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SACRAMENTO
GOLDMINERS
HISTORY
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|
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| YEARS IN
LEAGUE: 1993-1994 |
OWNER:
Fred Anderson |
| STADIUM:
Hornet
Field (24,000) |
COLOURS:
Aqua and Old Gold |
| OVERALL
REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 15-20-1 |
OVERALL
PLAYOFF RECORD: 0-0 |
1993 STANDINGS:
6-12 Overall (5-4 Home, 1-8 Away)
- Did Not Qualify For Playoffs. |
1993 AVERAGE
HOME ATTENDANCE: 16,979 |
1994 STANDINGS:
9-8-1 Overall (5-3-1 Home, 4-5-0 Away)
- Did Not Qualify For Playoffs. |
1994 AVERAGE
HOME ATTENDANCE: 14,226 |
Synopsis:
(from
The
CFL in America) |
| The Gold Miners
were the "descendants" of the Sacramento Surge of the original World League
of American Football. A handful of players from the Surge, including
their quarterback David Archer, slotback Rod Harris and defensive tackle
George Bethune played for the Gold Miners. The Gold Miners were the
first CFL American team and set a record their first season for most wins
by a first-year CFL team (the record was broken by Baltimore in 1994). |
| Their all-US
cast took some time to learn the intricacies of the Canadian game, going
6-12 in their first season, and just missing the playoffs in 1994 by going
9-8-1. The team was ably led by QB Archer. Other standout players
included Mike Oliphant and Mike Pringle. |
| They made
CFL history in 1993 on three occasions: Their first game on July
7, when they lost to Ottawa, 32-23 marked the first ever regular-season
game between a Canadian team and a team based outside of Canada.
On July 17, they hosted Calgary and lost, 38-36. It marked the first
regular-season CFL game played between a Canadian and American team on
American soil. On July 24, they recorded their first win vs. Saskatchewan,
37-26 and became the first American team to win a regular-season CFL game. |
| The Miners had very competent management
working under owner Fred Anderson, perhaps the only truly dedicated US
CFL owner. Anderson's sidekick Tom Bass oversaw the operation, run
by coach Kay Stephenson and GM Tom Huiskens. As with the team, it
took Stephenson some time to adapt to the Canadian game, but he was eventually
successful. |
| The problems in Sacramento, however,
were hard to overcome. Since the San Antonio club that was also supposed
to be a part of the '93 expansion had folded prematurely, the Miners were
the only American team in the CFL during the 1993 campaign. They had to
market themselves, receiving no assistance from the league. Also,
competition from the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University hurt attendance.
Rickety Hornet Field kept fans away -- it was made up mostly of temporary
grandstands with no real stadium amenities (facilities were threadbare,
only port-a-potties were provided for fans). Fred Anderson wanted
to change this situation by building a new stadium in Sacramento for the
Miners and his minor-league baseball club. He planned to complete
a project that had been started several years earlier to lure the Raiders
to Sacramento, but had ended up being mothballed. Anderson, however,
could not come to terms with the local governments, and ended up moving
to San Antonio after the 1994 season. |
| Attendance hovered around the 15,000
range in Sacramento, but it was widely known that as many as 2,000 of the
15,000 per game were given free tickets. |
SACRAMENTO
GOLDMINERS' RECORD VS. OTHER TEAMS:
| OPPONENT: |
GP
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
PF
|
PA
|
Pts
|
Pct.
