Football in Edmonton 1895–1939 The
Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club, unaffiliated with the current team, was an early
Canadian football-
rugby union team based in
Edmonton. The team played its first organized games with the formation of the
Alberta Rugby Football League in 1895. In 1908 the name
Esquimaux was adopted. In 1910 the club was officially named the
Edmonton Eskimos and was briefly called the
Edmonton Elks during
1922. (The city was represented by the
Edmonton Civics in
1914 and the
Edmonton Canucks in
1919.) After appearing in and losing the
9th Grey Cup and
10th Grey Cup games (being the first western teams to play for the Cup) the team folded in
1925, but returned for two seasons beginning
1928, and then folded again. It was succeeded by the
Edmonton Boosters, who played for three more seasons, and the
Edmonton Hi-Grads in
1936 (a team of high school graduate all stars.) Elite-level football returned to Edmonton in
1938 with a team once again called the
Eskimos, this time in the
Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). This team ceased operating after only two seasons because of the
Second World War.
Team history with Edmonton in 1962 The current incarnation of the team began in the 1949 WIFU season as the Edmonton Eskimos under head coach
Annis Stukus, for whom the CFL's annual coach of the year award is named. The team played home games at
Clarke Stadium and quickly saw success under quarterback
Jackie Parker and running back
Johnny Bright, winning the Grey Cup three years in a row from 1954 to 1956. The team did not win the Grey Cup again until 1975, the longest drought in team history. The team moved to Commonwealth Stadium in 1978. The team won five consecutive Grey Cups (1978–82), led by superstar quarterbacks
Warren Moon and
Tom Wilkinson and head coach
Hugh Campbell. After a brief absence, Campbell returned to the team in 1986 and worked for Edmonton in an administrative capacity until his retirement in 2006. This five-year dynasty, followed by the dominance of the city's NHL team the
Edmonton Oilers, led the city to be nicknamed the "City of Champions" in the 1980s. Edmonton made it to nine Grey Cups in a ten-year span from 1973 to 1982. In the 1980s and 90s the team's marquee player was
Gizmo Williams who still holds many CFL records in punt and kickoff returns and was a key part in Grey Cup victories in 1987 and 1993 under head coach
Ron Lancaster. During this period the team was also known for its stellar defensive line, with future
Canadian Football Hall of Famers like
Danny Kepley and
Danny Bass winning Defensive Player of the Year Awards and
Willie Pless winning the trophy a record five times. After winning the Grey Cup in both 2003 and 2005, under quarterback
Ricky Ray, who is Edmonton's all-time leader in passing yards, the team missed the playoffs the following year, for the first time in 34 years, a North American professional sport record. This led to a ten-year Grey Cup drought. After a gap of ten years, Edmonton won the Grey Cup again in 2015, under the leadership of quarterback
Mike Reilly, their most recent championship. In 2020 pressure mounted from team sponsors such as
Belairdirect,
Boston Pizza, and Sports Interaction, a First Nations–owned betting company, for the team to change their name. The term
Eskimo is a term historically placed on
Inuit. The team officially dropped all use of the word "Eskimo" from the team on July 21, 2020. In response, the team temporarily rebranded as the "Edmonton Football Team" or, secondarily, the "EE Football Team", confirming their plan was to rebrand with a nickname starting with "E" to continue the use of at least some of their branding, most notably the interlocked double-E logo. This move was supported by multiple Indigenous groups, including the
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a group representing over 60,000 Inuit across Canada. On June 1, 2021, the team formally announced that the new Edmonton team name would be the Edmonton Elks, a name used by the Edmonton football club of 1922.Franchise great Warren Moon, who led Edmonton to a record five straight Grey Cups between 1978 and 1982 stated, "The name Eskimos, to me, just means pride and it means winning with that organization". However, he stated that he was ultimately supportive of the move because some people might be offended by the name. Saying, "If this is something that is insensitive to another group of people, that is something I can understand being a minority myself." This came around the same time as the Washington Redskins of the
National Football League rebranded as the
Washington Commanders, and the Cleveland Indians of
Major League Baseball rebranded as the
Cleveland Guardians.
