# 1996 Toronto Argonauts season

The 1996 Toronto Argonauts season was the 107th season for the team since the franchise's inception in 1873. The team finished in first place in the East Division with a 15–3 record and qualified for the playoffs after missing out during the previous season when they finished 4–14. The 11-win improvement was the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history. Furthermore, the team's 15 regular season wins was the most ever recorded by an Argonaut team until it was surpassed by the 2023 squad 27 years later, which finishing their season with a 16–2 record.
In the playoffs, the Argonauts defeated the newly relocated Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final and qualified for the 84th Grey Cup. Toronto defeated the Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 43–37, the second highest scoring Grey Cup game in history, and won their 13th Grey Cup championship.

## Offseason
### CFL draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 2 | Kelly Wiltshire | CB | James Madison |
| 3 | 20 | L.J. Eiben | WR | Humboldt State |
| 4 | 36 | Tom Hipsz | DE | Toronto |
| 6 | 46 | Tim Biakabutuka | RB | Michigan |
| 7 | 55 | Craig Poole | WR | Windsor |

### Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| A | June 13 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 27–37 (OT) | 0–1 | SkyDome | 13,247 |
| B | June 19 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | W 34–6 | 1–1 | Frank Clair Stadium | 14,024 |

## Regular season
### Season standings

East Division :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 556 | 359 | 30 |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 536 | 467 | 24 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 426 | 576 | 16 |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 352 | 524 | 6 |

### Regular season

| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 1 | June 27 | at Montreal Alouettes | W 27–24 | 1–0 | Olympic Stadium | 24,653 |
| 2 | 2 | July 4 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 36–38 | 1–1 | SkyDome | 26,333 |
| 3 | 3 | July 11 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 35–14 | 2–1 | Winnipeg Stadium | 24,882 |
| 4 | 4 | July 17 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 34–4 | 3–1 | SkyDome | 17,288 |
| 5 | 5 | July 26 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 40–16 | 4–1 | Taylor Field | 24,902 |
| 6 | 6 | Aug 1 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 40–31 | 5–1 | SkyDome | 20,302 |
| 7 | 7 | Aug 8 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 24–21 | 6–1 | SkyDome | 20,030 |
| 8 | 8 | Aug 15 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | W 42–19 | 7–1 | Frank Clair Stadium | 15,220 |
| 9 | 9 | Aug 24 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 28–21 | 8–1 | SkyDome | 17,186 |
| 10 | 10 | Sept 2 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 38–7 | 9–1 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 27,517 |
| 11 | 11 | Sept 8 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 31–13 | 10–1 | SkyDome | 17,576 |
| 12 | 12 | Sept 14 | at BC Lions | L 11–35 | 10–2 | BC Place | 15,323 |
| 13 | 13 | Sept 21 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 23–22 | 11–2 | SkyDome | 27,209 |
| 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 15 | 14 | Oct 5 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 28–12 | 12–2 | SkyDome | 17,310 |
| 16 | 15 | Oct 14 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 23–30 | 12–3 | McMahon Stadium | 27,436 |
| 17 | 16 | Oct 20 | at Edmonton Eskimos | W 24–17 | 13–3 | Commonwealth Stadium | 27,567 |
| 18 | 17 | Oct 27 | vs. BC Lions | W 25–21 | 14–3 | SkyDome | 20,657 |
| 19 | 18 | Nov 2 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 47–14 | 15–3 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 23,001 |

## Postseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| East Final | Sun, Nov 17 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 43–7 | 1–0 | SkyDome | 28,390 |
| Grey Cup | Sun, Nov 24 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 43–37 | 2–0 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 38,595 |

## Awards and records

* Doug Flutie, Most Outstanding Player Award
* Doug Flutie, Terry Evanshen Trophy
* Mike Kiselak, Outstanding Offensive Lineman

### 1996 CFL All-Stars

* QB – Doug Flutie
* FB – Robert Drummond
* C – Mike Kiselak
* OT – Chris Perez
* DT – Rob Waldrop
* ST – Jimmy Cunningham
WR- Terrance Lawrence