42nd Grey Cup The 42nd Grey Cup football game was played on November 27 , 1954 , before a full house ( 27 , 321 in attendance ) at Varsity Stadium in Toronto , Canada . The underdog Edmonton Eskimos won a contest over the Montreal Alouettes by the score of 26 to 25 . The game , replete with record performances and a touch of controversy , is considered one of the finest Grey Cup games ever . Box score . First Quarter Edmonton – TD – Earl Lindley 4 - yard pass from Rollie Miles ( Bob Dean convert ) Montreal – TD – Red O ' Quinn 90 - yard pass from Sam Etcheverry ( Ray Poole convert ) Edmonton – TD – Bernie Faloney 1 - yard run ( convert no good ) Second Quarter Edmonton – FG – Bob Dean 37 yards Montreal – TD – Red O ' Quinn 14 - yard pass from Sam Etcheverry ( Ray Poole convert ) Montreal – TD – Chuck Hunsinger 8 - yard run ( Ray Poole convert ) Third Quarter Montreal – Rouge – Ray Poole 17 - yard missed FG Fourth Quarter Montreal – TD – Joey Pal 13 - yard pass from Sam Etcheverry ( Ray Poole convert ) Edmonton – TD – Glenn Lippman 14 - yard run ( Bob Dean convert ) Edmonton – TD – Jackie Parker 90 - yard fumble return ( Bob Dean convert ) Game summary . The Eskimos entered the game as clear underdogs , with one television announcer speculating that the betting odds were 5 to 1 against them ( this in a day when such speculation was not yet forbidden ) . The Montreal Alouettes were led by their record - breaking quarterback Sam Etcheverry , who teamed with receiver Johnny " Red " O ' Quinn to form one of Canadian football ' s legendary pass - and - catch tandems . When combined with an all - star lineup , including Alex Webster , Hal Patterson , Joey Pal , the hulking Tex Coulter and Herb Trawick , the Als won 11 games against 3 losses , and swept the Hamilton Tiger Cats in both playoff games . Though not favoured , Edmonton ' s appearance was no fluke , as their 11 - win - and - 5 - loss record attests . They beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2 games to 1 in the division final series . Led by a future Hall of Fame backfield that included quarterback Bernie Faloney , Jackie Parker , Normie Kwong and Rollie Miles , they were all the more dangerous given that both Parker and Miles could throw on the option as effectively as their nominal quarterback . Edmonton opened with an impressive field - long drive that ended with a Miles to Earl Lindley passing touchdown . Most impressive was that Miles , Faloney and Parker all took turns passing the ball , with the backs regularly utilizing the option . Normie Kwong took responsibility for the north - south running game , for which he , with his low centre of gravity , was so well suited . The Alouettes responded quickly and spectacularly , with a 90 - yard pass - and - run touchdown . Etcheverry threw his " jump " pass , which was literally a pass thrown at the top of a leap taken right after the snap and right behind the centre . His quick release allowed him to hit a streaking O ' Quinn about 10 to 15 yards into the secondary , and being on the fly , it caught the Eskimos flat - footed . Jackie Parker , no slouch himself when it came to fleet feet and spaghetti legs , actually caught O ' Quinn at the three - yard line , but Red managed to slide to a touchdown . Under today ' s rules he would have been considered tackled . Picking up where they left off , the Eskimos engineered another impressive drive , which led to a Faloney one - yard touchdown plunge . This was aided by a pass interference call , in a game where there were few penalties called . Faloney took a high snap on the convert and could not run it in . The Alouettes showed their expertise in the second quarter . After an Eskimos field goal from Bob Dean , the Larks produced two touchdowns . The first drive ended with yet another O ' Quinn reception . The second came at the hands and feet of former NFL first - round draft choice Chuck Hunsinger , on an eight - yard run . In the third quarter the Als could muster only a single rouge on a missed field goal . Into the fourth quarter Joey Pal hauled in a bullet Etcheverry pass to put the Als up 25 to 14 . The Eskimos came back to life with a drive that ended with a slashing Glenn Lippman reverse field dash for a touchdown . Not to be outdone , the Als marched right back down the field . With first and ten on the Eskimos ' 10 - yard line and three minutes remaining , Etcheverry handed the ball off to Hunsinger , who was almost immediately corralled about 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage . In the game ' s most famous and controversial play he apparently fumbled and Parker snagged the ball on the 20 - yard line , in full flight . Etcheverry had no chance to catch him , and he ran 90 yards for the touchdown . With Dean ' s convert , the score was 26 to 25 . There were still three minutes left in the game , and Etcheverry quickly moved his team downfield . Etcheverry passed to Red O ' Quinn at the Eskimos 35 - yard line and he quickly spun to face downfield . He was hit and the ball fell to the ground , to be recovered by the Eskimos , who held on to win . The controversy . The biggest play of the game , and perhaps Grey Cup history , and certainly of Jackie Parker ' s storied career , was the Chuck Hunsinger fumble . However some fans and analysts question whether it was really a fumble at all . Close examination of the game film shows the ball apparently propelled towards the back of the Alouette who is about 5 yards ahead of Hunsinger . This would be his lineman , Ray Cicia . Cicia had his back to Hunsinger , and being an offensive lineman , was an ineligible receiver , but if Hunsinger did attempt to pass the ball , the play should have been whistled dead and Montreal given a penalty . Had Montreal retained possession they would have almost certainly scored at least a single . While Hunsinger has gone down in Grey Cup lore as the " goat " of the game , this is most certainly an unfair conclusion . Many forget that it was Red O ' Quinn ' s fumble that sealed the Als ' fate and even this fumble is controversial . Als supporters argue that O ' Quinn didn ' t have possession of the ball , and it was an incomplete pass , not a fumble . Trivia . There are several Grey Cup records from this game that still stand today . Jackie Parker ' s classic 90 - yard fumble recovery is still the longest ever . Red O ' Quinn ' s amazing 13 receptions for 316 yards has not been equalled . Montreal ' s 656 yards total offence is still the best team performance . This was the first Grey Cup game to be broadcast on television , by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . ( CBC ) The cold and increasing muddy field conditions contributed to the many fumbles and interceptions that occurred . This was the first of 11 Grey Cup clashes between Edmonton and Montreal . The Eskimos have won in 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , 1975 , 1978 , 1979 , 2003 and 2005 ' s overtime thriller . The Larks have prevailed in 1974 , the Ice Bowl of 1977 , and 2002 . The Eskimos versus Alouettes rivalry is one of the most enduring and exciting in modern Canadian professional sports . Contrasted to another famous match up , the Montreal Canadiens versus the Toronto Maple Leafs ( who have met in the Stanley Cup final only 5 times , and last in 1967 ) , the hockey clash seems bland by comparison .