
Argonauts.ca Staff
TORONTO– On Tuesday, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame announced that former Argos QB Tracy Ham will be inducted into the Hall later this year. Now, Ham’s time in Double Blue was short lived despite his career legacy that left behind. However, his well-documented arrival, combined with the notion of pulling off “big trades” seeming to dominate the Toronto sports headlines over the last few days, makes it only appropriate to visit one of the most unique player swaps between two teams in sports history.
It was 16 years and three days ago that the Argos and the Edmonton Eskimos made CFL history when they signed off on an overwhelming 16-player trade that would turn the fortunes of both club’s around.
From the Argos’ perspective, a chance to start new and free up salary to alter the course of a franchise that, despite putting together four straight playoff appearances, including a Grey Cup victory just two years prior, was getting a little long in the tooth.
For Edmonton, it was a chance to pickup proven veterans that could step in immediately and contribute in the starting lineup. Players such as Rickey Foggie, D.K. Smith, Ed Berry, J.P Izquaierdo and Don Wilson, who had made a name for themselves in Toronto for many years were suddenly packing their bags to head out west.
Coming the other way was a group of relatively young players who were looking to make it big in the big smoke under the guidance of a new coaching staff.
The trade would yield different results for both teams – all-stars Smith, Wilson and Berry would go on to not only dramatically upgrade the talent on the Esks roster, but help them capture a Grey Cup that season.
The Argos, on the other hand struggled, to get the return on their investment to say the least. The Argos offence sputtered and by the time training camp opened the next season (1994), only one player, CB Travis Oliver, remained on the Argos roster.
In an era in sports where trades so seldom occur, especially those of this magnitude, one can truly appreciate how utterly special the 1993 exchange was.
Below is a graphic documenting the entire trade: