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{{Short description|Canadian football team based in Toronto, Canada}}

{{Redirect|Double Blue|the sporting award given at some Commonwealth universities|Blue (university sport)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox American football team
| name = Toronto Argonauts
| current = 2025 Toronto Argonauts season
| uniform = CFL TOR Jersey.png
| uniformsize = 240px
| helmet = 
| logo = Toronto Argonauts logo.svg
| logosize = 175px
| founded = {{start date and age|1873|10|04}}
| location = [[Toronto, Ontario]], Canada
| field = [[BMO Field]]
| league = [[Canadian Football League]]
| division = [[East Division (CFL)|East]]
| colours = Cambridge Blue, Oxford Blue<ref>{{cite news|author=Argonauts Media Relations|title=THE BOAT IS BACK!|url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2020/11/16/boat-back-argos-unveil-new-primary-logo/|publisher=CFL Enterprises LP|website=Argonauts.ca|date=November 16, 2020|access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=CFL.ca Staff|title=THE BOAT IS BACK: ARGOS SET SAIL WITH MODERN TAKE ON CLASSIC LOGO|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2020/11/16/back-boat-argos-set-sail-modern-take-classic-logo/|publisher=CFL Enterprises LP|website=CFL.ca|date=November 16, 2020|access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Toronto Argonauts Team Information & History|chapter-url=https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-CFL-Guide-Book.pdf#page=22|title=2024 CFL Guide & Record Book|url=https://static.cfl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-CFL-Guide-Book.pdf|publisher=CFL Enterprises LP|date=June 10, 2024|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref><br />{{colour box|#5F8DB5}}&nbsp;{{colour box|#0A2240}}
| nickname = Argos, Boatmen, Double Blue, Scullers, Love Boat<ref name=loveboat>{{cite news|last=O'Leary|first=Chris|title=O'LEARY: ARGOS ARCHITECTS ENCOURAGE FANS TO JOIN 'THE LOVE BOAT|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2017/11/29/oleary-argos-architects-encourage-fans-join-love-boat/|publisher=CFL Enterprises LP|website=CFL.ca|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=May 23, 2019}}</ref>
| coach = ''Vacant''
| manager = [[Pinball Clemons]]
| owner = [[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]]
| league_champ_type = [[Grey Cup]] wins
| league_champs = '''19''' ([[6th Grey Cup|1914]], [[9th Grey Cup|1921]], [[21st Grey Cup|1933]], [[25th Grey Cup|1937]], [[26th Grey Cup|1938]], [[33rd Grey Cup|1945]], [[34th Grey Cup|1946]], [[35th Grey Cup|1947]], [[38th Grey Cup|1950]], [[40th Grey Cup|1952]], [[71st Grey Cup|1983]], [[79th Grey Cup|1991]], [[84th Grey Cup|1996]], [[85th Grey Cup|1997]], [[92nd Grey Cup|2004]], [[100th Grey Cup|2012]], [[105th Grey Cup|2017]], [[109th Grey Cup|2022]], [[111th Grey Cup|2024]])
| mascot = Jason the Argonaut
| website = {{URL|https://www.argonauts.ca/|argonauts.ca}}
}}
The '''Toronto Argonauts''' (officially the '''Toronto Argonaut Football Club''' and colloquially known as the '''Argos''') are a professional [[Canadian football]] team based in [[Toronto]], Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the [[East Division (CFL)|East Division]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). Founded in 1873, the team is the oldest professional sports team in North America still using its original name, as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division.<ref name=CFLFacts>''Canadian Football League Facts, Figures & Records.'' (2009). pg. 23</ref> The team's origins date back to a modified version of [[rugby football]] that emerged in North America in the latter half of the 19th century. The Argonauts played their home games at [[Rogers Centre]] (originally known as SkyDome) from [[1989 Toronto Argonauts season|1989]] until 2016, when the team moved to [[BMO Field]], the fifth stadium site (on the footprint of their third home [[Exhibition Stadium]]) to host the team.

The Argonauts have won the [[Grey Cup]] a record 19 times and have appeared in the final 25 times. Most recently, they defeated the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] 41–24 in the [[111th Grey Cup]] in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-argonauts-defeat-winnipeg-blue-bombers-to-win-2024-grey-cup-1.7113509|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241118074500/https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-argonauts-defeat-winnipeg-blue-bombers-to-win-2024-grey-cup-1.7113509|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 18, 2024|title=Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win 2024 Grey Cup|website=[[CTV News]]|date=November 17, 2024|access-date=November 17, 2024}}</ref> The Argonauts hold the best winning percentage in the championship game (.760)<ref name=glory>{{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/article/by-the-numbers-grey-cup-glory |title=By the numbers Grey Cup glory |date=December 2, 2010 |publisher=CFL |access-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419014653/http://www.cfl.ca/article/by-the-numbers-grey-cup-glory |archive-date=April 19, 2015  }}</ref> and have the longest active winning streak in games in which they have appeared, at eight. The Argonauts have faced every current western CFL team at least once in the Grey Cup, while their most celebrated divisional rivalry has been with the [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]].

The team was founded and owned by the [[Argonaut Rowing Club]] for its first 83 years, and has been owned by a series of business interests since 1956. The Argonauts were a fixture on the Toronto sports scene for decades, with attendance peaking in the 1970s. In May 2015, a consortium of [[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]]'s [[Larry Tanenbaum]] (via the [[Kilmer Group]]) and [[Bell Canada]] reached an agreement to acquire the team. The sale included a scheduled move to the MLSE-run BMO Field for the 2016 season, which had long been proposed given poor attendance at Rogers Centre.<ref name=pr>{{cite news|date=May 20, 2015|access-date=May 20, 2015|title=Bell Canada and Kilmer Group to acquire Argonauts|url=http://argonauts.ca/article/bell-canada-and-kilmer-group-to-acquire-argonauts|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522130512/http://argonauts.ca/article/bell-canada-and-kilmer-group-to-acquire-argonauts|archive-date=May 22, 2015}}</ref> MLSE announced in December 2017 that it had agreed to purchase the team outright, with the deal finalized on January 19, 2018.<ref name="cfl.ca">{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/01/19/mlse-completes-acquisition-argos-name-manning-president/|title=MLSE completes acquisition of Argos; name Manning as President|date=January 19, 2018}}</ref> The previous owners continue to indirectly own stakes in the Argos, as Bell Canada and the Kilmer Group respectively hold 37.5% and 25% stakes in MLSE.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://business.financialpost.com/telecom/mlse-buys-toronto-argos-now-owns-every-major-toronto-sports-team-but-the-blue-jays |title=MLSE buys Toronto Argos, now owns every major Toronto sports team but the Blue Jays |first=Emily |last=Jackson |newspaper=[[National Post]] |date=December 13, 2017 |access-date=December 14, 2017}}</ref>

Given the length of franchise history, dozens of players, coaches, and management have been honoured in some form over the years. The team recognizes a select group of players with retired numbers - early greats [[Joe Krol]] and [[Dick Shatto]], stalwart offensive lineman [[Danny Nykoluk]], and [[Pinball Clemons|Michael "Pinball" Clemons]], who has been the most recent face of the team. 
{{TOClimit|limit=3}}

==Name and colours==
Since the team's foundation in 1873, the Argonauts name has been in continuous use, a record in North American professional sports.<ref name=CFLFacts/> The [[Atlanta Braves]] (1871) franchise of [[Major League Baseball]] is older, but has changed their name and city more than once. The Argonauts are the oldest professional football team in North America.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.argonauts.ca/article/harper-government-white-ribbon-campaign-team-up-with-argos|title= Harper Government & White Ribbon Campaign Team Up With Argos|date= August 22, 2013|publisher= Toronto Argonauts|access-date= December 29, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235049/http://www.argonauts.ca/article/harper-government-white-ribbon-campaign-team-up-with-argos|archive-date= December 30, 2013|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all}}</ref>

The name "Argonauts" is derived from [[Greek mythology]]: according to legend, [[Jason (mythology)|Jason]] and the [[Argonauts]] were a group of heroes who set out to find the [[Golden Fleece]] aboard the ship ''[[Argo]]'' sometime before the [[Trojan War]]. Given its nautical theme, the name Argonaut was adopted by a group of amateur rowers in Toronto in 1872. The [[Argonaut Rowing Club]], which still exists today, went on to found the football club with the same name a year later. Given their roots in a rowing squad, the team is often referred to as "the Boatmen" and less often "the Scullers".<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. p 24.</ref>

In the 19th century, the most renowned rowing teams in the world were from the [[University of Oxford]] and the [[University of Cambridge]] in England. The Toronto rowers, many of whom had associations with the English schools, adopted uniforms incorporating the light blue of Cambridge and the dark blue of Oxford.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.argonautrowingclub.com/Content/About%20Us/Club.asp |title=About Us: 1872–1979 |publisher=Argonaut Rowing Club |access-date=December 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310122253/http://www.argonautrowingclub.com/Content/About%20Us/Club.asp |archive-date=March 10, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> In turn, the footballers adopted the colours and the phrase "double blue" became synonymous with the team.{{refn|group = "note"|name="first"|The team continues to refer to their colours as Oxford blue and Cambridge blue for historical reasons rather than strict colour accuracy. While they have retained the very dark blue associated with Oxford, the light blue of the modern uniforms is close to azure. Cambridge blue is technically a shade of spring green and appears somewhat grayish.}}  Blue has become the [[Sports in Toronto#Toronto's association with the colour blue|traditional colour of top-level teams]] in [[Toronto]], such as the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] and [[Toronto Blue Jays]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fitz-Gerald |first1=Sean |title=Why do the Maple Leafs, Argonauts and other Toronto sports teams wear blue? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2311817/2021/01/20/why-toronto-sports-teams-wear-blue/ |work=The Athletic |publisher=The New York Times |date=20 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127235128/https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2311817/2021/01/20/why-toronto-sports-teams-wear-blue/ |archive-date=27 January 2025 |location=New York NY}}</ref>

The team's other official colour is white. Its current helmet design features a Cambridge blue background, with the team logo featuring a boat incorporating a football.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.argonauts.ca/page/uniforms-and-logos |title=Uniforms and Logos |publisher=Toronto Argonauts |access-date=December 31, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208004648/http://argonauts.ca/page/uniforms-and-logos |archive-date=February 8, 2014  }}</ref>

== History ==

=== 1873–1906 ===
{{quote box|quote="On Sunday afternoon a game of foot ball, Rugby rules, was played on the University ground, between the Argonauts, of Toronto, and the Hamilton club. After a most exciting contest, one goal was secured at five o'clock by the Toronto men, the ball being kicked through the Hamilton flags by Buchanan."|source=[[The Toronto Mail]], October 20, 1873<ref name=FirstGame>{{cite journal |last=Speers |first=Ian |year=2000 |title=The First Game of the Toronto Argonauts: A Discussion |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/coffin_corner/22-04-854.pdf |journal=Coffin Corner |publisher=Pro Football Researchers |volume=22 |issue=4 |access-date=January 15, 2013 |location=Warminster, Pennsylvania |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218181705/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/22-04-854.pdf |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>|align=right|width=30%}}

The first recorded game of what would become known as Canadian football was played in Toronto on November 9, 1861, featuring [[University of Toronto]] students. At the time, the game was a modified version of English [[rugby football|rugby]], which gained popularity throughout the 1860s. Rugby itself was still an infant game having evolved out of association football (soccer) in the 1830s.<ref>Currie (1968). ''100 Years''. pp.&nbsp;15–18.</ref> Seeking a way to keep fit after summer, the Argonaut Rowing Club (ARC) formed their own rugby-football squad on October 4, 1873. The Argonauts Football Club played their first game against Hamilton on October 18 of that year (a victory), beginning a storied rivalry.{{refn|group = "note"|name="second"|Confusion remains over the first Argos match.<ref name=FirstGame/> The CFL continues to report that a game took place on October 11 against the University of Toronto.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cfl.ca/page/his_timeline_1870|title=History (1873)|access-date=January 18, 2014|publisher=[[Canadian Football League]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101063114/http://cfl.ca/page/his_timeline_1870|archive-date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> Citing the "definitive" research of Ian Speers, O'Leary and Parrish refute this and point to the 18th as the first date.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. p 26.</ref> The fact that the Hamilton game was played on the grounds of U of T may have led to a later journalistic error.<ref name=FirstGame/>}} H.T. Glazebrook was their first captain and head coach. Establishment of the football team was formalized by the ARC on September 17, 1874, with a subscription fee of one dollar charged per player.<ref name=Olearyfirst>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;23–28.</ref><ref name=Yearbyyear>{{cite web |url=http://www.argonauts.ca/page/year-by-year-history |title=Year-By-Year History |publisher=Toronto Argonaut Football Club |access-date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208004714/http://argonauts.ca/page/year-by-year-history |archive-date=February 8, 2014  }}</ref>

