straight . for the entire grey cup era there has been some form of playoffs leading up to the grey cup game ; the 22 argonauts teams who have won a spot in the final would , in modern terms , be called " eastern division champions " . it is important to remember , however , that the route to the grey cup , participating teams , and playoff format have changed repeatedly over time . as for the regular season , the cfl records 14 argonauts teams at the top of the eastern divisional table since its formation in 1958 . earlier data for the interprovincial rugby football union provides another 9 years from 1907 to 1957 in which the argos were the best of the " big four , " for a total of 23 divisional wins . the only pre - 1958 year in which the argos won the irfu but failed to make a grey cup appearance was 1922 , when they lost in semi - final to queen 's university . going back to an even earlier era , the argonauts won the ontario rugby football union championship three times between 1883 and 1906 , including the league 's first two seasons , 1883 and 1884 . their last victory as orfu members came in 1901 . given their losses in the dominion championship in 1884 and 1901 , the argonauts would not earn the title " national champion " until their first grey cup win in 1914 . stadiums the toronto argonauts ' first home was rosedale field at mount pleasant road and maclennan avenue near the city centre . the team suggests its capacity was 10 , 000 total with 4 , 000 seated , though o 'leary and parrish list smaller numbers , noting that a $ 32 , 000 renovation in 1883 allowed for a capacity of 2 , 000 . the field has historic significance as the site of the first grey cup game in 1909 ; the cfl lists the game 's attendance as 3 , 807 . the field still exists as part of rosedale park , although there are no grandstands . sources again differ on when the team permanently moved to varsity stadium on the grounds of the university of toronto . the team gives dates of 1874 – 1897 and 1908 – 1915 at rosedale , while other sources suggest the team had moved to varsity by 1911 . varsity would become indelibly linked with the argonauts and the early years of canadian football ; it was the home field of the great argo dynasties of the 1930s and 1940s . for most of the argos time at the stadium , its capacity was about 16 , 000 , but this jumped above 20 , 000 with a renovation in 1950 . although it has not hosted a professional game since 1958 , it still holds the record for hosting the most grey cups with 30 . another home beckoned in 1959 with the renovation of the new exhibition stadium to accommodate canadian football . often remembered ruefully by torontonians for its exposure to weather and poor sightlines , the stadium was nevertheless the site of the argos ' greatest attendance in the late 1960s and 1970s . particularly brutal conditions at the 70th grey cup in 1982 paved the way for the construction of a domed stadium in toronto . skydome ( rogers centre since 2004 ) has provided the argonauts a marquee venue since 1989 , but also been criticized for its football sightlines and atmosphere . even crowds of about 30 , 000 can look sparse in a stadium that seats up to 50 , 000 people . the domed environment does , at least , remove the elements and is an advantage to passers and comfortable for fans . two critical opportunities to find a new home were missed in 2004 and 2005 : plans for a revamped varsity stadium to accommodate cfl - sized crowds were thwarted by community opposition in 2004 , and the argonauts withdrew from an alternate plan at york university the following year . it was announced in 2013 that the rogers centre 's artificial turf would be replaced by natural grass within five years to better facilitate toronto blue jays baseball . this will require the stadium 's movable stands to be permanently locked into position for baseball , making it impossible to host cfl games . the stadium issue generated significant press and raised concerns over the team 's long - term viability given that the argonauts losses have been estimated anywhere from $ 2 to $ 6 million annually . while various stadium rumours swirled over the course of david braley 's tenure ( including building a new facility ) it became increasingly clear that a move to a renovated bmo field was the only viable option . the bmo field move became finalized on may 20 , 2015 , concurrent with the announcement of the team 's sale to a consortium of mlse shareholders larry tanenbaum and bell canada . the team will move following the completion of stadium renovations for the 2016 season . the $ 120 million renovation plan had originally been announced in march 2014 . the upgrades raise the stadium 's seating capacity from 21 , 566 seats to 30 , 000 for soccer , with 25 , 000 seats in cfl configuration , and will be temporarily expandable with additional endzone seating to 40 , 000 for big events such as a grey cup . the agreement requires mlse to reach a " long - term use ( i.e. 20 years ) " lease with the argos for usage of the stadium . the inclusion of the cfl configuration had partly been at the insistence of the city of toronto , which owns bmo field , and had been planned in the original stadium agreement . following the demolition and reconstruction of the 5 , 000 seat varsity stadium at the university of toronto , the argos returned to the stadium , hosting preseason games from 2013 to 2015 . the team also acquired a much - needed training facility in july 2014 when it was announced that mlse had partnered with the argonauts to expand kia training ground , toronto fc 's new state - of - the - art academy and training facility . ownership and management ownership history for more than eight decades , the toronto argonauts football club was the sole property of its namesake rowing club . by the 1950s , the team 's complex management structure made the arrangement increasingly awkward . facing overdraft and with wealthy suitors knocking , the argonaut rowers finally sold the team to a consortium led by john bassett , eric cradock , and charlie burns in 1957 . each held about 20 % share in the company , with the balance made up by small investors who had some affinity with the club ; the initial agreement called for a long - term debenture of $ 400 , 000 to be set up that would sustain the rowing club in the absence of its football income . bassett was the operating head of the franchise and is often given sole credit for the initial purchase of the argos , but cradock was also instrumental in spearheading the drive . he would sell his share to len just two years into his tenure in part because of bassett 's controlling nature . bassett arranged a complete buyout of the other shareholders for $ 2 . 