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Date | December 1–2, 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | Exhibition Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Toronto | ||||||||||||||||||
Most Valuable Player | Leo Lewis | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Paul Dojack | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 32,655 | ||||||||||||||||||
Broadcasters | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | CBC, CTV, SRC | ||||||||||||||||||
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The 50th Grey Cup, also known as the Fog Bowl, was the 1962 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on December 1, 1962 at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. It remains the only Grey Cup game ever suspended during play. The Blue Bombers won the game by a score of 28–27. The 1962 Grey Cup game is considered to be one of the ten best Grey Cup games of all time.
The game started normally on Saturday, December 1, 1962. However, by the second quarter, a thick fog started to roll in over the field, a combination of cold, moist, humid air from Lake Ontario. The fog was thick enough that fans could not see the action on the field, receivers lost sight of the ball after it left the quarterbacks' hand, and punt returners could not find punts until they hit the ground.
The fog became worse as the afternoon wore on, and with 9 minutes and 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the game was suspended with Winnipeg leading 28–27. The game continued the following afternoon, but there was no further scoring.
The 1962 championship will always be remembered for what the fans could not see. Following a year when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats made Canadian football history by playing in the first Grey Cup to go to overtime, the two clubs battled again in another memorable meeting. But not because of the play on the field.
Just prior to halftime, fog rolled into Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, much to the chagrin of the 32,655 in attendance and the millions watching on television across North America. Although not visible to the fans, play was able to continue until the 5:31 mark of the fourth quarter. Visibility became so poor that referee Paul Dojack stopped play with Winnipeg leading 28–27. After a 20-minute delay, CFL commissioner Syd Halter decided that the remainder of the game would be played the following afternoon. The game will be forever known as "The Fog Bowl".
The Tiger-Cats drew first blood in the opening quarter when Garney Henley took advantage of some good blocking and sprinted 74 yards for a major. The convert by Don Sutherin was no good, his first of three key errors in the game. A 41-yard run by Kenny Ploen set up a Leo Lewis touchdown to begin a wild second quarter, giving Winnipeg a 7–6 lead. Lewis struck again when he took a handoff, ran wide and threw a 15-yard pass to Charlie Shepard in the end zone.