The football team played a handful of challenge matches—one team inviting another to play—as an amateur squad against university and city teams every year throughout the 1870s, with one dormant year in 1879, likely due to injuries.<ref name=Yearbyyear/> In 1883 the Toronto Football Club, other city teams from Ontario and university squads from Toronto, Queens University and Royal Military College formed the [[Ontario Rugby Football Union]] (ORFU); it was the first rugby football organization with a league and playoff structure in North America.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;31.</ref> The Toronto Football Club were league victors in the first year.<ref name=Sproule>{{cite journal |last=Sproule |first=Robert |year=1980 |title=The Toronto Argonauts to World War I |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-04-031.pdf |journal=Coffin Corner |publisher=Pro Football Researchers |volume=2 |issue=4 |access-date=December 8, 2013 |location=Warminster, Pennsylvania |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218231249/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-04-031.pdf |archive-date=December 18, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Starting in 1884, a "[[Canadian Dominion Football Championship|Dominion Championship]]"—a precursor to the Grey Cup—was held, pitting the victors of the country's two organized leagues, the ORFU and [[Quebec Rugby Football Union]] (QRFU), against each other; it was organized nationally by the [[Football Canada|Canadian Rugby Union]] (CRU) from 1892 onwards. In the [[1884 Dominion Championship|first true national championship]], the [[Montreal Football Club]] defeated the Toronto Football Club on November 6, 1884, by a score of 30–0.<ref name=TorontoMail7>{{cite news|title=The Rugby Championship of Canada Won by Montreal|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LGxNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6690%2C3528949|publisher=[[The Toronto Mail]]|page=6 of 8|date=November 7, 1884|access-date=July 13, 2020}}</ref><ref name=MontrealGazette7>{{cite news|title=Montreal Wins the Football Championship|url=https://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=jKotAAAAIBAJ&sjid=z30FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6706%2C2594898|publisher=[[The Montreal Gazette]]|page=8 of 8|date=November 7, 1884|access-date=July 13, 2020}}</ref> Argonauts lost the [[1901 Dominion Championship|Dominion Title in 1901]] to [[Ottawa Gee-Gees football|Ottawa College]].<ref name=Sproule2>{{cite journal|last=Sproule |first=Robert |year=1985 |title=Ontario Rugby Football Union: 1883–1906 |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/07-An-245.pdf |journal=Coffin Corner |publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association |volume=7 |issue=Annual |access-date=January 2, 2014 |location=Warminster, Pennsylvania |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727185339/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/07-An-245.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2011 }}</ref> The [[Ottawa Rough Riders|Ottawa Football Club]] and the [[Hamilton Tigers (football)|Hamilton Football Club]] were frequent opponents in this era.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Over the thirty years from 1880 onwards, rule changes were incrementally introduced into the game, including the adoption of the line of scrimmage, scoring that began to resemble the modern version, and the down and yardage structure. Popular personalities of the era included player-coach [[Joe Wright Sr.]], one of the best all around Canadian athletes at the turn of the century.<ref name=Oleary32>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pg. 32.</ref> One major outstanding issue within the CRU at the time was the role of professional versus amateur players; this dispute caused the Argonauts to withdraw from the league in 1903 and eventually led to the establishment of a new league, The Big Four or Interprovincial Rugby Football League.<ref name=Sproule/><ref name=Sproule2/> Alongside the professionalism dispute, there was serious disagreement over the adoption of the [[Burnside rules]], with Ontario, Quebec, and the intercollegiate league often not in alignment.<ref>Currie (1968). ''100 Years''. pp.&nbsp;29–32.</ref> Among other critical innovations, the Burnside rules reduced the number of men per side to 12 and introduced the ten yards in three downs structure that is central to the modern game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/page/his_timeline_1900 |title=History (1903) |access-date=February 18, 2014 |publisher=[[Canadian Football League]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109145244/http://cfl.ca/page/his_timeline_1900 |archive-date=November 9, 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:1906 Toronto Argonauts team photo.jpg|thumb|1906 Toronto Argonauts|alt=Black and white team photo, with fourteen men dressed in football uniforms and two men dressed in suits]]

The Argonauts merged with the Toronto Football Club in 1905, and [[W. A. Hewitt]] was manager of the Argonauts until 1907.<ref name="Sullivan-dec-08-1953">{{cite news|title=After 60 Years In Sport: 500 Sportsmen To Honor William "Billy" Hewitt|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist)|date=December 8, 1953|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=19|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-08-1953-2975367/}}{{free access}}; {{cite news|title=Sportsmen Honour W. A. (Billy) Hewitt at Dinner Tonight|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist)|agency=[[The Canadian Press]]|date=December 8, 1953|newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010768/hewitt-1953/}}{{free access}}</ref> He was also vice-president of the ORFU for the 1905 and 1906 seasons,<ref>{{cite news|title=Sport Review|date=December 7, 1904|newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97029085/hewitt-1904/}}{{free access}}</ref><ref name="dec-5-1906">{{cite news|title=The Sport Review|date=December 5, 1906|newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97031382/hewitt-1906/}}{{free access}}</ref> and sought for ORFU to have uniform rules of play with the CRU, with a preference to use the [[Snap (gridiron football)|snap-back]] system of play.<ref>{{cite news|title=Meet In Kingston|date=December 11, 1905|newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97031138/hewitt-1905/}}{{free access}}</ref> When the CRU did not adopt the snap-back system, his motion was approved for the ORFU to adopt the CRU rules in 1906.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Sport Review|date=December 11, 1906|newspaper=[[The Kingston Whig-Standard]]|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97031447/hewitt-1906/}}{{free access}}</ref>

=== 1907–1952 ===
In December 1906, ''[[Montreal Gazette|The Gazette]]'' reported that a proposal originated from Ottawa for the ORFU and the QRFU to merge, which would allow for higher calibre of play and create rivalries.<ref name="dec-5-1906" /> Hewitt helped organize the meeting which established the [[East Division (CFL)|Interprovincial Rugby Football Union]] (IRFU) in 1907.<ref name="Sullivan-dec-08-1953" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Dapper Little Hewitt Hasn't Got An Enemy|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist)|date=January 13, 1961|newspaper=[[Winnipeg Free Press]]|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=24|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-13-1961-2990427/}}{{free access}}</ref> Seeking looser rules regarding the employment of professional players, Toronto and other cities split from the ORFU and formed the IRFU, along with Hamilton, Ottawa, and Montreal.<ref name=Sproule/>

The IRFU continued under the larger auspices of the Canadian Rugby Union. Beginning in 1909, the CRU champion was awarded the [[Grey Cup]], with the Big Four competing against university squads and eventually teams from Western Canada. The Argonauts first competed for the [[3rd Grey Cup|Cup in 1911]], losing 14 to 7 to the University of Toronto in front of a then record 13,687 spectators at the newly opened [[Varsity Stadium]]. The team claimed their first championship in 1914, exacting revenge on U of T with a 14 to 2 victory. Their star runner and kicker in their first championship year was [[Jack O'Connor (Canadian football)|Jack O'Connor]], who scored a league record 44 points.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pg. 36.</ref>
[[Image:Argos v Rough Riders 1924.jpg|left|thumb|The Argonauts (in stripes) playing the Ottawa Rough Riders at Varsity Stadium in 1924]]
After play was halted during World War I, the Argos again achieved success in the early 1920s on the back of one Canada's greatest ever sportsmen. [[Lionel Conacher]], the "Big Train", led the team to two perfect 6–0 seasons in 1921 and 1922. In the first season he accounted for 85 of his team's 167 points, and 15 of the points in the [[9th Grey Cup|Grey Cup game]], a 23–0 drubbing of the [[Edmonton Elks|Edmonton Eskimos]]. It was the first east-west Grey Cup championship in Canadian history.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Braunwart |first=Bob |title=Lionel Conacher: Canada's Answer to Jim Thorpe |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-11-076.pdf |publisher=Pro Football Researchers |volume=3 |issue=11 |journal=Coffin Corner |access-date=January 18, 2013 |author2=Bob Carroll |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226105605/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-11-076.pdf |archive-date=February 26, 2012 |location=Warminster, Pennsylvania |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 1921 Grey Cup victory was their last until 1933, at which point the Argonauts became the dominant team of an increasingly nationwide sport. They put together a number of Grey Cup dynasties in the 1930s and 1940s, winning eight of twenty Grey Cups between 1933 and 1952. The [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] were most often on the receiving end of Argo Grey Cup victories in this era.<ref name=GreyCups>{{cite web|url=http://greycup.cfl.ca/grey-cup-recaps |title=Grey Cup Recaps |access-date=December 24, 2013 |publisher=Canadian Football League |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607060727/http://greycup.cfl.ca/grey-cup-recaps |archive-date=June 7, 2012 }}</ref> From 1933 to 1941 [[Lew Hayman]] coached the team with a still unparalleled winning ratio of 45–15–2. Their first back-to-back Grey Cups came in 1937 and 1938. This was also the era of the famed Stukus brothers—[[Annis Stukus|Annis]], [[Bill Stukus|Bill]], and [[Frank Stukus|Frank]]—who proved a potent all-purpose trio in the Argonauts' championship years.<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pg. 59.</ref>

[[Joe Krol|Joe "King" Krol]] and [[Royal Copeland (Canadian football)|Royal Copeland]], the so-called '[[Gold Dust Twins]]', were the best-known players of the 1940s. In an era where players still played multiple positions, they were a threat in every capacity: running, passing, catching, kicking, and playing defence. Often connecting with each other for points, they led the Argos to a Grey Cup threepeat between 1945 and 1947.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;51–52.</ref> In 1948, the team broke a cultural barrier with the signing of [[Ken Whitlock]] as not only their first import player in quite some time but also their first ever black player.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2021/02/02/untold-story-ken-whitlock-first-black-argonaut |title=THE UNTOLD STORY OF KEN WHITLOCK, THE FIRST BLACK ARGONAUT|last=Hogan|first=Mike|publisher=argonauts.ca|date=February 2, 2021|access-date=February 3, 2021}}</ref> Whitlock played only 4 games as a halfback & punter before getting released from the team, but his signing also ushered a new era for player acquisitions. 1949 and 1950 marked a watershed in Argonauts history as the team began large scale importation of American players for the first time.<ref>{{cite news|title=Argos Finally Yield: Plan to Sign U.S. Imports|date=April 21, 1949|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|last=Walker|first=Hal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=New Deal Argos, Paced by Imports, Defuse Winnipeg Bombers, 23–11|date=August 12, 1949|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|last=Walker|first=Hal}}</ref> In 1950, the Argos signed their second ever black player after Whitlock, [[Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis]]. Curtis played five strong years with the team as their featured running back.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/argonauts-mourn-death-of-former-rb-ulysses-curtis-1.2303509|date=October 31, 2013|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |title=Argonauts mourn death of former RB Ulysses Curtis|access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Toronto Argonauts win Grey Cup 1950 in Mud Bowl Varsity Stadium.webm|thumb|Toronto Argonauts win Grey Cup 1950 in Mud Bowl Varsity Stadium]]
[[Frank Clair]] was brought in as coach in 1950 and left his mark on the revamped roster; he led the team to Grey Cup wins in 1950 and 1952.<ref>{{cite news|title=Argos Import Frank Clair For 2-Year Coaching Term|date=February 9, 1950| newspaper=The Globe and Mail|last=Walker|first=Hal}}</ref><ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pp. 10–15</ref> The first of these was a 13–0 victory over Winnipeg in the notorious [[38th Grey Cup|Mud Bowl]]. A November snowstorm followed by mild conditions turned Varsity Stadium into a bog and the play was a shambles; one Winnipeg player is reported to have almost drowned in the muck.<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pp. 15–21</ref>

At some time during this period, the phrase "Argo Bounce" came to refer to the Argonauts' propensity to receive a lucky bounce of the football. The phrase may date to the Grey Cups of the 1930s, all of which featured improbable bounces and fumbles favouring the Argos; the phrase was popularized in print by Annis Stukus in the 1940s. It is still in use today, with a number of fortunate on-field happenings attributed to the "bounce".<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;13–18.</ref>

===1953–1988===
The three decades after the [[40th Grey Cup|1952 Grey Cup]] victory have been called the Argonauts' Dark Ages.<ref name=Oleary81>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pg. 81.</ref> A year after winning the Grey Cup, the Argos crashed to dead last in the Big Four. It was the start of a 31-year stretch without a Grey Cup, and for the first 19 of those years, they only got as far as the second round of the playoffs. Part of the reason was a [[salary cap]] introduced in 1953 that cost them many talented players. For the first time in decades, they were a fixture at or near the bottom of the East.<ref name=Oleary81/> The management style under new owner [[John W. H. Bassett]] has also been blamed: young talent was traded or allowed to leave and the team could not form a nucleus of championship players; coaches came and went rapidly.<ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pp.&nbsp;108–109</ref> Two notable events occurred off-field at the end of the 1950s. In 1958 the Argonauts became a founding member of the [[Canadian Football League]] and a year later found a new home at [[Exhibition Stadium]].{{refn|group = "note"|name="third"|[[Chicago Cardinals–Toronto Argonauts exhibition game|The inaugural game]] at Exhibition Stadium was an inter-league match against the NFL's Chicago Cardinals. The Argos played two more exhibition games against NFL clubs in the next two years and were losers in all three. The games were part of a [[List of National Football League games played outside the United States|wider series]] of interleague match-ups between CFL and NFL teams held during this era.}}
[[File:Grey Cup circa 2006.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Argonauts have won a record 19 Grey Cups, but suffered through a 31-year championship drought from 1952 to 1983.]]
The Argonauts did have some standout players in the 1950s and 1960s. The stalwart of the era was [[Dick Shatto]], an [[Ohio]]an who played twelve seasons from 1954 to 1965. Listed as a running back, Shatto was a dual threat to run and receive and continues to hold the team regular season records for touchdowns (91) and total yards gained (6,958).<ref name=ArgoRecords>{{cite web |url = http://www.argonauts.ca/page/history-stats |title = Historical Stats: Team/Individual Records and Awards |publisher = Toronto Argonauts |access-date = December 25, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140104180709/http://www.argonauts.ca/page/history-stats |archive-date = January 4, 2014 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> Living in Toronto year round, Shatto set down deep roots in the city and eventually became the Argonauts' general manager.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pg. 90.</ref> Another American, [[Tobin Rote]], set numerous passing marks in three years at quarterback from 1960 to 1962. Known for his good living off the field, Rote still holds the Argos single game passing record with 524 yards against Montreal on August 19, 1960.<ref name=ArgoRecords/><ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;84–87.</ref> A pillar on the offensive line was [[Danny Nykoluk]] at tackle, whose career spanned 17 seasons from 1954 to 1971, including one stretch of 12 years where he did not miss a single game.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/n/nykoluk_dan.htm |title = Danny Nykoluk |publisher = CFLapedia |access-date= December 28, 2013 }}</ref> Despite the presence of these veterans, the era was marked by losing seasons and high attrition on the roster. By the 1960s, the annual (and often desperate) mid-season addition of American imports had become known as the "Argo airlift"; American imports often did not last a game before being cut.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19660815&id=VrwyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6372,3997451|title=Argo airlift in full swing|date=August 15, 1966|access-date=January 15, 2014 |work=[[Ottawa Citizen]]}}</ref><ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pg. 83</ref>

