Baltimore Stallions The Baltimore Stallions was a Canadian football team based in Baltimore , Maryland , which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons . They were the most successful American team in the Canadian Football League having two winning seasons , a division title and , in 1995 , became the only American team to win the Grey Cup . History . 1994 season . Owner Jim Speros ' approach was simple : he knew that Canadian football was different from the American game , and therefore made a point of hiring personnel and players with CFL experience . Speros made Jim Popp general manager of the new team , and named the legendary Don Matthews as head coach . Popp and Matthews , in turn , brought in experienced players like QB Tracy Ham , RB Mike Pringle , LB O . J . Brigance , DT Jerald Bayliss , DE Elfrid Payton and former National Football League veteran K Donald Igwebuike . However , the franchise quickly ran into trouble , becoming known as the " team without a name . " Speros had started calling his new franchise the Baltimore CFL Colts and the NFL sued because of possible public confusion with their Indianapolis Colts , who had played in Baltimore from 1953 until 1983 . The NFL won an injunction because the CFL version of the Baltimore Colts didn ' t want to go bankrupt fighting it , and the franchise became known as the Baltimore Football Club ( Baltimore F . C . ) , sometimes called the Baltimore CFLers . The team ' s fan base resisted the change ; for most of the ' 94 season , the public address announcer at Memorial Stadium , Jack Taylor , would announce the team as " your Baltimore CFL . . . " followed by a pause , during which time the assembled fans would shout " COLTS ! " , after which he would conclude , " . . . football team . " Even though they lacked an official name , the Baltimore franchise finished second in the CFL East Division with a 12 - 6 regular season record , which became a CFL record for the most wins by an expansion team ; this record still stands today . In addition , the team was ranked third in team scoring and ranked second in team defense . Furthermore , 27 - year old running back , Mike Pringle was the leading rusher with a record 1 , 972 yards and thirteen touchdowns , narrowly missing becoming the first running back to reach 2 , 000 yards in the CFL . Pringle also returned 38 kicks for 814 yards , which made him a CFL All - Star , Eastern All - Star , and a Terry Evanshen Trophy winner . In the playoffs , the Baltimore franchise hosted the Toronto Argonauts in the East semifinals at Memorial Stadium and won the game , 34 - 15 . After the semifinal game , Baltimore ended up defeating the favored Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Winnipeg Stadium 14 - 12 to become the first American and expansion team to make it to the Grey Cup . In their first two playoff games , Mike Pringle would rush for 165 yards going into the Grey Cup game . In the Grey Cup game , Baltimore was up against the B . C . Lions at BC Place Stadium . Baltimore had the upper hand against the Lions , leading 17 - 10 at halftime and silencing the Lions ' faithful ; however , the Lions came back in the second half , winning by a score of 26 - 23 on a last - second Lui Passaglia field goal . One of the key strategies in the Lions ' victory was limiting Pringle to just 71 rushing yards in the game . Cornerback Karl Anthony became the first player on the losing team to be awarded the Grey Cup ' s Most Valuable Player . 1994 accomplishments . After the season , the Baltimore players received many awards and accomplishments in the CFL : Divisional Awards CFL Awards 1994 Eastern All - Stars " Offense " " Defense " " Special Teams " 1994 CFL All - Stars " Offense " " Defense " " Special Teams " 1995 season . After the 1994 season , a name - the - team fan poll was held to decide a new team name . After the team ' s first week of the season being known as the Baltimore Football Club , the fan poll ended and Jim Speros announced to the Baltimore faithful that their team would be known as the Baltimore Stallions . Situations changed for the Stallions when the CFL decided to add teams in Memphis and Birmingham . In addition , their expansion cousins the Las Vegas Posse folded , while the Sacramento Gold Miners relocated to San Antonio as the San Antonio Texans . The CFL decided that with five U . S . teams ( including the financially challenged Shreveport Pirates ) in their league , it was appropriate to re - align their two divisions and to place all the U . S . teams in the new South Division , while the Canadian teams were in the North Division . Despite the changes to their name and to the league environment , the Baltimore Stallions returned with virtually the same roster . The exception was the