|
Home
|
Away
|
| BALTIMORE
STALLIONS |
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
48
|
29
|
2
|
1.000
|
1-0-0
|
1-0-0
|
| BRITISH
COLUMBIA LIONS |
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
116
|
111
|
5
|
.625
|
1-0-1
|
1-1-0
|
| CALGARY
STAMPEDERS |
4
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
80
|
143
|
0
|
.000
|
0-2-0
|
0-2-0
|
| EDMONTON
ESKIMOS |
5
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
67
|
156
|
0
|
.000
|
0-3-0
|
0-2-0
|
| HAMILTON
TIGER-CATS |
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
85
|
62
|
4
|
.667
|
1-0-0
|
1-1-0
|
| LAS
VEGAS POSSE |
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
48
|
52
|
2
|
.500
|
0-1-0
|
1-0-0
|
| OTTAWA
ROUGH
RIDERS |
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
114
|
56
|
4
|
.667
|
2-0-0
|
0-1-0
|
| SASKATCHEWAN
ROUGHRIDERS |
5
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
129
|
122
|
6
|
.600
|
2-0-0
|
1-2-0
|
| SHREVEPORT
PIRATES |
2
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
68
|
27
|
2
|
.500
|
1-0-0
|
0-1-0
|
| TORONTO
ARGONAUTS |
3
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
107
|
103
|
4
|
.667
|
2-0-0
|
0-1-0
|
| WINNIPEG
BLUE
BOMBERS |
3
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
72
|
94
|
0
|
.000
|
0-1-0
|
0-2-0
|
| TOTALS: |
36
|
15
|
20
|
1
|
934
|
955
|
31
|
.431
|
10-7-1
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5-13-0
|
1993
GOLDMINERS GAME RESULTS:
| Pre-Season: |
Score: |
| at WINNIPEG
BLUE BOMBERS |
W 21-15 |
| vs.
BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (18,630) |
W 39-20 |
|
|
| Regular Season: |
Score: |
| at Ottawa Rough Riders |
L 23-32 |
| at Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
L 14-30 |
| vs. Calgary Stampeders (20,082) |
L 36-38 |
| vs.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (17,319) |
W 37-26 |
| vs. Edmonton Eskimos (17,827) |
L 11-43 |
| at Toronto Argonauts |
L 35-37 |
| vs. HAMILTON
TIGER-CATS (14,656) |
W 46-10 |
| vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
(15,509) |
L 18-30 |
| at Saskatchewan Roughriders |
L 23-26 |
| at Edmonton Eskimos |
L 12-13 |
| vs.
OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS (16,510) |
W 47-15 |
| at Saskatchewan Roughriders |
L 20-27 |
| vs. Edmonton Eskimos (15,914) |
L 13-34 |
| at BRITISH
COLUMBIA LIONS |
W 27-23 |
| at Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
L 26-33 |
| vs.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (16,242) |
W 38-34 |
| at Calgary Stampeders |
L 8-41 |
| vs.
BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (18,748) |
W 64-27 |
|
1993
GOLDMINERS GAME RESULTS:
| Pre-Season: |
Score: |
| vs. Calgary Stampeders (13,650) |
L 24-39 |
| at Saskatchewan Roughriders |
L 4-19 |
|
|
| Regular Season: |
Score: |
| vs. Las Vegas Posse (14,816) |
L 26-32 |
| at HAMILTON
TIGER-CATS |
W 25-22 |
| at LAS
VEGAS POSSE |
W 22-20 |
| vs.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (14,828) |
W 30-27 |
| at British Columbia Lions |
L 10-46 |
| at Calgary Stampeders |
L 11-25 |
| vs. Edmonton Eskimos (13,959) |
L 15-44 |
| at Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
L 28-31 |
| vs. British Columbia Lions
(12,633) |
T 15-15 |
| at BALTIMORE
CFL |
W 30-29 |
| vs.
SHREVEPORT PIRATES (13,741) |
W 56-3 |
| vs. Calgary Stampeders (17,192) |
L 25-39 |
| at SASKATCHEWAN
ROUGHRIDERS |
W 19-16 |
| vs.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (13,050) |
W 34-32 |
| at Shreveport Pirates |
L 12-24 |
| vs.
OTTAWA ROUGH RIDERS (13,760) |
W 44-9 |
| at Edmonton Eskimos |
L 16-22 |
| vs.
BALTIMORE CFL (14,056) |
W 18-0 |
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