Eventually, the team became competitive again under head coach [[Leo Cahill]] in the late 1960s. They scored a coup over the [[National Football League]] (NFL) with the signing of a young [[Joe Theismann]] (and other American stars) in 1971. The team also saw an attendance bounce, consistently selling out Exhibition Stadium.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;96–99.</ref> The Boatmen's best chance to end their Grey Cup drought came [[1971 Toronto Argonauts season|that year]], when they faced the [[Calgary Stampeders]] in the [[59th Grey Cup]], the first to be played on artificial turf. In a defensive struggle at Vancouver's soggy [[Empire Stadium (Vancouver)|Empire Stadium]], a now infamous late fumble by [[Leon McQuay|Leon "X-Ray" McQuay]] and a possession-changing kick out of bounds by [[Harry Abofs]] sealed a 14–11 Stampeder victory.<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pp. 107–113</ref>

Aside from 1971, the 1970s were tumultuous for the team, with numerous hirings and firings of head coaches and consistent losing records. There were stellar players over this era, including defensive all-stars such as [[Jim Stillwagon]], [[Jim Corrigall]], and [[Granville Liggins|Granville "Granny" Liggins]], but the team could not return to winning form.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;119–126.</ref> High-profile moves such as hiring Canadian football icon [[Russ Jackson]] as head coach in 1975 or signing running back superstar [[Anthony Davis (running back, born 1952)|Anthony Davis]] the next year turned into busts.<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. Chapter 7.</ref> Ironically, the Argos reached historic attendance highs in this losing decade—regular season average per game attendance reached 47,356 in 1976.<ref name=HomeAttendance>{{cite web |url = http://www.argonauts.ca/page/home-attendance |title = Home Attendance |publisher = Toronto Argonauts |access-date = December 26, 2013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131227091023/http://www.argonauts.ca/page/home-attendance |archive-date = December 27, 2013 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> The enlargement and reconfiguration of Exhibition Stadium over 1975 and 1976 in anticipation and preparation of the Blue Jays expansion baseball team (who began play in 1977) allowed for these massive crowds.<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pp. 131–132.</ref>
[[File:Toronto Argonauts vs Hamilton Ti-Cats kickoff at Exhibition Stadium Fall of 1971.jpg|thumb|Argonauts vs Tiger-Cats at Exhibition Stadium in fall of 1971]]
The Argos reached an all-time low in [[1981 Toronto Argonauts season|1981]] when they finished 2–14; this despite having such talented players as quarterback [[Condredge Holloway]], running back [[Cedric Minter]], and receiver [[Terry Greer]].<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp. 126–129.</ref> The team began the year 0–10 and there was talk of a "perfect" losing season. The team had been inept so long by this point (29 seasons without a Grey Cup win) that the notion of an "Argo Bounce" had become inverted; now "it was the unluckiest bounce in the world, the one that usually arose from the Argos' uncanny ability to lose critical games in the dying minutes by committing an improbable blunder."<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pg. 3.</ref>

However, with the [[1982 Toronto Argonauts season|1982 season]] came the hiring of [[Bob O'Billovich]] as head coach and [[Mouse Davis]] as offensive co-ordinator. Davis implemented the [[run and shoot offense]],<ref>Teitel (1983). ''The Argo Bounce''. pp. 202–203.</ref> and the Argos enjoyed a turnaround, going 9–6–1 that year; Condredge Holloway was the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award|CFL's most outstanding player]]. The team ultimately fell short in their quest for a Grey Cup, losing 32–16 in a driving rainstorm to the mighty [[Edmonton Eskimos]] (in the last of their five consecutive Grey Cup titles) in the final in front of a disappointed crowd at Exhibition Stadium.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish. ''Double Blue''. pp. 129–131</ref> The [[1983 Toronto Argonauts season|1983 season]] finally brought the championship home. The Argos finished 12–4 and Terry Greer set a CFL record with 2,003 receiving yards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_receiving |title=Regular Season All-Time Records |publisher=CFL |access-date=January 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227130044/http://www.cfl.ca/page/stats_indrec_receiving |archive-date=February 27, 2009 }}</ref> [[Joe Barnes]] and Condredge Holloway were a potent duo at quarterback. The Double Blue returned to the [[71st Grey Cup|Grey Cup]], this time facing the [[BC Lions]] at [[BC Place]] Stadium in [[Vancouver]]. Despite the hostile crowd, Toronto defeated BC 18–17 to win their first Grey Cup since 1952. The Argos were generally competitive for the remainder of the 1980s, thanks in large part to talented players such as [[Gill Fenerty|Gill "The Thrill" Fenerty]] and [[Darrell K. Smith]],<ref>O'Leary & Parrish. ''Double Blue''. pp. 131–135.</ref> but a return to the glory of 1983 proved elusive (outside of an appearance in the 1987 Grey Cup game, in which they lost in the last minute to the Edmonton Eskimos 38–36).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Edmonton Eskimos' Grey Cups: No. 10 - 1987 |url=https://edmontonsun.com/2015/11/26/edmonton-eskimos-grey-cups-no-10---1987 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704203351/https://edmontonsun.com/2015/11/26/edmonton-eskimos-grey-cups-no-10---1987 |archive-date=2024-07-04 |access-date=2025-06-15 |work=edmontonsun |language=en-CA}}</ref>

===1989–2015 ===
The [[1989 Toronto Argonauts season|1989 season]] saw the Argonauts move into [[SkyDome]], a [[multi-purpose stadium|multi-purpose]] downtown stadium with a retractable roof. It marked the beginning of an eventful few years. In 1990, one of the most beloved figures in Toronto sporting history emerged on the team: [[Pinball Clemons|Michael "Pinball" Clemons]] set a CFL record for all purpose yards with 3,300 in his first full year, a record he broke in 1997 with 3,840.<ref name=CFLRecords>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/uploads/assets/CFL/PDF_Docs/Records_2011_Regular_and_Playoffs.pdf |title=Canadian Football League All-Time Records |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=December 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826161932/http://www.cfl.ca/uploads/assets/CFL/PDF_Docs/Records_2011_Regular_and_Playoffs.pdf |archive-date=August 26, 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:CNTower-View-04.jpg|thumb|[[SkyDome]] set up for the Argonauts. The Argonauts played at SkyDome from 1989 to 2015.]]
In 1991 Hollywood prestige arrived in the form of a new ownership trio.  [[Bruce McNall]], owner of the NHL's [[Los Angeles Kings]], bought the team. One of his players, hockey great [[Wayne Gretzky]], became a minority owner, as did Canadian-born comedian [[John Candy]]. The group stunned the league with the signing of [[Raghib Ismail|Raghib "Rocket" Ismail]] for an unheard of $18.2&nbsp;million over four years.<ref name=SI>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Peter |title=The Big Payoff - The Grey Cup was icing for the Toronto Argos, whose success saved the CFL |url=https://www.si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1140085/index.htm |website=www.si.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228082143/https://www.si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1140085/index.htm |archive-date=2013-12-28}}</ref> Ismail immediately impressed, particularly on kickoff returns, and was named player of the game in the [[79th Grey Cup|1991 Grey Cup]], which the Argos won 36–21 over the Calgary Stampeders. Clemons and quarterback [[Matt Dunigan]] (who played the final with a broken collarbone) were the other critical pieces to the championship.<ref name=GreyCups/>

However, the Argos slumped to 6–12 only a year later, beginning a slide that only accelerated when Dunigan and Ismail left after the season.  The [[1992 Toronto Argonauts season|1992 season]] was the first of four consecutive losing seasons; while they made the playoffs in 1994, they were promptly eliminated by the [[Baltimore Stallions]] in the division semi-finals.<ref name=Yearbyyear/> Trouble also struck off the field. McNall put the team on the market in 1993 citing massive losses and the strain of being an absentee owner. [[Labatt Brewing Company]], parent of league broadcast partner [[The Sports Network]], bought the team in May 1994. The sale would have closed sooner if not for Candy's death in March.<ref name=LATimesSale/> McNall would have likely had to sell the team in any event; he confessed to conspiracy and fraud later that year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/12/15/mcnall-pleads-guilty/ |title= McNall Pleads Guilty |date=December 15, 1994 |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune |access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref>

Attendance also began to slide in the mid-1990s, raising questions over the team's viability that persist to this day. The per game average was just above 16,000 in 1994 and 1995, much less than half the team's 1970s peak.<ref name=HomeAttendance/>

Championship material did eventually reemerge in 1996. The team hired [[Don Matthews]], who was fresh off a [[83rd Grey Cup|Grey Cup victory]] with the Baltimore Stallions to be the team's new head coach and signed [[Doug Flutie]], one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history, to a contract and surrounded him with key personnel. The team included linebacker [[Mike O'Shea (Canadian football)|Mike O'Shea]], veteran wide receiver [[Paul Masotti]], and running back [[Robert Drummond (gridiron football)|Robert Drummond]].<ref name=Oleary1>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp.&nbsp;171–172.</ref> [[Derrell Mitchell|Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell]] was added at receiver in 1997. The Boatmen took the Grey Cup in both [[84th Grey Cup|1996]] and [[85th Grey Cup|1997]]. Flutie set team records for single season passing yards with more than 5,500 in each year and for touchdowns thrown with 47 in 1997 (one less than his CFL record of 48) before crossing the border to join the [[Buffalo Bills]] the next year.<ref name=ArgoRecords/> Masotti retired in 1999 as the team's all time pass reception yardage leader.<ref name=Oleary1/> Clemons ended his own successful career in 2000 before returning to coach in 2000 and 2001 to 2007.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zarum |first1=Dave |title=Michael "Pinball" Clemons |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pinball-clemons |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=12 May 2025 |location=Toronto ON |date=26 June 2017}}</ref>

The years after their back-to-back championships saw a return to mediocrity for the Argos. Ticket sales remained flat, and there were changes in ownership. Gimmicks to attract fans were greeted with criticism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/argos-swap-strippers-for-swimsuits-1.281258 |title= Argos swap strippers for swimsuits |date=June 12, 2001 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref> The Argos seemingly bottomed out in July 2003 when the CFL stripped control over the team from owner [[Sherwood Schwarz]]. The team had amassed debts of over $20&nbsp;million, including $17.4 owed to Schwarz himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/argos-debt-tops-20-million-court-report-1.376270 |title= Argos' debt tops $20&nbsp;million: court report |date=October 10, 2003 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref>

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Toronto Argonauts Helmet 2015.png|150px|right|thumb|Home helmet 2005–2016]] -->
New ownership under [[David Cynamon]] and [[Howard Sokolowski]] brought immediate dividends with another [[92nd Grey Cup|Grey Cup win in 2004]]. Veteran [[Damon Allen]] led the team to a 27–19 victory over the B.C. Lions, with [[John Avery (American football)|Jon Avery]] a critical running threat. Allen continued with the team until 2007, and retired with [[List of gridiron football quarterbacks passing statistics|professional football's all-time leading passing yardage]] (72,381).<ref name=CFLRecords/>
[[File:Pickett handoff.jpg|thumb|The Argonauts during a game against the [[Calgary Stampeders]], during the [[2008 CFL season]]]]
The Argonauts saw winning seasons from 2005 to 2007 before bottoming out the next two years. They finished 2009 with just three wins. Critical players over this half-decade included receiver [[Arland Bruce III]], defensive star [[Byron Parker]], and all-star punter [[Noel Prefontaine]].<ref name=Yearbyyear/> The team generated some controversy in 2006 when they lured running back [[Ricky Williams]] from the NFL. Williams had repeatedly violated NFL drug policies and was under suspension for the year; he played just one season with the Argos.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2461281 |title= Williams headed to CFL, signs with Argonauts |date=May 30, 2006 |publisher=ESPN |access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref>

In 2010 the team again saw an ownership change, with construction magnate [[David Braley]], who also owns the Lions, taking control.<ref name=release>{{cite press release|date= February 9, 2010|title= Argos moving forward under new ownership|url= http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-moving-forward-under-new-ownership|publisher= Toronto Argonauts|access-date= December 27, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131228151908/http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-moving-forward-under-new-ownership|archive-date= December 28, 2013|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all}}</ref> After breaking even in 2010 and going 6–12 in 2011, the Argonauts again acquired a championship nucleus in 2012. [[Ricky Ray]] was brilliant at quarterback while [[Chad Owens]] emerged as arguably the league's best special teams player. Owens broke Michael Clemons CFL record for all purpose yards and won the CFL Most Outstanding Player award that year.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/argos-chad-owens-named-most-outstanding-player-cfl-awards-1.1194335 |title= Argos' Chad Owens named Most Outstanding Player: CFL awards |date= November 22, 2012 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref> The [[100th Grey Cup|2012 Grey Cup]] was played in Toronto and the team took their first championship victory in the city since 1952, a 35–22 win over Calgary.<ref name=GreyCups/>