signing of former Posse kicker Carlos Huerta to replace Donald Igwebuike , who moved on to play with Memphis . By keeping the same players from the ' 94 season , optimism and Grey Cup expectations were high for the Stallions . Optimism became reality as Baltimore continued their on - field dominance from the previous season by finishing with a 15 - 3 regular season record , finishing first in the South Division and tying for the best record in the league with Calgary . Quarterback Tracy Ham with Mike Pringle and Robert Drummond were the most potent backfield in the CFL . Chris Armstrong became the team ' s top receiver and the defense continued dominating opponents by allowing only 369 points - against , ranking the squad third in team defense . Mike Pringle had a slight drop - off from his ' 94 numbers by rushing for 1 , 791 yards , while his yards - per - carry fell to 5 . 8 from 6 . 4 in ' 94 . However , Pringle ' s statistics were still better than most running backs ' stats in the league that year and he was named the CFL ' s Most Outstanding Player and would rise to the occasion in the playoffs . After rolling over Winnipeg 36 - 21 in the divisional semifinals , Don Matthews and his team easily handled the San Antonio Texans in the Southern finals , winning the game 21 - 11 to advance to the Grey Cup for the second straight season . The Stallions were headed to Regina ' s Taylor Field to face the 15 - 3 North Division champion Calgary Stampeders , who were led by coach Wally Buono , QB Doug Flutie , and his two top receivers , Allen Pitts and Dave Sapunjis . During the Grey Cup game , the winds at Taylor Field were particularly strong and gusted up to 85 km / h ( 52 . 8 mph ) . That didn ' t slow down the Stallions , as they opened the game with a Chris Wright 82 - yard punt return touchdown ( a Grey Cup record ) just 2 : 20 into the game . After Calgary responded by scoring the next 13 points to take a 13 - 7 lead , Baltimore replied with four consecutive scores , including three Carlos Huerta field goals against the wind , the longest from 53 yards ( another Grey Cup record ) . O . J . Brigance blocked a Calgary punt with just under eight minutes to go in the half ; it was scooped up by Alvin Walton at the five . He dove over for Baltimore ' s lone touchdown of the half . In the third quarter after a Baltimore single , Flutie managed to score a touchdown on a one - yard plunge , but it was the last scoring for Calgary as the Stallions ' defense managed to shut down the league ' s top - ranked offense . Stallions quarterback Tracy Ham responded by throwing 213 yards with a touchdown of his own , while Huerta kicked two more field goals to round out Baltimore ' s scoring as they dominated the Stampeders for a 37 - 20 victory to become the first American team to win the Grey Cup . Pringle was a playoff workhorse and ran for 484 yards and four touchdowns in all three playoff games . After the game , Tracy Ham became the Grey Cup ' s Most Valuable Player . However , as discussed below , celebrations for the franchise was short - lived after their Grey Cup triumph . 1995 accomplishments . After the season , other Baltimore Stallions ' received awards and accomplishments in the CFL , which are : Divisional Awards CFL Awards 1995 Southern All - Stars " Offense " " Defense " " Special Teams " 1995 CFL All - Stars " Offense " " Defense " " Special Teams " Off the field . Overall , Baltimore had strong dedicated ownership and experienced CFL personnel and players . These factors made it the most successful American team in the CFL , especially when they became the 1995 Grey Cup champions . Unlike the other American teams in the CFL , the Baltimore Stallions had a strong fan base and had strong attendance numbers , averaging 37 , 347 in 1994 ( first in the CFL ) and 30 , 112 in 1995 ( second in the CFL ) . In the end . After the 1995 season , the CFL decided to disband all American franchises with the exception of the Stallions and Texans . However , not long after that Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced he was moving his team to Baltimore . This would have made the Stallions the only CFL team to compete directly with the NFL . While the Stallions had been a runaway hit , Speros knew they could not hope to go head - to - head with an NFL team and announced plans to move . After scouting out Norfolk , Virginia , and Houston , Texas , Speros decided to move the franchise to Montreal and the team became the third incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes . After owning the team for one more season Speros sold the Montreal Alouettes to Robert C . Wetenhall in 1997 . The Alouettes have since become one of the league ' s most successful franchises , winning the Grey Cup in 2002 , 2009 and 2010 .