# 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders season

The 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders was the club's 80th year of operation, 75th season of play, and its 32nd season in the Canadian Football League. The team finished in third place in the CFL West Division with a 9–9 record. The Roughriders defeated the Calgary Stampeders in the West Semi-Final and then defeated the heavily-favoured Edmonton Eskimos who had finished with a CFL-record 16 regular season wins. Due to their West Final win, the Roughriders qualified for their first Grey Cup game since the club's loss in the 1976 championship game.
In the 77th Grey Cup, the team faced the 12–6 Hamilton Tiger-Cats who had already defeated the Roughriders in both regular season matches. However, the Roughriders kept it a close game and ultimately won with a Dave Ridgway field goal to win the championship. It was Saskatchewan's first Grey Cup win in 23 years (since the 1966 Grey Cup), and only their second in team history.

## Offseason
### CFL Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | 2 | Kevin Smellie | RB | Massachusetts |
| 1 | 3 | Andrew Thomas | CB | Massachusetts |
| 1 | 4 | Donovan Wright | CB | Slippery Rock |
| 2 | 9 | Dan Payne | DT | Simon Fraser |
| 5 | 36 | Rob Zimmerman | FB | Calgary |
| 7 | 52 | Kelly Trithart | LB | Saskatchewan |
| 8 | 60 | Greg Galan | QB | Saskatchewan |

## Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| A | Sun, June 25 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 37–7 | 1–0 | Gordie Howe Bowl | 1,500 |
| B | Wed, June 28 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 28–24 | 1–0 | Winnipeg Stadium | 18,988 |
| C | Tues, July 4 | at BC Lions | L 13–30 | 1–1 | BC Place | 38,492 |

## Regular season
### Standings

West Division :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 644 | 302 | 32 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 495 | 466 | 20 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 547 | 567 | 18 |
| BC Lions | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 521 | 557 | 14 |

### Schedule

| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 1 | Wed, July 12 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 32–29 | 1–0 | Taylor Field | 21,595 |
| 2 | 2 | Tues, July 18 | at BC Lions | W 42–37 | 2–0 | BC Place | 41,427 |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, July 28 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 17–34 | 2–1 | Taylor Field | 25,996 |
| 4 | 4 | Wed, Aug 2 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 29–27 | 3–1 | Winnipeg Stadium | 21,753 |
| 5 | 5 | Mon, Aug 7 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 58–22 | 4–1 | Taylor Field | 22,194 |
| 6 | 6 | Fri, Aug 18 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 40–46 | 4–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 19,336 |
| 7 | 7 | Thu, Aug 24 | vs. BC Lions | L 25–37 | 4–3 | Taylor Field | 23,544 |
| 8 | 8 | Wed, Aug 30 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 19–45 | 4–4 | Commonwealth Stadium | 31,667 |
| 8 | 9 | Sun, Sept 3 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 20–28 | 4–5 | Taylor Field | 28,315 |
| 9 | 10 | Sat, Sept 9 | at Toronto Argonauts | W 29–24 | 5–5 | SkyDome | 35,281 |
| 10 | 11 | Sun, Sept 17 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | W 48–35 | 6–5 | Taylor Field | 24,776 |
| 11 | 12 | Sun, Sept 24 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 27–36 | 6–6 | Lansdowne Stadium | 17,284 |
| 12 | 13 | Sat, Sept 30 | vs. BC Lions | L 30–32 | 6–7 | Taylor Field | 25,013 |
| 13 | 14 | Sun, Oct 8 | at Calgary Stampeders | W 39–26 | 7–7 | McMahon Stadium | 30,174 |
| 14 | 15 | Sun, Oct 15 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 24–18 | 8–7 | Taylor Field | 20,953 |
| 15 | 16 | Sun, Oct 22 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | L 17–23 | 8–8 | Taylor Field | 25,200 |
| 16 | 17 | Sun, Oct 29 | at Calgary Stampeders | W 34–19 | 9–8 | McMahon Stadium | 20,754 |
| 17 | 18 | Sun, Nov 5 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 17–49 | 9–9 | Commonwealth Stadium | 27,242 |

## Postseason
### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| West Semi-Final | Sun, Nov 12 | at Calgary Stampeders | W 33–26 | 1–0 | McMahon Stadium | 16,286 |
| West Final | Sun, Nov 19 | at Edmonton Eskimos | W 32–21 | 2–0 | Commonwealth Stadium | 35,112 |
| 77th Grey Cup | Sun, Nov 26 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 43–40 | 3–0 | SkyDome | 54,088 |

### Grey Cup

| Teams | 1 Q | 2 Q | 3 Q | 4 Q | Final |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 13 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 40 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 1 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 43 |

#### Grey Cup aftermath

For the Grey Cup celebrations, 18,000 fans showed up at Taylor Field, in minus 10 degree Celsius weather to welcome back the club. A few weeks later, it was revealed that the playoff run nearly bankrupted the team. Instead of a projected $85,000 profit, the Riders lost $195,000 due to the cost of the three road games. General Manager Al Ford declared that the team's debt increased to 1.6 million dollars.

## Awards and honours

* CFL's Coach of the Year, John Gregory
* Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player, Offence: Kent Austin
* Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player, Defence: Chuck Klingbeil
* Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian, Dave Ridgway

### 1989 CFL All-Stars

* WR – Don Narcisse
* LB – Eddie Lowe
* K – Dave Ridgway

### 1989 Western All-Stars

* RB – Tim McCray
* SB – Jeff Fairholm
* WR – Don Narcisse
* OG – Roger Aldag
* DT – James Curry
* DE – Bobby Jurasin
* LB – Eddie Lowe
* DS – Glen Suitor
* K – Dave Ridgway