===2016–present ===
After years of being run on a shoestring budget by owner [[David Braley]] and facing the prospect of being evicted out of its longtime home, Braley sold the club to a consortium, led by [[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]] chairman [[Larry Tanenbaum]] and [[BCE Inc]], a move that solidified the franchise's long-term future.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

The Argos moved out of [[Rogers Centre]] and into [[BMO Field]] for the [[2016 CFL season|2016 season]]. Despite the initial hype of playing at a fan-friendly outdoor facility, the club finished at the bottom of the standings with a 5–13 record. A front office purge followed, with the firing of general manager [[Jim Barker]] on January 24, 2017. Head coach [[Scott Milanovich]], who was facing an uncertain future with the Argos in the wake of Barker's firing, quit four days later, accepting the quarterbacks coach position for the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] under [[Doug Marrone]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Looking to start afresh both on and off the field, the Argos hired former [[Montreal Alouettes]] general manager [[Jim Popp]] and head coach [[Marc Trestman]] on February 28, 2017. Popp and Trestman won consecutive Grey Cup championships in [[97th Grey Cup|2009]] and [[98th Grey Cup|2010]]. Popp, the architect of the Alouettes' resurgence in the Montreal sports scene, acquired some of his former players, such as [[S. J. Green]] and [[Bear Woods]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

In August 2017, the team moved their practice facility to the former [[Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School]], with a short-term lease of the facility from the [[Toronto Catholic District School Board]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-pmn/football-sports-pmn/cfl-football-sports-pmn/toronto-argonauts-to-move-into-new-practice-facility-at-former-high-school|title=Toronto Argonauts to move into new practice facility at former high school|date=August 4, 2017|work=National Post|access-date=October 19, 2017|agency=The Canadian Press}}</ref>

Despite missing most of the free agency period and having mere months to assemble both a roster and coaching staff, the Double Blue finished the year with a 9–9 record, good enough for first place in a weak East Division and a first-round bye. After a thrilling last-minute comeback win in the Eastern Final over Saskatchewan, 25–21, the Argos capped off the season in true Cinderella fashion, with another thrilling comeback, winning their 17th championship in the [[105th Grey Cup|2017 Grey Cup]]. Their 27–24 win over Calgary marked their second Grey Cup victory against the Stampeders in five years.<ref name=GreyCups/><ref>{{cite press release| url=https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2017/11/26/statement-prime-minister-canada-105th-grey-cup| title=Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the 105th Grey Cup| website=pm.gc.ca| publisher=[[Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)|Office of the Prime Minister]]| date=November 26, 2017}}</ref>

In 2018, the team's new owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment moved the team's practice facility to the nearby MLSE managed [[Lamport Stadium]] with the football operations staff moving to BMO Field and the nearby MLSE managed [[Coca-Cola Coliseum]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-to-relocate-football-operations-staff-1.1100509|title=Argonauts to relocate football-operations staff – Article – TSN|date=May 31, 2018|work=TSN|access-date=June 3, 2018}}</ref>

Since 2015, the team has averaged the lowest home attendance in the CFL every year, their lowest average (in a non-pandemic affected year) being 12,431 in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stats.cfldb.ca/team/toronto-argonauts/attendance/|title=Toronto Argonauts All-Time Attendance on CFLDB Statistics}}</ref> Despite that, the Argonauts won their 18th Grey Cup championship in team history in [[109th Grey Cup|2022]], hanging on to defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 24–23,<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-11-20 |title=Argonauts hold on to beat Blue Bombers for 18th Grey Cup title |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/cfl/article/argonauts-hold-on-to-beat-blue-bombers-for-18th-grey-cup-title/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Sportsnet.ca |place=Regina |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Nov 20, 2022 |title=Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23 to win Grey Cup |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto-argonauts-defeat-winnipeg-blue-bombers-24-23-to-win-grey-cup-1.6658351 |access-date=June 2, 2025 |website=cbc.ca}}</ref> and in [[111th Grey Cup|2024]] they again defeated Winnipeg by a score of 41–24<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morassutti |first=David |date=2024-11-18 |title=Argos rally behind Arbuckle, turnovers to earn unlikely Grey Cup title |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/cfl/article/argos-rally-behind-arbuckle-turnovers-to-earn-unlikely-grey-cup-title/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Sportsnet.ca |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=Nov 17, 2024 |title=Argos defeat Bombers 41-24 in Grey Cup |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/winnipeg-blue-bombers-toronto-argonauts-grey-cup-1.7385888 |website=cbc.ca}}</ref> to capture their second Grey Cup championship in three seasons and continuing their streak of winning their last eight Grey Cup appearances, dating back to [[75th Grey Cup|1987]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-11-17 |title=Arbuckle, Argos stun Blue Bombers to win second Grey Cup in three years |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/cfl/article/arbuckle-argos-stun-blue-bombers-to-win-second-grey-cup-in-three-years/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Sportsnet.ca |publisher=[[The Canadian Press]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Championship summary==
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-  style="text-align:center; font-size:small; font-weight:bold;  background:#ddd; padding:5px;"
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Date
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Grey Cup 
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|W/L 
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Opponent 
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Score 
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Host City
! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|Victory #
|-
| November 17, 2024 || [[111th Grey Cup|111th]] ||W  || [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] ||41–24 || [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]] || 19
|-
| November 20, 2022 || [[109th Grey Cup|109th]] || W || [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] || 24–23 || [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]] || 18
|-
| November 26, 2017 || [[105th Grey Cup|105th]] || W || [[Calgary Stampeders]] || 27–24 || [[Ottawa]] || 17
|-
| November 25, 2012 || [[100th Grey Cup|100th]] || W || Calgary Stampeders || 35–22 || [[Toronto]] || 16
|-
| November 21, 2004 || [[92nd Grey Cup|92nd]] || W || [[BC Lions]] || 27–19 || Ottawa || 15
|-
| November 16, 1997 || [[85th Grey Cup|85th]] || W || [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]] || 47–23 || [[Edmonton]] || 14
|-
| November 24, 1996 || [[84th Grey Cup|84th]] || W || [[Edmonton Eskimos]] || 43–37 || [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]] || 13
|-
| November 24, 1991 || [[79th Grey Cup|79th]] || W || Calgary Stampeders  || 36–21 || [[Winnipeg]] || 12
|-
| November 29, 1987 || [[75th Grey Cup|75th]] || L || Edmonton Eskimos || 38–36 || [[Vancouver]] || –
|-
| November 27, 1983 || [[71st Grey Cup|71st]] || W || BC Lions || 18–17 || Vancouver || 11
|-
| November 28, 1982 || [[70th Grey Cup|70th]] || L || Edmonton Eskimos  || 32–16 || Toronto || –
|-
| November 28, 1971 || [[59th Grey Cup|59th]] || L || Calgary Stampeders  || 14–11 || Vancouver || –
|-
| November 29, 1952 || [[40th Grey Cup|40th]] || W || Edmonton Eskimos || 21–14 || Toronto || 10
|-
| November 25, 1950 || [[38th Grey Cup|38th]]  || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 13–0 || Toronto || 9
|-
| November 29, 1947 || [[35th Grey Cup|35th]]  || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 10–9 || Toronto || 8
|-
| November 30, 1946 || [[34th Grey Cup|34th]]  || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 28–6 || Toronto || 7
|-
| December 1, 1945 || [[33rd Grey Cup|33rd]]  || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 35–0 || Toronto || 6
|-
| December 10, 1938 || [[26th Grey Cup|26th]] || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 30–7 || Toronto || 5
|-
| December 11, 1937 || [[25th Grey Cup|25th]] || W || Winnipeg Blue Bombers || 4–3 || Toronto || 4
|-
| December 9, 1933 || [[21st Grey Cup|21st]] || W || [[Sarnia Imperials]] || 4–3 || [[Sarnia]] || 3
|-
| December 3, 1921 || [[9th Grey Cup|9th]] || W || Edmonton Eskimos || 23–0 || Toronto || 2
|-
| December 4, 1920 || [[8th Grey Cup|8th]] || L || [[Toronto Varsity Blues football|University of Toronto]] || 16–3 || Toronto || –
|-
| December 5, 1914 || [[6th Grey Cup|6th]] || W || University of Toronto || 14–2 || Toronto || 1
|-
| November 30, 1912|| [[4th Grey Cup|4th]] || L || [[Hamilton Alerts]]  || 11–4 || Hamilton || –
|-
| November 25, 1911 || [[3rd Grey Cup|3rd]] || L || University of Toronto || 14–7 || Toronto || –
|-
|}

The Toronto Argonauts currently lead the CFL in total wins and in winning percentage in the Grey Cup.<ref name=glory/> Early success in the final can partly be attributed to the weakness of western teams: between [[9th Grey Cup|1921]] and [[40th Grey Cup|1952]] the Argonauts won in nine straight appearances, including six straight against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The team's success is not merely a historical aberration, however: they have won nine of their 12 appearances since the formation of the CFL, including their last eight straight.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koreen |first=Mike |date=2024-11-17 |title=Grey Cup Preview: What you need to know about Argonauts vs. Blue Bombers |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/cfl/article/grey-cup-preview-what-you-need-to-know-about-argonauts-vs-blue-bombers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241118013551/https://www.sportsnet.ca/cfl/article/grey-cup-preview-what-you-need-to-know-about-argonauts-vs-blue-bombers/ |archive-date=18 Nov 2024 |access-date=2025-06-15 |website=Sportsnet.ca |language=en}}</ref>

For the entire Grey Cup era some form of playoffs has led up to the Grey Cup game; the 24 Argonauts teams who have won a spot in the final would, in modern terms, be called "[[CFL Eastern Division|Eastern Division]] Champions". However, the route to the Grey Cup, participating teams, and playoff format have changed repeatedly over time. During the years that they competed in the [[Interprovincial Rugby Football Union]] (1907–1957) the Argonauts won the James Dixon Trophy (awarded to the IRFU playoff champion) 14 times, going on to win the Grey Cup on 10 of these occasions. The Argonauts, in the CFL era (since 1958), hold a 7–3 record in the Grey Cup title, despite not winning their first Grey Cup as a CFL team until 1983.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

As for the regular season, the CFL records 14 Argonauts teams at the top of the eastern divisional table since its formation in 1958.<ref>{{cite web |title=Standings |publisher=[[Canadian Football League]] |url=https://www.cfl.ca/standings |access-date= December 30, 2013}}</ref> Earlier data for the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union provides another 9 years from 1907 to 1957 in which the Argos were the best of the "Big Four", for a total of 23 divisional wins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cfldb.ca/league/irfu/ |title=The Inter-provincial Rugby Football Union |publisher=Canadian Football Statistics Database |access-date= December 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>Currie (1968). ''100 Years''. pp.&nbsp;163–165.</ref> The only pre-1958 year in which the Argos won the IRFU but failed to make a Grey Cup appearance was 1922, when they lost in the Eastern Canada final to [[Queen's Gaels football|Queen's University]].<ref>''Canadian Football League Facts, Figures, & Records.'' (2009). pg. 294.</ref>

Going back to an even earlier era, the Argonauts won the [[Ontario Rugby Football Union]] championship three times between 1883 and 1906, including the league's first two seasons, 1883 and 1884. Their last victory as ORFU members came in 1901. Given their losses in the [[Canadian Dominion Football Championship|Dominion Championship]] in 1884 and 1901, the Argonauts did not earn the title "national champion" until their first Grey Cup win in 1914.<ref name=Sproule2/>

==Stadiums==
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|'''Toronto Argonauts stadiums'''<ref name=stadiums/>
|-
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Stadium
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
|-
|[[Rosedale Field]] || 1874–1897<br>1908–1915
|-
|[[Varsity Stadium]] || 1898–1907<br>1916–1958
|-
|[[Exhibition Stadium|CNE Stadium]] || 1959–1988
|-
|[[Rogers Centre]] || 1989–2015
|-
|[[BMO Field]] || 2016–present
|}

The Toronto Argonauts' first home was [[Rosedale Field]] at [[Mount Pleasant Road]] and MacLennan Avenue near the city centre. The team suggests its capacity was 10,000 total with 4,000 seated,<ref name=stadiums>{{cite web|url= http://www.argonauts.ca/page/stadium-history|title= Toronto Argonauts Stadium History|publisher= Toronto Argonauts|access-date= December 28, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110422083852/http://argonauts.ca/page/stadium-history|archive-date= April 22, 2011|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all}}</ref> though O'Leary and Parrish list smaller numbers, noting that a $32,000 renovation in 1883 allowed for a capacity of 2,000.<ref name=Oleary32/> The field has historic significance as the site of the [[1st Grey Cup|first Grey Cup game]] in 1909; the CFL lists the game's attendance as 3,807.<ref name=GreyCups/> The field still exists as part of Rosedale Park, although there are no grandstands.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Sources again differ on when the team permanently moved to [[Varsity Stadium]] on the grounds of the [[University of Toronto]]. The team gives dates of 1874–1897 and 1908–1915 at Rosedale, while other sources suggest the team had moved to Varsity by 1911.{{refn|group = "note"|name="fourth"|Details available from the team are contradictory: they suggest a 1916 move to Varsity in their Stadium History<ref name=stadiums/> but 1911 in their Year-By-Year History.<ref name=Yearbyyear/> In his write-up on Varsity Stadium, Speers agrees with the 1911 date.<ref name=Varsity>{{cite web |url= http://football.ballparks.com/CFL/Toronto/veryoldindex.htm|title= Varsity Stadium|first1=Ian |last1=Speers |publisher=BALLPARKS.com |access-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref> There is no dispute that the stadium was completed in late 1911 and that the Argonauts participated in the Grey Cup at the venue that year.}} Varsity became indelibly linked with the Argonauts and the early years of Canadian football; it was the home field of the great Argo dynasties of the 1930s and 1940s. For most of the Argos time at the stadium, its capacity was about 16,000, but this jumped above 20,000 with a renovation in 1950. Although it has not hosted a professional game since 1958, it still holds the record for hosting the most Grey Cups with 30.<ref name=Varsity/>