31 million in 1971 through his holdings in baton broadcasting . the bassett years of the late - 50s to early - 70s were marked by mediocrity on the field but consistent success at the turnstiles . an issue that has become a perennial concern in the city also emerged at this time : the possibility of a national football league team in toronto . various machinations were entertained by bassett including moving the argos to the nfl , bringing an american expansion team to the city ( e.g. the toronto northmen of the wfl ) , or expanding the cfl itself in the opposite direction . other team owners steadfastly opposed bassett 's moves and almost rescinded his franchise in 1974 ; angered , he sold the team for $ 3 . 3 million to hotel magnate william r. hodgson in the same year . sold to carling o 'keefe in 1979 , who had been minority owners since 1976 . the brewing company 's total investment in the team was $ 5 . 8 million . at the time it was rapidly ramping up its sports sponsorship ( it also owned the quebec nordiques before they moved from the world hockey association to the nhl ) and would become a huge benefactor to the cfl itself , inking television rights deals that would reach $ 11 million annually by 1984 . reports at the time suggest the league became spoiled by the partnership and that when the money dried up in 1987 , the transition was difficult . for the argos , the carling o 'keefe years were marked by their first modern - era grey cup in 1983 . the year 's following the carling o 'keefe era were marked by increasingly short ownership stints . canadian businessman harry ornest bought the team off carling o 'keefe for $ 5 million at the end of 1988 and then sold to the trio of mcnall ( 60 % ) , candy ( 20 % ) , and gretzky ( 20 % ) for the same amount in 1991 . of the three , candy is best remembered for his emotional investment in the team and a team player award continues in his honour . given mcnall 's indictment and candy 's early death , the era was tumultuous and the last in which the club regularly made front page headlines . the now money - losing team was sold to the labatt brewing company through its tsn unit in 1994 for $ 4 . 5 million . at the time , labatt also owned the toronto blue jays . in 1995 , labatt was acquired by interbrew ; the interbrew years saw two championships but also the worst argo attendance of the modern era . interbrew soon lost interest in sports ownership and the team was sold again at the end of 1999 to new york businessman sherwood schwarz . after the debacles of the schwarz era and brief control of the team by the cfl ( see above ) the argos were rescued by david cynamon and howard sokolowski in 2004 . there was optimism surrounding the duo 's arrival and attendance figures improved in their six years heading the organization . it was also appreciated that the two were torontonians after a quarter - century of foreign and / or corporate ownership . but by 2010 losses were great enough that the team was again put on the block and eventually sold to david braley . there was some controversy surrounding braley 's takeover . he is simultaneously owner of the bc lions , raising questions of competitive integrity . it was also revealed that braley had bankrolled half of cynamon and sokolowski 's initial $ 2 million buy - in of the argos in 2004 , and covered half their subsequent losses , in exchange for half of the 2007 grey cup profits . by 2014 maple leaf sports and entertainment and its chairman and minority owner larry tanenbaum had emerged as serious suitors for the team . on may 20 , 2015 , it was announced that an agreement had been reached for argonauts to be sold to tanenbaum 's kilmer sports and bell canada , who both own a stake in mlse with rogers communications . financial details were not disclosed . despite its shared stake in mlse , rogers was not interested in having an ownership share in the argonauts because it does not have any media relationships with the cfl ( unlike bell , whose tsn division holds the broadcast rights to the league ) . argonauts holdings limited partnership , a holding company which bell and kilmer each own 50 % of , formally acquired the franchise on december 31 , 2015 . senior executives below the ownership level , the two most senior positions within the toronto argonauts organization are its president and general manager . the gm role was titled as " managing director " from 1957 to 1971 , while the president role is now included in the title of ceo . the longest serving executive in the organization is lew hayman , who had a five decade career beginning in the 1930s as coach and administrator . a jewish - american , hayman served with both the argos and montreal alouettes and has been called " the architect of canadian football . " he was the team 's first president and managing director at the insistence of eric cradock in 1957 , and would continue in the former role until 1981 . ralph took over from hayman and is another hall of fame builder . after relative stability at the senior executive level for three decades , there has been significant turnover in the positions since the 1990s . the team had eight general managers in eight years , for example , between 1996 and 2003 . the current gm is jim barker , who was appointed at the end of 2010 . chris rudge , former head of the canadian olympic committee , took over as president and ceo from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2015 , when michael copeland took