1995 Baltimore Stallions Grey Cup Championship Ring - Player Issued
This is one of the most unique championship rings in all of sports, hailing from a team that existed for just two seasons, won a championship in their final game, and then ceased to exist. The 1995 Baltimore Stallions are the only American-based team in the 100-plus year history of the Canadian Football League to win the Grey Cup. No American team has won it since, and since no American team is in the CFL today, that record will stand for the foreseeable future.
Won the championship — then vanished
The circumstances surrounding this championship are almost too remarkable to believe. The week before the 83rd Grey Cup was played in Regina, Saskatchewan, the Cleveland Browns announced they were relocating to Baltimore. Owner Jim Speros, unwilling to compete with an incoming NFL franchise, made the decision to fold the team and move the franchise to Montreal as the revived Alouettes. The players who ran onto that field in Regina on November 19, 1995 knew — or would soon know — that they were playing the final Stallions game, ever. They won anyway, 37–20 over the Calgary Stampeders.
The 83rd Grey Cup — nicknamed "The Wind Bowl" for the brutal November conditions on the Taylor Field turf in Regina — was a commanding performance by a Stallions team that had been building toward this moment for two years. Baltimore went 15–3 in the regular season, the best record in the South Division. The team's MVP, Running back Mike Pringle, was the most dominant back in the CFL rushing for 1,791 yards in the regular season and a jaw-dropping 484 yards and four touchdowns across three playoff games. Quarterback Tracy Ham was named Grey Cup MVP after throwing for three touchdowns and controlling the game throughout. Carlos Huerta kicked five field goals. Calgary's Doug Flutie, one of the CFL's all-time greats, had no answer for them.
Crafted in 10k gold with a sea of diamonds surrounding the Grey Cup, this player ring makes a fine addition to any sports collection. The franchise played only 36 games total across two seasons makeing every ring a one-of-a-kind artifact from a chapter of football history that lasted less than 24 months — and ended on the highest possible note.
| Year | 1995 |
| Championship | 83rd Grey Cup — CFL Championship |
| Material | 10k Gold with diamonds |
| Type | Player-issued |
| Head coach | Don Matthews |
| Grey Cup MVP | Tracy Ham, QB |
| Team MVP | Mike Pringle, RB — 1,791 regular season rushing yards |
| Grey Cup result | Stallions def. Calgary Stampeders, 37–20 |
1995 Baltimore Stallions — Quick Facts
- The only American-based team to win the Grey Cup in the 115-plus year history of the CFL championship — a record that has stood for 30 years and, with no American franchises currently in the league, shows no sign of ever being broken
- The franchise existed for just two seasons and 36 total games — appearing in the Grey Cup Final in both years, losing narrowly to BC in 1994 before winning convincingly over Calgary in 1995
- The Grey Cup was played the same week the Cleveland Browns announced their relocation to Baltimore — the arrival of an NFL team made the Stallions' future untenable, and owner Jim Speros folded the team and moved the franchise to Montreal, where it became the revived Alouettes
- Running back Mike Pringle rushed for 484 yards and four touchdowns across just three playoff games — one of the most dominant postseason rushing performances in CFL history; he led the league with 1,791 regular season yards
- Quarterback Tracy Ham was named Grey Cup MVP after directing a masterful 37–20 victory over the Calgary Stampeders and their star quarterback Doug Flutie — one of the CFL's all-time greats
- Carlos Huerta kicked five field goals in the Grey Cup — accounting for 15 of the team's 37 points in a complete team performance that held Calgary to 20 points in one of the windiest championship conditions in Grey Cup history (the game earned the nickname "The Wind Bowl")
- The Stallions were described at the time as the most successful expansion team in North American professional sports history — two seasons, two Grey Cup appearances, one championship, then gone forever