Team colours and branding The team colours, green and gold, have remained essentially the same over the years with only minor modifications to the uniform or logo until 2021, when the EE logo was designated as a secondary logo, and introduced a new logo of a stylized image of an elk and the Elks helmet logo was changed to antlers. After keeping the elk-antler helmet for the 2021 season, the team reintroduced the EE logo to their helmets (albeit with it not being enclosed in an oval) in the 2022 offseason, acknowledging fan favourability towards the logo. In 2021, the Elks worked with artist Izaiah Masuskapoe, an Indigenous student at West Edmonton’s St. Thomas More Catholic Junior High School, to create a special logo to celebrate the Indigenous people in Edmonton, which later spread to all of Canada in 2024 as the CFL commemorated the
National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with logos of their own. This followed a similar effort by the
BC Lions months before. Following new private ownership, the EE logo returned as the primary logo in 2025 and the Elk logo was retained as the secondary logo.
Team records and achievements With 14 Grey Cup wins, the franchise has won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the
Toronto Argonauts, who have 19 wins. This includes more championships than any other team since the CFL was formed in the 1950s. Edmonton holds the record for most consecutive Grey Cup appearances (6 from 1977 to 1982), and consecutive wins (5 from 1978 to 1982). The team is the only one to have won three or more consecutive Grey Cups twice (1954–1956 and 1978–1982). The Edmonton franchise holds the following CFL records: • 5 consecutive Grey Cup wins: 1978–1982 • 6 consecutive Grey Cup appearances: 1977–1982 • 34 consecutive playoff appearances: 1972–2005 • 6 consecutive first place finishes, division: 1977–1982 • 12 consecutive home playoff victories: 1973–1987 • 14 consecutive seasons above .500: 1984–1997 (tied by Calgary 2008–2022) • 13 consecutive seasons 10 or more wins: 1985–1997 • 16 wins, season: 1989 (tied by Toronto 2023) • 0.906 winning pct., season (minimum 16-game season): 1981 • 14 games over .500, season: 1989 (tied by Toronto 2023) • 9 home wins, season: 1989 (tied by several teams) • 27 consecutive seasons .500 or better: 1972–1998 • 22 consecutive home losses: October 26, 2019–August 10, 2023 • 22 consecutive winless home games: October 26, 2019–August 10, 2023 The team has the distinction of setting two opposite North American professional sports records: from a success standpoint, Edmonton made the playoffs for 34 consecutive years from 1972 to 2005. At the other end, the Elks hold the dubious record of longest losing streak, home, and longest winless streak, home, set when they passed 21 on July 29, 2023. These streaks ended at 22, with the first home win under the Elks name coming August 27, 2023. This record was previously held by the
1953 St. Louis Browns. The Elks have also led the CFL in yearly attendance many times. As of August 2016, Edmonton had the highest average attendance in the league 27 times since moving to Commonwealth Stadium in 1978. Team alumni have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (
Peter Lougheed and
Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (
Bill Smith), and a
lieutenant-governor (
Norman Kwong). Athletes of significance in other professional sports that played for the Elks include professional wrestler and
WWE champion
Roman Reigns, who played under his birthname Joe Anoa'i in 2008. == Wall of Honour == The Edmonton Elks have a policy of honouring the players who have best represented the team on the field. The player's name, number and seasons played with the Edmonton Elks are displayed on the edge of the concrete separating the field level from the lower bowl of
Commonwealth Stadium. The Elks keep most of the numbers in circulation rather than retire them from use. However, the team has had the numbers of
Warren Moon (1),
Don Warrington (21), and
Rollie Miles (98) removed from circulation and are no longer issued.
Numbers so honoured : ==Current roster==