# 1988 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season

The 1988 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 31st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 39th overall. The Tiger-Cats finished in third place in the East Division with a 9–9 record and lost the East Semi-Final to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Earl Winfield tied Steve Stapler's record for most touchdowns in one season with 13 (which Tony Champion broke the year later). It would be Stapler's final season with the Tiger-Cats, and he finished ranked fourth all-time in franchise history in touchdowns. Paul Osbaldiston would set a franchise record (which he would break on three separate occasions) for the most converts in one season with 49 made.

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| B | June 28 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 12–16 | 0–1 | Exhibition Stadium | |
| C | July 6 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | L 34–36 | 0–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | |

## Regular season
### Season standings

East Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 571 | 326 | 8–2 | W7 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 407 | 458 | 3–3 | L3 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 478 | 465 | 6–4 | L1 | Details |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 278 | 618 | 1–9 | L2 | Details |

### Season schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | July 16 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 29–24 | 1–0 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 2 | July 21 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 9–21 | 1–1 | Winnipeg Stadium |
| 3 | July 30 | at Calgary Stampeders | W 45–20 | 2–1 | McMahon Stadium |
| 4 | Aug 5 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 14–38 | 2–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 5 | Aug 12 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 22–14 | 3–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 6 | Aug 16 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 5–19 | 3–3 | Exhibition Stadium |
| 7 | Aug 27 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 51–24 | 4–3 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 8 | Sept 1 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | W 46–20 | 5–3 | Lansdowne Park |
| 8 | Sept 5 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 56–28 | 6–3 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 9 | Sept 11 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 13–37 | 6–4 | Commonwealth Stadium |
| 10 | Sept 18 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 35–25 | 7–4 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 11 | Sept 25 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 24–26 | 7–5 | Taylor Field |
| 12 | Oct 1 | vs. BC Lions | L 23–24 | 7–6 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 13 | Oct 6 | at BC Lions | L 21–25 | 7–7 | BC Place |
| 14 | Oct 16 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 29–35 | 7–8 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 15 | Oct 21 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 24–21 | 8–8 | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
| 16 | Oct 29 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | W 23–15 | 9–8 | Lansdowne Park |
| 17 | Nov 6 | at Toronto Argonauts | 9–49 | 9–9 | Exhibition Stadium |

## Postseason
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| East Semi-Final | Nov 13 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 28–35 | 0–1 | Winnipeg Stadium | |

## Awards and honours

* Ralph Sazio was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a Builder on March 5, 1988.
* CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Grover Covington (DE)

### 1988 CFL All-Stars

* DE – Grover Covington
* DB – Howard Fields
* DT – Mike Walker
* ST – Earl Winfield