Edmonton Eskimos

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Team facts

Ownership

The Edmonton Eskimos Football Club is one of three remaining "community owned" teams in the CFL (owned by local shareholders). This was once the most common type of ownership in the CFL. The current board of directors as of the 2008 annual general meeting includes Diane Brickner (president and CEO of Peace Hills Insurance), Harold Roozen (chairman and CEO of CCI Thermal Technologies Inc.), Douglas Goss, and Allan Sawin, Terry O'Flynn, John Moquin and Bruce Bentley. Goss is the chairman, Sawin is the treasurer, and Bentley is secretary. The club's president and CEO is Rick LeLacheur.

For the 2008 year, the club announced revenue of $14.868 million, and a profit on the football side of the franchise, but a net loss of $504,049 because of loss of investments in the stock market due to the economic recession.

Franchise history

Edmonton played its first series of organized games with the formation of the Alberta Rugby Football Union in 1895. In 1897 the name Esquimaux was adopted. In 1910 the club was officially named the Edmonton Eskimos. Since 1978 the Eskimos have played their home games in Commonwealth Stadium. They are one of the most successful teams in Canadian football history, having won the Grey Cup more than any other team except the Toronto Argonauts, and being the run-away leader in attendance for many years.

The team holds many impressive records, including five consecutive Grey Cup wins (1978 to 1982), and 34 consecutive years in the playoffs (1972 to 2005), a record no other North American professional team (regardless of sport) has equalled. Former Eskimos have figured prominently in Alberta political life: past players include two former provincial premiers (E. Peter Lougheed and Donald Getty), a former mayor of Edmonton (Bill Smith), and a lieutenant-governor (Norman Kwong).

During the glory years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Edmonton Eskimos won five Grey Cup championships in a row. Since Edmonton re-entered the CFL in 1949, only one team has managed to win three in row (Eskimos 1954 to 1956), let alone five. Their achievements were documented in the book, Decade of Excellence , with photographs by Bob Peterson. The Eskimos have also enjoyed great attendance in the stands as they lead the league.

Origin of the uniform

The current uniform colours, green and gold,

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