over . head coaches 55 men have served as toronto argonauts head coach . the current coach , scott milanovich , was appointed in 2011 . he has succeeded in reviving a stalled offence and led the team to a grey cup victory in 2012 . the longest total tenure at head coach belongs to bob o 'billovich , who led the team for eleven years over three stints in the 1980s and early 90s . other notable coaching careers include those of joe wright , sr. at the end of the nineteenth century , ted morris and frank clair in the post - war years , leo cahill in the late 60s and early 70s , and pinball clemons after the turn of the millennium . since 1961 , the canadian football league has awarded the annis stukus trophy annually to the league 's outstanding coach . ( alongside his playing career , stukus achieved fame as a coach , promoter , and newspaper columnist . ) argonauts coaches have been honoured seven times : cahill ( 1971 ) , o 'billovich ( 1981 & 1987 ) , adam rita ( 1991 ) , don matthews ( 1997 ) , jim barker ( 2010 ) , and milanovich ( 2012 ) . current team roster during the season , active roster sizes in the cfl are 46 and game day rosters number 42 , at least 20 of whom must be canadian in accordance with the league 's " national player " rule ( formerly called the " non - import " rule prior to 2014 ) . training camp rosters are allowed to swell to 68 . the current team is led at quarterback by ricky ray , who had three statistically brilliant seasons between 2012 and 2014 , earning eastern most outstanding player nominations in the latter two years . injuries have begun to take a toll on the qb and he enters the 2015 recovering from shoulder surgery ; attention has shifted to backup trevor harris who has waited three years for a chance at starting opportunities . the argonauts receiving corps , which was decimated by injuries in 2014 , saw significant turnover in the off - season including the loss of standout john chiles to an opportunity with the chicago bears . chad owens and canadian andre durie are set to return but the rest of the unit is a bevy of untested imports , many of whom do not have a pro pass reception on their record . one important offensive piece remains in place for the 2015 season with the resigning of running back curtis steele . an off - season move on defense saw the trade for defensive linebacker shea emry , who led the team in tackles in 2014 , for defensive end ricky foley ; foley has had previous success with the toronto squad . another change on the defensive side was the promotion of casey to defensive coordinator . the team has been troubled in recent years by turnover in their defensive personnel and coaches . tristan , the 2014 sack leader for the team , remained on the roster until the end of the 2015 cfl season . front office and coaching rivalries with few teams , but a long history , it is inevitable that intense rivalries have developed in canadian football . far and away the greatest toronto argonauts rivalry has been with the hamilton tiger - cats and its precursor teams . fittingly , the argonauts first game was against a club from hamilton , while the raucous eastern final of 2013 — featuring a tiger - cat win over the argos in front of 35 , 000 at the rogers centre — proved the rivalry is alive and well . the two teams meet in hamilton every year in the labour day classic , a league wide tradition since the late 1940s in which the game 's greatest rivalries are showcased . to the east , the argonauts have also faced off against teams from montreal and ottawa since their earliest days . in recent years , the montreal alouettes have consistently fielded strong teams and often run up against the argos in the playoffs ; the teams have faced off eleven times in the eastern final , with montreal taking six . in 2014 , the argonauts reignited their historic rivalry with an ottawa football team as the team came back as the ottawa ( other rivalries with ottawa consisted of rivalries with the ottawa renegades and the ottawa rough riders ) . in 5 games against the current ottawa franchise ; the argos maintain a winning record of 4 - 1 - 0 . the argonauts won their last meeting with the redblacks by a final score of 38 - 35 in front of a crowd of 15 , 001 people at td place in ottawa on october 6th , 2015 . at the grey cup level , the argonauts have faced an assortment of teams in recent decades rather than any one team regularly . the edmonton eskimos , for years a dominant team in the league , became a rival . the two teams ' five grey cup match - ups include an epic 38 – 36 toronto loss in 1987 and most recently , the snow bowl victory in 1996 led by the arm of doug flutie . in the pre - cfl days , the argos had a grey cup rivalry with the winnipeg blue bombers and a cross - town rivalry with the university of toronto in the first years of the grey cup championship , including the argonauts ' first win in 1914 . notable personnel the highest distinction the toronto argonauts can accord a player is to retire their number ; just four players have received the honour . starting in 1996 , the team began another category of distinction with its list of " all - time argos . " twenty - two players have been rewarded so far and a banner in their honour hangs at rogers centre . players and management personnel may be separately inducted into the canadian football hall of fame . a total of 56 people who have been part of the team are in the hall . the all - time argos list does not extend back to before the second war era while the hall of fame does . thus , for instance , lionel conacher is in the hall but not listed as an all - time argo . finally , players may be honoured on an annual basis through the cfl awards . the most prestigious of these is the most outstanding player award , awarded since 1953 . six argonauts have been recipients : chad owens ( 2012 ) , damon allen ( 2005 ) , doug flutie ( 1996 & 1997 ) , pinball clemons ( 1990 ) , holloway , and bill symons ( 1968 ) . all - time and hall of fame mascot jason is the mascot for the toronto argonauts . in 2003 jason replaced scully as the team 's mascot .