Another home beckoned in 1959 with the renovation of the new [[Exhibition Stadium]] (also called CNE Stadium) to accommodate Canadian football. Often remembered ruefully by Torontonians for its exposure to weather, as well as poor sightlines after it was converted in the 1970s to [[Toronto Blue Jays|additionally accommodate baseball]], the stadium was nevertheless the site of the Argos' greatest attendance in the late 1960s and 1970s. Particularly brutal conditions at the [[70th Grey Cup]] in 1982 paved the way for the construction of a domed stadium in Toronto.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2012/11/22/grey_cup_miserable_atmosphere_at_exhibition_stadium_in_1982_game_led_to_skydomes_creation_perkins.html |title= Grey Cup: Miserable atmosphere at Exhibition Stadium in 1982 game led to SkyDome's creation |first1=Dave |last1=Perkins |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=November 20, 2012 |access-date= December 28, 2013}}</ref>

Rogers Centre (Skydome before 2004) had provided the Argonauts a marquee venue from 1989 to 2015, but also been criticized for its football sightlines and atmosphere. Even crowds of about 30,000 looked sparse in a stadium that seats up to 50,000 people. The domed environment did, at least, remove the elements and was an advantage to passers and comfortable for fans. Two critical opportunities to find a new home were missed in 2004 and 2005: plans for a revamped Varsity Stadium to accommodate CFL-sized crowds were thwarted by community opposition in 2004, and the Argonauts withdrew from an alternate plan at [[York University]] the following year.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2004/11/04/700446.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140106162831/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2004/11/04/700446.html |url-status= usurped |archive-date= January 6, 2014 |title= Brick by brick |newspaper=Toronto Sun|publisher=canoe.ca|first1=Perry |last1=Lefko|date=November 4, 2004 |access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2005/05/16/york-shelves-stadium-project/ |title=York shelves stadium project |publisher=York University |date=May 16, 2005 |access-date=January 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031947/http://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2005/05/16/york-shelves-stadium-project/ |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
{{wide image|Argospanorama.jpg|700px|Panoramic view of the Argonauts home game at Rogers Centre. The stadium hosted home games for the Argonauts from 1989 to 2015}}
It was announced in 2013 that Rogers Centre's [[artificial turf]] would be replaced by natural grass within five years to better facilitate [[Toronto Blue Jays]] baseball. Replacing the playing surface would require permanently locking Rogers Centre into its baseball configuration, making it impossible to host CFL games. (However, since this time the stadium has retained its artificial turf surface [albeit with a full dirt infield], and it is unclear whether it will be replaced.)<ref>{{cite news |title=Jays turf Argos in favour of grass playing surface at Rogers Centre |first=Tom|last=Maloney|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/jays-turf-argos-in-favour-of-grass-playing-surface-at-rogers-centre/article14211436/|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|location=Toronto|date=September 9, 2013|access-date=November 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/argos/2012/02/09/perkins_argos_turfed_if_toronto_blue_jays_put_grass_in_rogers_centre.html|title=Perkins: Argos turfed if Toronto Blue Jays put grass in Rogers Centre|date=February 9, 2012|access-date=January 12, 2014|last=Perkins|first=Dave|work=[[Toronto Star]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2014/02/01/jays_president_beeston_insists_baseball_should_be_played_on_grass_griffin.html|title=Jays president Beeston insists 'baseball should be played on grass': Griffin|date=February 1, 2014|access-date=February 1, 2014|work=[[Toronto Star]]|last=Griffin|first=Richard}}</ref> The stadium issue generated significant press and raised concerns over the team's long-term viability given that the Argonauts' losses have been estimated anywhere from $2 to $6&nbsp;million annually.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/leiweke-outlines-mlse-plans-for-stadium-renovation/article16570810/ |title=Shoalts: MLSE outlines plans for stadium renovation, with eye on NFL team  |last1=Shoalts |first1=David |date= January 29, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |access-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/2013/09/27/argos_a_ticking_time_bomb_for_cfl_cox.html |title=Argos a ticking time bomb for CFL: Cox |last1=Cox |first1=Damien |date= September 27, 2013|newspaper= Toronto Star |access-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref> While various stadium rumours swirled over the course of David Braley's tenure (including building a new facility), it became increasingly clear that a move to a renovated [[BMO Field]] was the only viable option.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/mlse-dance-toronto-argonauts-continues-interesting-turns-164354527.html |title=MLSE's dance with the Toronto Argonauts continues to take new and interesting turns |last1= Zelkovich  |first1=Chris |date= January 1, 2014|publisher= Yahoo Sports |access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/teams/story/?id=432322&hubname=cfl-argonauts |title=Days at Rogers Centre numbered for Argonauts  |date= September 20, 2012 |publisher= TSN |access-date=January 1, 2014}}</ref>
[[File:BMO Field, 104th Grey Cup.jpeg|right|thumb|BMO Field with additional temporary seats in the south endzone for the [[104th Grey Cup]]]]
The BMO Field move became finalized on May 20, 2015, concurrent with the announcement of the team's sale to a consortium of MLSE shareholders [[Larry Tanenbaum]] and [[Bell Canada]]. The team moved following the completion of stadium renovations for the 2016 season. The $120&nbsp;million renovation plan had originally been announced in March 2014, and raised the stadium's seating capacity from 21,566 seats to 30,000 for soccer, with 25,000 seats in CFL configuration (due to space and safety issues, the endzones are only 18 yards deep [as opposed to the standard 20 yards], with part of both end zones covered in artificial turf,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://torontosun.com/2016/06/10/for-argos-its-home-sweet-home-at-bmo-field/wcm/4e50cb08-4771-4ef6-b124-13cba65e7bdd|title=For Argos, it's home sweet home at BMO Field |newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=June 11, 2016}}</ref> the remainder of the field has natural grass), and is temporarily expandable with additional endzone seating to 40,000 for big events<ref name=loi>{{cite web|url=http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-67468.pdf|title=Proposal for Expansion of Stadium at Exhibition Place|date=March 10, 2014|access-date=March 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315113459/http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-67468.pdf|archive-date=March 15, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> such as a [[Grey Cup]].<ref name=plans>{{cite web|url=http://www.explace.on.ca/database/rte/files/2014_0305%20BMO%20Field%20-%20Public%20Meeting_FINAL.pdf|title=BMO Field – Public Meeting|date=March 5, 2014|access-date=March 8, 2014|publisher=[[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309031754/http://www.explace.on.ca/database/rte/files/2014_0305%20BMO%20Field%20-%20Public%20Meeting_FINAL.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2014}}</ref> The agreement required MLSE to reach a "long-term use (i.e. 20 years)" lease with the Argos for usage of the stadium.<ref name=loi/><ref name=excomrep/><ref name=makeover/> The inclusion of the CFL configuration had partly been at the insistence of the [[City of Toronto government]], which owns BMO Field, and had been planned in the original stadium agreement.<ref name=excomrep>{{cite web|url=http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-67466.pdf|title=Renovation and Expansion of BMO Field|date=March 5, 2014|access-date=March 15, 2014|publisher=[[City of Toronto government|City of Toronto]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315101742/http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-67466.pdf|archive-date=March 15, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=makeover>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/14/mlse_wants_10_million_from_toronto_for_bmo_field_makeover.html|title=MLSE wants $10&nbsp;million from Toronto for BMO Field makeover|date=March 14, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2014|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|last=Tepper|first=Sean}}</ref><ref name=citypushing>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2014/03/07/mlse_city_pushing_to_move_argos_to_bmo_field.html|title=MLSE: City pushing to move Argos to BMO Field|date=March 7, 2014|access-date=March 8, 2014|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]}}</ref>

Following the demolition and reconstruction of the 5,000 seat Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto, the Argos returned to the stadium, hosting preseason games from 2013 to 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Recap:Argos win in return to Varsity Stadium|url=http://argonauts.ca/article/recap-argos-return-to-varsity-stadium|date=June 20, 2013|access-date=May 4, 2014|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505060210/http://argonauts.ca/article/recap-argos-return-to-varsity-stadium|archive-date=May 5, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Toronto Argonauts announce 2014 schedule!|date=February 12, 2014|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/article/toronto-argonauts-announce-2014-schedule|access-date=May 4, 2014|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223005427/http://www.argonauts.ca/article/toronto-argonauts-announce-2014-schedule|archive-date=February 23, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://argonauts.ca/article/toronto-argonauts-announce-2015-game-schedule|title=TORONTO ARGONAUTS ANNOUNCE 2015 GAME SCHEDULE|date=February 13, 2015|access-date=February 13, 2015|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213212244/http://argonauts.ca/article/toronto-argonauts-announce-2015-game-schedule|archive-date=February 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The team also acquired a much-needed training facility in July 2014 when it was announced that MLSE had partnered with the Argonauts to expand [[KIA Training Ground]], [[Toronto FC]]'s new state-of-the-art academy and training facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-partner-with-mlse-to-build-new-practice-facility|title=Argos partner with MLSE to build new practice facility|date=July 24, 2014|access-date=July 24, 2014|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730020701/http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-partner-with-mlse-to-build-new-practice-facility|archive-date=July 30, 2014}}</ref>

Since 2018, after [[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]] became the new owners of the Argonauts, the team has used [[Lamport Stadium]] as their practice field, while their weight rooms are at [[Coca-Cola Coliseum]]; both locations are within walking distance of BMO Field.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/argonauts-to-relocate-football-operations-staff-1.1100509|title=Argonauts to relocate football-operations staff|date=2018-06-01|access-date=2018-06-01|publisher=[[The Sports Network]]}}</ref> Since 2022, the Argonauts have used [[Alumni Stadium (Guelph)|Alumni Stadium]] in [[Guelph]] as their home stadium for [[preseason]] games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2025/01/16/argos-announce-2025-schedule-highlighted-by-six-saturday-home-dates/ |title=Argos Announce 2025 Schedule Highlighted by Six Saturday Home Dates |publisher=Toronto Argonauts |date=January 16, 2025}}</ref>

== Ownership and management ==

===Ownership history===
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|'''Ownership of the Toronto Argonauts'''<br><ref name=execs/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://stats.cfldb.ca/franchise/toronto/owners/|title=Toronto Argonauts Ownership History|publisher=Canadian Football Statistics Database| access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Sports/2003/07/30/149139.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140104090241/http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Sports/2003/07/30/149139.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=January 4, 2014|title=League assumes Argos' helm|date=July 30, 2003|access-date=January 4, 2014|publisher=[[The London Free Press]]}}</ref>
|-
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Owner
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
|-
|[[Argonaut Rowing Club]] || October 4, 1873&nbsp;– October 1, 1956
|-
|[[John W. H. Bassett]], [[Charles Fowler William Burns|Charlie Burns]], [[Eric Cradock]] || October 1, 1956&nbsp;– January 1, 1960
|-
|John Bassett, Charlie Burns, [[Len Lumbers]] || January 1, 1960&nbsp;– August 31, 1971
|-
|[[Baton Broadcasting]] (John Bassett) || August 31, 1971&nbsp;– February 27, 1974
|-
|[[William R. Hodgson]] || February 27, 1974&nbsp;– June 25, 1976
|-
|William R. Hodgson, [[Carling O'Keefe]] || June 25, 1976&nbsp;– January 12, 1979
|-
|Carling O'Keefe || January 12, 1979&nbsp;– December 12, 1988
|-
|[[Harry Ornest]], Carling O'Keefe || December 12, 1988&nbsp;– February 25, 1991
|-
|[[Bruce McNall]], [[John Candy]], [[Wayne Gretzky]] || February 25, 1991&nbsp;– May 5, 1994
|-
|[[The Sports Network|TSN Enterprises]] (Labatt) || May 5, 1994&nbsp;– July 26, 1995
|-
|[[Labatt Brewing Company]] ([[Interbrew]]) || July 26, 1995&nbsp;– December 20, 1999
|-
|[[Sherwood Schwarz]] || December 20, 1999&nbsp;– July 29, 2003
|-
|[[Canadian Football League]] || July 29, 2003&nbsp;– November 5, 2003
|-
|[[Howard Sokolowski]] and [[David Cynamon]] || November 5, 2003&nbsp;– February 9, 2010
|-
|[[David Braley]] || February 9, 2010 – December 31, 2015
|-
|[[Kilmer Sports]] and [[Bell Canada]]<ref name=pr/><ref name=bellannualreport>{{cite web|url=http://www.bce.ca/investors/AR-2015/2015-bce-annual-report.pdf|title=Leading the way in communications|year=2016|access-date=March 30, 2016|publisher=[[BCE Inc.]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405042452/http://www.bce.ca/investors/AR-2015/2015-bce-annual-report.pdf|archive-date=April 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> || December 31, 2015 – January 18, 2018
|-
|[[Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment]] || January 19, 2018 – present<ref name=mlse/>
|}

