With the 2020 season lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Canadian government sadly deaf to the league’s request for financial health, many are wondering about the very future of the Canadian Football League. 

But the league, now into its second century has been through difficult waters before, and always found a way to survive. 

Not all attempts at trying things have been successful though. 

Longer term fans will recall the ill-fated expansion the CFL undertook into the U.S. market, and mad science experience that ultimately fizzled rather quickly. 

But, even in that general failure there was a brief bright spot; one chronicled in a very informative book by author Ronald Snyder entitled The Baltimore Stallions: The Brief, Brilliant History of the CFL Champion. 

The book was something of a labour of love for Snyder, a lifelong Baltimore resident who has worked in the media industry (journalism, public relations and education) for more than 20-years. His time as a journalist included stints at the Baltimore Examiner, Annapolis Capital, Jewish Times, Patch.com, and on the digital sites of WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV. He is also an adjunct Mass Communications professor at Towson University. 

“I've wanted to write this book for about 10 years,” he told yours truly in a recent interview after I had read the book. 

Snyder said the book was one that took a while to find a home given its rather narrow audience. 

“It took a long time to find a publisher who truly understood the story,” he said, adding “McFarland Publishing has been great to work with on this project.” 

But why the interest in a team that was much a footnote in both CFL and Baltimore football history? 

“Growing up in Baltimore after the Colts left was a tough time to be a football fan,” said Snyder. “I grew up a Miami Dolphins fan because we always got their games.  

“Then after Baltimore lost out to Charlotte and Jacksonville in the NFL expansion process, we all thought we were never going to get a team.  

“Then this CFL team came to town. It was a blue collar football team in a blue collar town and we embraced them like we would have for the NFL.  

“The team accomplished so much in such a short time and just like that they were gone. The Stallions' story has all the elements of a great sports story: drama, excitement, triumph, tragedy and unique characters. It's a story that tells itself and is as unique as there has ever been in sports.” 

It also seems Snyder likes something of an ‘underdog tale to tell’. 

This was actually his third book. Snyder’s first was Wrestling's New Golden Age (2017), which chronicles the growth of independent professional wrestling. The second was A Season to Forget: The Story of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles (2019), which tells the story of the team that started the MLB season 0-21. Both of those books were published by Skyhorse Publishing. 

Snyder said the Stallions story was one like no other, and he had to tell it. 

“It's such a unique story and tells the story not only of the Stallions, but Baltimore's journey to becoming a professional football city again,” he said. “The battle over the Colts nickname only adds to their lore.” 

Interestingly, when it came time to write the book contacts were rather easy to track down. 

“Mike Gathagan, who was the PR director of the team, kept in touch with most of the players on the team,” said Snyder. “When I pitched this to him, I had a dozen players and team personnel ready to participate. That led to about 50 interviews for the book.  

“There was more than enough material. It was just a matter of organizing it. Having knowledge of so much of the story beforehand made it easier. The book wrote itself.” 

Snyder said he thinks the book covers the short-lived team well, covering it from all the relevant angles; “from the struggles of Baltimore bringing football back to the city, to the emotions of the Colts lawsuit, to the story of the players themselves, there really is something in the book for everyone.” 

As a reader I have to agree. The CFL fan in me found it a nostalgia ride, and I found out a good bit about the rather unusual period in the CFL. I’d mark it must read for the true CFL aficionado. 

 Snyder too likes the finished product. 

“You always wish you could have done more, but to tell the story of a team that was only in existence for less than two-years and filling a 224-page book was fulfilling. It was a labor of love,” he said.