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Ed McQuarters

This is a brief history of the team now known as the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 

First, a little background of where the Roughriders come from.   Saskatchewan is a province in western Canada.  Located north of Montana and North Dakota of the United States, Saskatchewan boasts a population of just over one million people.  The main industries are wheat farming, potash mining, and oil production.  The capital city is Regina (pop. ~180,000) and is where the Roughriders are based, playing their games out of tiny Taylor Field (capacity 27,658).  The climate is hot and dry during the summer months, and bitterly cold in the winter ones.  

The "Riders" have had a long and storied past going right back to 1910.  Incorrectly compared to the NFL's Green Bay Packers, the Riders are probably an even greater phenomenon considering the fact that within a two-hour drive of Taylor Field (where the Roughriders play their games), there exists a population base of less than 250,000 people.   Also, they have been around much longer than the Packers.

Roughrider players come from all parts of the world.  Most players are born and bred right here in Canada.  Others are Canadian citizens who have emigrated from countries such as England, Jamaica and even Egypt.  The rest are American-born players looking for a chance to play professional football.  Whether they came from the Regina Rams junior football program or from a big NCAA Division I college, once they don the famed Green-and-White uniforms, they truly show their "Rider Pride". 

Saskatchewan fans have been called the "Greatest football fans in the world".  While this point can be debated, there is no doubt that Rider fans are the most knowledgable and ardent supporters of their team in the Canadian Football League.