For more than eight decades, the Toronto Argonauts Football Club was the sole property of its namesake [[Argonaut Rowing Club|rowing club]]. By the 1950s, the team's complex management structure made the arrangement increasingly awkward. Facing overdraft and with wealthy suitors knocking, the Argonaut rowers finally sold the team to a consortium led by [[John W. H. Bassett]], [[Eric Cradock]], and [[Charles Fowler William Burns|Charlie Burns]] in 1957. Each held about 20% share in the company, with the balance made up by small investors who had some affinity with the club; the initial agreement called for a long-term [[debenture]] of $400,000 to be set up that would sustain the rowing club in the absence of its football income.<ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pp.&nbsp;103–107</ref> Bassett was the operating head of the franchise and is often given sole credit for the initial purchase of the Argos, but Cradock was also instrumental in spearheading the drive. He sold his share to [[Len Lumbers]] just two years into his tenure in part because of Bassett's controlling nature.<ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pp. 108</ref> Bassett arranged a complete buyout of the other shareholders for $2.31&nbsp;million in 1971 through his holdings in [[Baton Broadcasting]].<ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pp. 103</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bassett sells Gardens stock, buys control of Argos|first=Dick|last=Beddoes|date=September 2, 1971|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref>

The Bassett years of the late 1950s to early 1970s were marked by mediocrity on the field but consistent success at the turnstiles. An issue that has become a perennial concern in the city also emerged at this time: the possibility of a [[National Football League]] [[National Football League in Toronto|team in Toronto]]. Various machinations were entertained by Bassett including moving the Argos to the NFL, bringing an American expansion team to the city (e.g. the [[Toronto Northmen]] of the [[World Football League|WFL]]), or [[CFL USA|expanding the CFL itself in the opposite direction]]. Other team owners steadfastly opposed Bassett's moves and almost rescinded his franchise in 1974; angered, he sold the team for $3.3&nbsp;million to hotel magnate [[William R. Hodgson]] in the same year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Argo franchise sold to hotel chain owner|date=February 28, 1974|newspaper=Toronto Star |first=Al|last=Sokol}}</ref><ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pp.&nbsp;112–113, 231–232.</ref>

Hodgson sold to [[Carling O'Keefe]] in 1979, who had been minority owners since 1976. The brewing company's total investment in the team was $5.8&nbsp;million.<ref>Cosentino (1995). ''A Passing Game''. pg. 142.</ref> At the time it was rapidly ramping up its sports sponsorship (it also owned the [[Quebec Nordiques]] before they moved from the [[World Hockey Association]] to the NHL) and would become a huge benefactor to the CFL itself, inking television rights deals that reached $11&nbsp;million annually by 1984. Reports at the time suggest the league became spoiled by the partnership and that when the money dried up in 1987, the transition was difficult.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/11/08/cfl-may-be-beyond-rescuing/ |title=CFL May Be Beyond Rescuing |last1= Hickey |first1=Pat |date=November 11, 1987 |agency=Montreal Gazette |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date= January 2, 2014}}</ref> For the Argos, the Carling O'Keefe years were marked by their first modern-era Grey Cup in 1983.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pg&nbsp;119.</ref>

The years following the Carling O'Keefe era were marked by increasingly short ownership stints. Canadian businessman [[Harry Ornest]] bought the team off Carling O'Keefe for $5&nbsp;million at the end of 1988<ref>Cosentino (1995). ''A Passing Game''. pg. 269.</ref> and then sold to the trio of [[Bruce McNall]] (60%), [[John Candy]] (20%), and [[Wayne Gretzky]] (20%) for the same amount in 1991.<ref name=SI/><ref>Willes (2013). ''End Zones''. pg 72.</ref> Of the three, Candy is best remembered for his emotional investment in the team and a team player award continues in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.argonauts.ca/page/john-candy-memorial-award-winners |title= John Candy Memorial Award Winners |publisher= Toronto Argonauts |access-date= January 2, 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140118000427/http://www.argonauts.ca/page/john-candy-memorial-award-winners |archive-date= January 18, 2014 |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref>Willes (2013). ''End Zones''. pp. 78–79.</ref> The era was tumultuous despite a Grey Cup win in 1991, and the last in which the club regularly made front-page headlines. After a little over three years of ownership, McNall concluded he could no longer justify massive losses from an asset 3,000 miles away from his base in Los Angeles. He sold the now money-losing team to the [[Labatt Brewing Company]] through its [[The Sports Network|TSN]] unit in May 1994 for $4.5&nbsp;million; the closing was delayed by Candy's unexpected death that March.<ref name=LATimesSale>{{cite web |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-05-sp-54077-story.html |title=McNall to Sell CFL's Argonauts |last1= Bates |first1=James |last2= Dillman |first2=Lisa |date=May 5, 1994 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> At the time, Labatt also owned the [[Toronto Blue Jays]]. In 1995, Labatt was acquired by [[Interbrew]];<ref>{{cite web |url=  http://strategyonline.ca/1995/08/07/10991-19950807/ |title=Interbrew ponders strategy on remaining Labatt non-brewing assets|date=August 7, 1995 |publisher=Strategy Online |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> The Interbrew years saw two championships but also the worst Argo attendance of the modern era.<ref name=HomeAttendance/> Interbrew soon lost interest in sports ownership and the team was sold again at the end of 1999 to New York businessman [[Sherwood Schwarz]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Football: Schwarz purchases Argos |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nanaimo-daily-news-canadian-press-foot/172251186/ |work=Nanaimo Daily News |agency=Canadian Press |date=21 December 1999 |location=Nanaimo BC |page=15 |format=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

[[File:Canadian businessman & CFL owner David Braley (2010).jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[David Braley]] owned the club from 2010 to 2015]]

After the debacles of the Schwarz era and brief control of the team by the CFL ([[#1989– present|see above]]) the Argos were rescued by [[David Cynamon]] and [[Howard Sokolowski]] in 2004. There was optimism surrounding the duo's arrival and attendance figures improved in their six years heading the organization. It was also appreciated that the two were Torontonians after a quarter-century of foreign and/or corporate ownership.<ref>O'Leary & Parrish (2007). ''Double Blue''. pp&nbsp;191–192.</ref> But by 2010 losses were great enough that the team was again put on the block and eventually sold to [[David Braley]]. There was some controversy surrounding Braley's takeover. He was simultaneously owner of the BC Lions, raising questions of competitive integrity. It was also revealed that Braley had bankrolled half of Cynamon and Sokolowski's initial $2&nbsp;million buy-in of the Argos in 2004, and covered half their subsequent losses, in exchange for half of the 2007 Grey Cup profits.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.trurodaily.com/Sports/Football/2010-02-10/article-821362/B.C.-Lions-owner-David-Braley-acquires-Argos%3B-replaces-Cynamon-and-Sokolowski/1 |title=B.C. Lions owner David Braley acquires Argos; replaces Cynamon and Sokolowski |agency=The Canadian Press |date=February 10, 2010 |publisher=Truro Daily News |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=c718a42f-d7c3-4a76-84e1-06820b6dc363 |title=Lions owner helped rescue ailing Argos |department=Opinion |date=June 16, 2009 |last1=Arthur |first1=Bruce |work=National Post |access-date=January 2, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140103211757/http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=c718a42f-d7c3-4a76-84e1-06820b6dc363 |archive-date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref>

By 2014 [[Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment]] and its chairman and minority owner [[Larry Tanenbaum]] had emerged as serious suitors for the team.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/03/eventual-argos-sale-could-lead-nfl-to-toronto |title=MLSE interested in Argos with eye on NFL in Toronto|date=September 3, 2013 |last1=Zicarelli |first1=Frank |newspaper=Toronto Sun |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=442375|title=Argonauts could soon be sold to MLSE or Tanenbaum|date=January 28, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2014|publisher=[[The Sports Network]]}}</ref><ref name=bigbucks>{{cite web|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/16/mlse-plans-to-spend-big-bucks-to-upgrade-bmo-field|title=MLSE plans to spend big bucks to upgrade BMO Field|last=Larson|first=Kurtis|date=March 16, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2014|newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]]}}</ref> On May 20, 2015, it was announced that an agreement had been reached for Argonauts to be sold to Tanenbaum's [[Kilmer Sports]] and [[Bell Canada]], who both own a stake in MLSE with [[Rogers Communications]]. Financial details were not disclosed. Despite its shared stake in MLSE, Rogers was not interested in having an ownership share in the Argonauts because it does not have any media relationships with the CFL (unlike Bell, whose TSN division holds the [[CFL on TSN|broadcast rights]] to the league).<ref name=cbc-bellargos>{{cite web|title=Argonauts announce sale, move to BMO Field|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/argonauts-announce-sale-move-to-bmo-field-1.3080235|publisher=CBC News|access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref><ref name=bell>{{cite news|title=Bell, Larry Tanenbaum to purchase Argonauts|url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2015/05/19/bell-larry-tanenbaum-to-purchase-argonauts.html|access-date=May 20, 2015|work=Toronto Star|date=May 19, 2015}}</ref> Argonauts Holdings Limited Partnership, a [[holding company]] which Bell and Kilmer each own 50% of, formally acquired the franchise on December 31, 2015.<ref name=bellannualreport/>

On December 13, 2017, MLSE announced that it would acquire the Argos.<ref name=mlse>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cfl/mlse-deal-buys-argos-1.4447366|title=MLSE strikes deal to buy Toronto Argos|agency=The Canadian Press|access-date=December 13, 2017}}</ref> This sale transferred ownership from Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports and Bell Media to MLSE, which itself is owned by Tanenbaum, Bell Media and Rogers Communications. The sale was finalized on January 19, 2018<ref name="cfl.ca"/> and with the sale, MLSE owns four of the five major professional sports franchises in the city of Toronto (only the Blue Jays are not owned by MLSE, although its owner, Rogers Communications, has 75% ownership stake of MLSE).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cruz |first1=Kiezzsa |title=Rogers to buy rival Bell's stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment for over 4 billion |url=https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/crossborder/rogers-to-buy-rival-bells-stake-in-maple-leaf-sports-and-entertainment-for-over-4-billion/388633 |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=Canadian Lawyer |date=19 September 2024 |location=Toronto ON |quote=MLSE currently owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, Toronto Argonauts football team and related minor league and e-league properties.}}</ref>

=== Senior executives ===
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="5" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|'''Toronto Argonauts senior executives'''<ref name=execs/>
|-
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|General manager
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|President
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
|-
| [[Lew Hayman]] || 1957–1970
| rowspan="22" style="{{NFLTertiaryColorRaw|Toronto Argonauts}};"|
| [[Lew Hayman]] || 1966–1981
|-
| [[John Barrow (gridiron football)|John Barrow]] || 1971–1975 || [[Ralph Sazio]] || 1982–1989
|-
| [[Dick Shatto]] || 1976–1978 || [[Mike McCarthy (gridiron football executive)|Mike McCarthy]] || 1990–1993
|-
| [[Tommy Hudspeth]] || 1979–1981 || [[Ron Barbaro]] || 1993
|-
| [[Jim Eddy]] || 1982–1983 || [[Paul Beeston]] || 1994
|-
| [[Ralph Sazio]] || 1984–1985 || [[Bob Nicholson (sports executive)|Bob Nicholson]] || 1995–1999
|-
| [[Leo Cahill]] || 1986–1988 || [[Sherwood Schwarz]] || 2000–2001
|-
| Ralph Sazio || 1989 || [[Pinball Clemons]] || 2002
|-
| [[Mike McCarthy (gridiron football executive)|Mike McCarthy]] || 1990–1993 || [[Dan Ferrone]] || 2003
|-
| [[Bob O'Billovich]] || 1994–1995 || [[Keith Pelley]] || 2004–2007
|-
| [[Don Matthews]] || 1996 || Pinball Clemons (CEO)<br />[[Brad Watters]] (COO) || 2008
|-
| [[Eric Tillman]] || 1997 || Bob Nicholson || 2009–2011
|-
| Don Matthews || 1998 || [[Chris Rudge]] || 2012–2015 
|-
| Eric Tillman || 1999 || [[Michael Copeland (sports executive)|Michael Copeland]] || 2016–2017
|-
| [[J. I. Albrecht]] || 2000 || [[Bill Manning]] || 2018–2024
|-
| [[Paul Masotti]] || 2001
|-
| [[Gary Etcheverry]] || 2002
|-
| Pinball Clemons || 2003
|-
| [[Adam Rita]] || 2004–2010
|-
| [[Jim Barker]] || 2011–2017
|-
| [[Jim Popp]] || 2017–2019
|-
| Pinball Clemons || 2019–present
|}

Below the ownership level, the two most senior positions within the Toronto Argonauts organization are its president and general manager.<ref name=execs>{{cite web|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/page/all-time-executives-list|title=All Time Executives List|publisher=Toronto Argonauts|access-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118000448/http://www.argonauts.ca/page/all-time-executives-list|archive-date=January 18, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The GM role was titled as "managing director" from 1957 to 1966, when head coach [[Bob Shaw (end)|Bob Shaw]] was also named "manager" of the team, "with full operating control", and managing director [[Lew Hayman]] was named club president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Fr8DH2VBP9sC&dat=19661104&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|title=The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref> The role of club president had formerly been an honorary position; Hayman was the first president with a salary and executive role. The president role is now included in the title of CEO.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

The longest serving executive in the organization is Lew Hayman, who had a five-decade career beginning in the 1930s as coach and administrator. A Jewish-American, Hayman served with both the Argos and [[Montreal Alouettes]] and has been called "the architect of Canadian football".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/LewHayman.htm |title=Lew Hayman |publisher=International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512094145/http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/LewHayman.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2013  }}</ref> He was the team's first president and managing director at the insistence of Eric Cradock in 1957,<ref>Siggins (1979). ''Bassett''. pg. 106.</ref> and would continue in the former role until 1981. [[Ralph Sazio]] took over from Hayman and is another hall of fame builder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-mourn-loss-of-ralph-sazio |title=Argos' Mourn Loss of Ralph Sazio |date=September 26, 2008 |publisher=Toronto Argonauts |access-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104204223/http://www.argonauts.ca/article/argos-mourn-loss-of-ralph-sazio |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

After relative stability at the senior executive level for three decades, there has been significant turnover in the positions since the 1990s. The team had eight general managers in eight years, for example, between 1996 and 2003. The current GM is [[Pinball Clemons|Mike "Pinball" Clemons]] who was appointed to the position in October 2019.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cfl.ca/2019/10/08/argos-name-michael-pinball-clemons-general-manager/| title = Argos name Michael 'Pinball' Clemons general manager - CFL.ca| date = October 8, 2019}}</ref> Chris Rudge, former head of the [[Canadian Olympic Committee]], took over as president and CEO from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2015,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/argos/2012/01/30/more_to_football_than_winning_new_argonauts_president_chris_rudge_says.html |title=More to football than winning, new Argonauts president Chris Rudge says |first1=Daniel |last1=Girard |date=January 30, 2012 |newspaper=Toronto Star  |access-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104204635/http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/argos/2012/01/30/more_to_football_than_winning_new_argonauts_president_chris_rudge_says.html |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> when [[Michael Copeland (sports executive)|Michael Copeland]] took over.<ref>[http://www.argonauts.ca/2015/07/13/argos-new-ownership-group-appoints-michael-copeland-as-presdient-ceo/ Argos new ownership group appoints Michael Copeland as president & CEO] from Argonauts.ca, July 13, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2016</ref> The most recent president was [[Bill Manning]] who was also president of [[Toronto FC]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}

=== Head coaches ===
{{Main|List of Toronto Argonauts head coaches}}

Fifty-nine men have been Toronto Argonauts head coach. The most recent coach, [[Ryan Dinwiddie]], was appointed following the end of the 2019 season, and led the team to Grey Cup victories in 2022 and 2024.<ref>{{cite news |title=Toronto Argos announce Ryan Dinwiddie as new head coach |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/toronto-argos-announce-ryan-dinwiddie-as-new-head-coach/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=CTV News |agency=The Canadian Press |publisher=BellMedia |date=13 December 2019 |location=Toronto ON}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Joe |title=Dinwiddie wins Grey Cup; Shaw out at Stanford; Arroyo out at UNLV; ARC in NorCal final |url=https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article269317882.html |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=The Sacramento Bee |date=29 November 2022 |location=Sacramento CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Simmons |first1=Steve |title=Dinwiddie earns a place in Argonauts history |work=National Post |agency=Postmedia |publisher=Postmedia |location=Toronto ON}}</ref>

The longest total tenure at head coach belongs to [[Bob O'Billovich]], who led the team for 11 years over three stints in the 1980s and early 1990s. Other notable coaching careers include those of [[Joe Wright, Sr.]] at the end of the nineteenth century, [[Ted Morris]] and [[Frank Clair]] in the post-war years, [[Leo Cahill]] in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and [[Pinball Clemons]] after the turn of the millennium.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Since 1961, the Canadian Football League has awarded the [[Annis Stukus Trophy]] annually to the league's outstanding coach. (Alongside his playing career, Stukus achieved fame as a coach, promoter, and newspaper columnist.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=404&catID=all&lang= |title=Honoured Member: Annis Stukus |publisher=Canada's Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=March 28, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054614/http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=404&catID=all&lang= |url-status=dead }}</ref> Argonauts coaches have been honoured nine times: Cahill (1971), O'Billovich (1981 & 1987), [[Adam Rita]] (1991), Don Matthews (1997), Jim Barker (2010), Milanovich (2012),<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cfl.ca/page/coy |title= Canadian Football League Coach of the Year |publisher= CFL |date= November 30, 2011 |access-date= January 2, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140209085212/http://cfl.ca/page/coy |archive-date= February 9, 2014 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> Trestman (2017),<ref>{{cite web |author1=Argonauts Staff |title=Argos HC Marc Trestman named CFL Coach of the Year |url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2017/11/23/argos-hc-marc-trestman-named-cfl-coach-year/ |website=Toronto Argonauts |access-date=12 May 2025 |location=Toronto ON |date=23 November 2010}}</ref> and Dinwiddie (2023).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharkey-Gotlieb |first1=Simon |title=2023 CFL Awards: Kelly claims MOP as 5 Argos win trophies |url=https://www.thescore.com/cfl/news/2767379 |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=theScore |date=17 November 2023 |location=Toronto ON}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Current team==
===Current roster===
{{Toronto Argonauts roster}}

===Football operations and coaching staff===

{{Toronto Argonauts staff}}

==Broadcasts==
Argonauts games are currently carried on [[The Sports Network|TSN]]'s national and regional television channel as part of ''[[CFL on TSN]]'' broadcasts. Radio coverage is carried on [[CHUM (AM)]] or on [[CFRB]] 1010 when there is a scheduling conflict and another sport is being carried on TSN Radio.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Notable Argonauts' broadcasters include [[John Badham (sportscaster)|John Badham]], who had three tenures on three separate radio stations and was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1995, and longtime colour analyst Peter Martin, an Argo linebacker from 1965 to 1972, also inducted into the Hall of Fame's media wing in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/news/peterborough-region/2016/12/08/john-badham-was-legendary-peterborough-broadcaster.html|title=John Badham was legendary Peterborough broadcaster|last=Bain|first=J. A.|date=December 8, 2016|work=[[The Peterborough Examiner]]|access-date=August 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://obituaries.thestar.com/obituary/peter-martin-1090250634|title=Toronto Star Obituaries - Peter Martin|access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Toronto Argonauts broadcasters<ref name=execs/>
|-
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Flagship station
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Play–by–play
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Colour
! style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Reference
|-
| 1930s–1957  || [[CFRB]] || [[Wes McKnight]] || || 
|-
| 1958–1959  || [[CFRB]] || [[Wes McKnight]] || [[Brian McFarlane]] and [[Bill O'Connor (American football)|Zeke O'Connor]] || <ref>{{cite book |last=McFarlane |first=Brian |title=A Helluva Life in Hockey: A Memoir |date=October 12, 2021 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1-77305-678-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQM_EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT166 |access-date=June 1, 2025}}</ref>
|-
| 1960–1968  || [[CFRB]] || [[Bill Stephenson (broadcaster)|Bill Stephenson]] || [[Bill O'Connor (American football)|Zeke O'Connor]] || <ref>{{cite news |title=Hall of Fame Canadian sports broadcaster Bill Stephenson dead at age 85 |work=The Canadian Press |date=July 23, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=William Francis O'CONNOR 1926 – 2021 |url=https://thesiredmundhillaryfoundation.ca/1647-2/ |website=The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation |date=March 11, 2021 |access-date=30 May 2025}}</ref>
|-
| 1969–1975  || [[CFTR (AM)|CHFI/CFTR]] || [[John Badham (sportscaster)|John Badham]] || || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Ned |title=Annual lament of football fans glued to TV, radio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0C1gAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA24 |access-date=30 May 2025 |work=The Phoenix |date=November 19, 1969}}</ref>
|-
| 1976  || [[CFRB]] || [[Dave Hodge]] || [[Mel Profit]] || <ref>{{cite news |title=In a nutshell . . . |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=alU_AAAAIBAJ&pg=PA17 |access-date=30 May 2025 |work=The Windsor Star |date=January 18, 1977}}</ref>
|-
| 1977–1980 || [[CFRB]] || [[Dave Hodge]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref name="Martin" />
|-
| 1981  || [[CFRB]] || [[John Badham (sportscaster)|John Badham]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |last=York |first=Marty |title=Hodge asked back to do Argo games |work=The Globe and Mail |date=April 20, 1982}}</ref>
|-
| 1982–1987  || [[CFRB]] || [[Bob Bratina]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |title=Bratina new voice of Argo broadcasts |work=The Globe and Mail |date=April 20, 1982}}</ref>
|-
| 1988  || [[CJCL]] || [[John Badham (sportscaster)|John Badham]] || [[Bill Watters]] || <ref>{{cite news |title=Argos, CJCL sign in time for CFL opener |work=The Globe and Mail |date=July 8, 1988}}</ref>
|-
| 1989–1991 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Marc Charlebois]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || 
|-
| 1992–1994 || [[CFRB]] || [[Bill Stephenson (broadcaster)|Bill Stephenson]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |last1=McKee |first1=Ken |title=CFRB's Stephenson is back as Argos play-by-play voice |work=Toronto Star |date=May 15, 1992}}</ref>
|-
| 1995 || [[CFIQ|CHOG]] || [[Mark Hebscher]] || [[Lance Chomyc]] || <ref name=CP>{{cite news |last= The Canadian Press |date= May 4, 1995|title= Hebscher quits Global to do Argos play-by-play|work= The Ottawa Citizen |page=D5 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/464865104/|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}}</ref>
|-
| 1996 || [[CFIQ|CHOG]] || [[Mark Hebscher]] || [[Wally Zatylny]] || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Milton |first1=Steve |title=Jackson suits up for Cats' colour commentary |work=The Spectator |date=April 17, 1997}}</ref>
|-
| 1997–1999 || [[CFIQ|CHOG]] || [[Bob Bratina]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Mark |title=Ware's on verge of joining the Als |work=Toronto Star |date=April 17, 1997}}</ref>
|-
| 2000 || [[CJCL]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || 
|-
| 2001 || [[CFIQ|CFMJ]] || [[Jim Lang (broadcaster)|Jim Lang]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || 
|-
| 2002 || [[CFIQ|CFMJ]] || [[Jim Lang (broadcaster)|Jim Lang]] || Brian Warren and Rick Loewen || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Zelkovich |first1=Chris |title=Networks getting a kick out of World Cup |date=June 7, 2002}}</ref>
|-
| 2003 || [[CJCL]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Zelkovich |first1=Chris |title=There's a method to Pelley's madness |work=Toronto Star |date=November 7, 2003}}</ref>
|-
| 2004 || [[CFIQ|CFMJ]] || [[Paul Romanuk]]  or Jaime Stein || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite news |last1=Houston |first1=William |title=Workhorse MacLean foresees 'a crazy five months' on the road |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/workhorse-maclean-foresees-a-crazy-five-months-on-the-road/article744354/ |accessdate=January 24, 2020 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 2004}}</ref>
|-
| 2005–2006 || [[CFIQ|CFMJ]] || Jaime Stein || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Jaime Stein named Argos play-by-play announcer |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/jaime-stein-named-argos-play-by-play-announcer/n-3164608 |website=Our Sports Central |access-date=30 May 2025 |date=May 20, 2005}}</ref>
|-
| 2007–2010 || [[CJCL]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]] || <ref name="Martin">{{cite news |title=Veteran CFL analyst back where he belongs |work=Toronto Star |date=June 8, 2007}}</ref>
|-
| 2011–2013 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Sandy Annunziata]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Introducing The New Radio Team |url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2011/08/08/introducing-the-new-radio-team/ |website=Toronto Argonauts |access-date=30 May 2025 |date=August 8, 2011}}</ref>
|-
| 2014–2017 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Jeff Johnson (Canadian football)|Jeff Johnson]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Argos Return to TSN Radio 1050 for Fourth Season |url=https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/argos-return-to-tsn-radio-1050-for-fourth-season/n-4802810 |website=Our Sports Central |access-date=30 May 2025 |date=June 5, 2014}}</ref>
|-
| 2018–2019 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Chris Schultz]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Schultz |url=https://cfhof.ca/members/chris-schultz/ |website=Canadian Football Hall Of Fame |access-date=30 May 2025}}</ref>
|-
| 2021 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Natey Adjei]] || <ref>{{cite web |title=Natey Adjei Joins TSN 1050 As Argos Colour Commentator |url=https://www.cfl.ca/2021/08/17/natey-adjei-joins-tsn-1050-argos-colour-commentator/ |website=CFL |date=August 17, 2021 |access-date=30 May 2025}}</ref>
|-
| 2022 || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || [[Natey Adjei]], [[Bob Bronk]], or Ben Grant || <ref>{{cite web |last1=Hogan |first1=Mike |title=Hogan: Top 22 of '22 |url=https://www.argonauts.ca/2023/01/03/hogan-top-22-of-22/ |website=Toronto Argonauts |access-date=30 May 2025 |date=January 3, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| 2023–present || [[CHUM (AM)|CHUM]] || [[Mike Hogan (sportscaster)|Mike Hogan]] || Ben Grant || 
|}

==Rivalries==

[[File:Ivor Wynne Stadium November 2010.jpg|thumb|right|An Argos game against the Ti-Cats at [[Ivor Wynne Stadium]] in 2010]]

With few teams, but a long history, it is inevitable that intense rivalries have developed in Canadian football. Far and away the greatest Argonaut rivalry has been with the [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]] and its precursor teams. Fittingly, the Argonauts' first game was against a club from Hamilton,<ref name=Olearyfirst/> while the raucous Eastern Final of 2013—featuring a Tiger-Cat win over the Argos in front of 35,000 at the Rogers Centre—proved the rivalry is alive and well.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=436850 | title= Tiger-Cats advance to Grey Cup, top Argos in Eastern Final |date=November 17, 2013 |publisher=TSN |access-date=January 4, 2014}}</ref> The two teams meet in Hamilton every year in the [[Labour Day Classic]], a league-wide tradition in which these two teams have participated since 1950.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Milton |first1=Steve |title=Opinion {{!}} Hamilton Tiger-Cats first home game of the season will ooze with Labour Day Classic eeriness |url=https://www.thespec.com/sports/football/cfl/ticats/hamilton-tiger-cats-first-home-game-of-the-season-will-ooze-with-labour-day-classic/article_a7434c0f-7a88-5944-9eda-b28697558a3a.html |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=The Hamilton Spectator |publisher=Torstar |date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250512233701/https://www.thespec.com/sports/football/cfl/ticats/hamilton-tiger-cats-first-home-game-of-the-season-will-ooze-with-labour-day-classic/article_a7434c0f-7a88-5944-9eda-b28697558a3a.html |archive-date=12 May 2025 |location=Hamilton ON}}</ref>

To the east, the Argonauts have also faced teams from Montreal and Ottawa since their earliest days. In recent years, the [[Montreal Alouettes]] have consistently fielded strong teams which have often run up against the Argos in the playoffs; the teams have met 11 times in the Eastern Final, with Montreal taking six.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cfl.ca/article/argonauts-alouettes-take-rivalry-to-new-heights |title=Argonauts, Alouettes take rivalry to new heights |date=November 17, 2012 |publisher=CFL |access-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121095649/http://www.cfl.ca/article/argonauts-alouettes-take-rivalry-to-new-heights |archive-date=November 21, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>{{update inline|date=September 2021}}

In 2014, the Argonauts reignited their historic rivalry with an Ottawa club, the expansion [[Ottawa Redblacks]] (earlier rivalries involved the [[Ottawa Renegades]] and [[Ottawa Rough Riders]]). In games against the current Ottawa franchise, as of the end of 2024 the Argos hold a 19–6 advantage; 20–6 if the 2024 East Semi-Final result is included.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.footballdb.com/teams/cfl/toronto-argonauts/teamvsteam?opp=76|title=The Football Database - Toronto Argonauts vs. Ottawa RedBlacks Results}}</ref>

In Grey Cups, the Argonauts have faced an assortment of teams in recent decades rather than any one team regularly. The Edmonton Eskimos, for years a dominant team in the league, have been an occasional rival. The two teams' five Grey Cup matchups include an epic 38–36 Toronto loss in [[75th Grey Cup|1987]] and most recently, the [[84th Grey Cup|Snow Bowl]] victory in 1996 led by the arm of [[Doug Flutie]].<ref name=GreyCups/> In pre-CFL days, the Argos had a Grey Cup rivalry with the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]].<ref>{{cite news |title=East-West Grid Rivalry Takes To Air On Friday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/edmonton-journal-east-west-grid-rivalry/172254143/ |work=Edmonton Journal |agency=The Canadian Press |date=23 November 1950 |location=Edmonton AB |page=13 |format=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== Notable personnel ==

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center"
| colspan="5" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|'''Toronto Argonauts retired numbers'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/retired-numbers|title=Retired Numbers|website=Argonauts.ca|publisher=CFL Enterprises LP|access-date=December 27, 2013|archive-date=May 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519090941/http://argonauts.ca/retired-numbers|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! width="40" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|No.
! width="150" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Player
! width="40" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Position
! width="100" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Tenure
! width="100" style="{{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|Championships
|-
| '''22''' || [[Dick Shatto]]<sup>1</sup>|| [[Running back|RB]] || 1954–1965 || –
|-
| '''31''' || [[Pinball Clemons|Michael "Pinball" Clemons]]<sup>2</sup> || [[Running back|RB]]/[[Slotback|SB]]/[[Kick returner|KR]]/[[Punt returner|PR]] || 1989–2000 || 1991, 1996, 1997
|-
| '''55''' || [[Joe Krol]] || [[Quarterback|QB]]/[[Running back|RB]]/[[Punter (football)|P]]/[[Placekicker|K]]/[[Defensive back|DB]] || 1945–1952, 1955 || 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952
|-
| '''60''' || [[Danny Nykoluk]] || [[Offensive tackle|OT]] || 1955, 1957–1971 || –
|-
|colspan=5|<sup>1</sup> General manager from 1976 to 1978.<br><sup>2</sup> Head coach from 2000 to 2007, president from 2001 to 2002, vice-chairman from 2009 to 2019, and general manager 2019–present.
|}

The highest distinction the Toronto Argonauts can accord a player is to retire their number; just four players have received the honour. Starting in 1996, the team began another category of distinction with its list of "All-Time Argos". Twenty-four players have been rewarded so far and a banner in their honour hangs at BMO Field.<ref name=AllTime>{{cite web |url=http://argoalumni.com/all-time-argonauts/ |title=All-Time Argonauts |date=January 20, 2016 |publisher= Toronto Argonauts|access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>

Players and management personnel may be separately inducted into the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfhof.ca/ |title=Canadian Football Hall of Fame |publisher= Canadian Football Hall of Fame|access-date= December 27, 2013}}</ref> A total of 56 people who have been part of the team are in the Hall. The All-Time Argos list does not extend back to before the Second War era while the Hall of Fame does. Thus, for instance, Lionel Conacher is in the Hall but not listed as an All-Time Argo.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Finally, players may be honoured on an annual basis through the CFL awards. The most prestigious of these is the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award|Most Outstanding Player Award]], awarded since 1953. Seven Argonauts have been recipients: [[Chad Kelly]] (2023), [[Chad Owens]] (2012), [[Damon Allen]] (2005), [[Doug Flutie]] (1996 & 1997), [[Michael "Pinball" Clemons]] (1990), [[Condredge Holloway]] (1982), and [[Bill Symons]] (1968).{{cn|date=May 2025}}

{{clear}}

=== All-Time and Hall of Fame ===
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;margin: 1em auto;" width=100%
|-
! colspan="6" style="text-align:center; {{NFLPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts|border=2}};"|'''Toronto Argonauts Honoured Personnel'''
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center; {{NFLAltPrimaryStyle|Toronto Argonauts}};"|'''Affiliation in Hall of Fame based on team acknowledgement''' 
|-
| colspan=6 align=center|'''All Time Argonauts'''<ref name=AllTime/>
|-
| [[Les Ascott]]<br>[[Damon Allen]]<br>[[Pinball Clemons|Michael "Pinball" Clemons]]<br>[[Royal Copeland (Canadian football)|Royal Copeland]]<br>[[Jim Corrigall]]<br>[[Ulysses Curtis|Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis]]
| [[Dan Ferrone]]<br>[[Doug Flutie]]<br>[[Terry Greer]]<br>[[Rodney Harding]]<br>[[Ed Harrington]]
| [[Lew Hayman]]<br>[[Condredge Holloway]]<br>[[Joe Krol]]<br>[[Rodney Harding]]<br>[[Dave Mann (American football)|Dave Mann]]
| [[Paul Masotti]]<br>[[Marv Luster]]<br>[[Peter Martin (linebacker)|Peter Martin]]<br>[[Derrell Mitchell]]<br>[[Danny Nykoluk]]
| [[Mike O'Shea (Canadian football)|Mike O'Shea]]<br>[[Jim Rountree]]<br>[[Teddy Morris]]<br>[[Don Moen (Canadian football)|Don Moen]]<br>[[Bob O'Billovich]]
| [[Ricky Ray]]<br>[[Jim Stillwagon]]<br>[[Bill Symons]]<br>[[Bill Zock|William Zock]]<br>[[Dick Shatto]]
|-
| colspan=6 align=center|'''Hall of Fame Players'''<ref name=HOF>{{cite web |url=http://argoalumni.com/argos-in-the-hall-of-fame/ |title=Hall of Fame |date=January 18, 2016 |publisher=Toronto Argonauts|access-date=July 13, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Damon Allen]]<br>[[John Barrow (Canadian football)|John Barrow]]<br>[[Danny Bass]]<br>[[Harry Batstone]]<br>[[Paul Bennett (Canadian football)|Paul Bennett]]<br>[[Leroy Blugh]]<br>[[Ab Box]]<br>[[Josh Bourke]]<br>[[Joe Breen]]<br>[[Jerry Campbell]]<br>[[Pinball Clemons|Michael "Pinball" Clemons]]
| [[Tommy Joe Coffey]]<br>[[Lionel Conacher]]<br>[[Royal Copeland (Canadian football)|Royal Copeland]]<br>[[Jim Corrigall]]<br>[[Larry Crawford]]<br>[[Wes Cutler]]<br>[[Matt Dunigan]]<br>[[Terry Evanshen]]<br>[[Cap Fear]]<br>[[Dan Ferrone]]<br>[[Doug Flutie]]
| [[Bill Frank]]<br>[[Vince Goldsmith]]<br>[[S. J. Green]]<br>[[Terry Greer]]<br>[[Tracy Ham]]<br>[[Condredge Holloway]]<br>[[Hank Ilesic]]<br>[[Bob Isbister]]<br>[[Russ Jackson]]<br>[[Bobby Jurasin]]<br>[[Ellison Kelly]]
| [[Joe Krol]]<br>[[Smirle Lawson]]<br>[[Neil Lumsden]]<br>[[Marv Luster]]<br>[[Derrell Mitchell]]<br>[[Joe Montford]]<br>[[Frank Morris (Canadian football)|Frank Morris]]<br>[[Teddy Morris]]<br>[[Ray Nettles]]<br>[[Mike O'Shea (Canadian football)|Mike O'Shea]]<br>[[Chad Owens]]
| [[Jackie Parker]]<br>[[James "Quick" Parker|James Parker]]<br>[[Willie Pless]]<br>[[Dave Raimey]]<br>[[Ted Reeve]]<br>[[Rocco Romano]]<br>[[Dick Shatto]]<br>[[Orlondo Steinauer]]<br>[[Don Sutherin]]<br>[[Bill Symons]]
| [[Ricky Ray]]<br>[[Dave Thelen]]<br>[[Dick Thornton (Canadian football)|Dick Thornton]]<br>[[Andy Tommy]]<br>[[Pierre Vercheval]]<br>[[David Williams (wide receiver)|David Williams]]<br>[[Tom Wilkinson (Canadian football)|Tom Wilkinson]]<br>[[Don Wilson (gridiron football)|Don Wilson]]<br>[[Ben Zambiasi]]<br>[[Bill Zock]]
|-
| colspan=6 align=center|'''Hall of Fame Builders'''<ref name=HOF/>
|-
| [[David Braley]]<br>[[Frank Clair]]<br>[[Frank Cosentino]] 
| [[Bernie Custis]]<br>[[William C. Foulds]]<br>[[Jake Gaudaur]]
| [[Lew Hayman]]<br>[[Tuffy Knight]]<br>[[Don Matthews]]
| [[Jack Newton (Canadian football)|Jack Newton]]<br>[[Bob O'Billovich]]
| [[Mike Rodden]]<br>[[Ralph Sazio]]
| [[Annis Stukus]]<br>[[Frank Tindall]]
|}

== Mascot ==
Jason is the mascot for the Toronto Argonauts, replacing the previous mascot, Argo Bounce, in 2005, who in turn replaced the team's first mascot, Scully, in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.argonauts.ca/jason-the-mascot/|title=Jason the Mascot |work=Toronto Argonauts |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809100939/https://www.argonauts.ca/jason-the-mascot/ }}</ref>

==Season-by-season results==
{{Main|List of Toronto Argonauts seasons}}

== See also ==
*[[Toronto Argonauts all-time records and statistics]]
*[[Argonotes]], the former Toronto Argonauts band

==Notes==
'''Footnotes'''
{{Reflist|group=note}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{cite book |title=2009 Canadian Football League Facts, Figures & Records|publisher=Canadian Football League Properties/Publications |year=2009 |location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-0-9739425-4-5 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Cosentino |first1= Frank  |title=A passing game: A history of the CFL |publisher=Bain & Cox |year=1995 |location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vodUPQAACAAJ&q=A+passing+game:+A+history+of+the+CFL|isbn= 0-921368-54-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Currie |first=Gordon |year=1968 |title=100 Years of Canadian Football |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4920GAAACAAJ&q=100+Years+of+Canadian+Football |location=Toronto |publisher=Pagurian Press Limited }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=O'Leary |editor1-first= Jim |editor2-last=Parrish |editor2-first=Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltw9BAAACAAJ&q=Double+Blue |title=Double Blue: An Illustrated History of the Toronto Argonauts|publisher=Toronto Argonauts Football Club and ECW Press |location=Toronto, Ontario|year=2007 |isbn=978-1-55022-779-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Siggins, Maggie |title=For love, money, and future considerations |publisher=James Lorimer & Company |location=Toronto, Ontario|year=1979|isbn=0-88862-284-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jc3YbqHtsW4C|author-link=Maggie Siggins }}
* {{cite book |last1=Teitel |first1= Jay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0RqSgpKakykC |title=The Argo Bounce |publisher=Lester and Orpen Dennys Publishers |location=Toronto, Ontario|year=1983 |isbn= 0-88619-033-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Willes |first=Ed |year=2013 |title=End Zones and Border Wars: The Era of American Expansion in the CFL |url=http://www.harbourpublishing.com/title/EndZonesandBorderWars |location=Madeira Park, BC |publisher=Harbour Publishing Co. |isbn=978-1-55017-614-8 |access-date=January 27, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116092747/http://www.harbourpublishing.com/title/EndZonesandBorderWars |url-status=dead }}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |author-link1=Leo Cahill |last1=Cahill |first1= Leo |last2=Young |first2= Scott |author-link2=Scott Young (writer) |title=Goodbye Argos |location=Toronto, Ontario |publisher=McClelland and Stewart |year=1973 |isbn= 0771090625 }} 
* {{cite book |last1=Boyd |first1=Denny |title=Legends of autumn: The glory years of Canadian football |location=Vancouver, British Columbia |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre / Greystone Books |year=1997 |isbn=1550545817 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/legendsofautumng0000boyd }} 
* {{cite book |author=Profit, Mel |title=For Love, Money, and Future Considerations |publisher= D.C. Heath Canada  |location=Toronto, Ontario|year=1972|isbn=0669805726 |author-link=Mel Profit }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.argonauts.ca/}}
* [https://argoalumni.com/all-time-roster/ Toronto Argonauts all-time roster (Toronto Argonauts alumni website)]

{{Toronto Argonauts}}
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