TiCats' Hal Patterson reaches in vain for a pass as Bombers' Gar Warren moves in. It's 1962 and the Grey Cup game is robed in mist.

The date was Friday Nov. 30, 1962. I was a grade eight student at W.E. Breckon School in Burlington and was asked to perform an unusual chore. I was dispatched along with classmates to search for children lost in the fog during recess.

The children were found but the fog persisted the next day, creating a classic moment in Grey Cup history. Conditions became so unplayable that officials were forced to stop the game and extend it to the next day, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers scored a narrow victory over the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the game that came to be known as the Fog Bowl.

That game played at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium represented the 34th Classic contested in the Centre of the Universe going back to the first game at Rosedale Field in 1909. It was not, however, the only two-day event. East-west football politics was partially responsible for a two-game total point affair in 1940 when the Ottawa Rough Riders bettered Balmy Beach 20 - 7.

The national championship returns to Toronto this year for 46th occasion but the first time since 1992.

Most Canadians, even those who are not fans of the Canadian game, will have memories related to Grey Cup. First donated to be awarded to the amateur rugby football champion of Canada, the game now is played by highly paid professionals and often called the "Annual Classic."

As a seven year old I can recall (barely) the exciting 1957 event at the C.N.E. The game was a historic one featuring a rare instance of "fan interference" when Ticat player Ray "Bibbles" Bawels was tripped while racing for the end zone. Criminal lawyer David Humphreys, later a judge, stopped Bawels but not the Ticats as they went on to win 32-7. More significant, though, was the fact that this was the first nationally televised Grey Cup.

I don't remember, but many readers of this publication will, the November day five years earlier when the game was televised for the first time. Those who could access Toronto station CBLT watched Joe Kroll and Nobby Wirkowski lead the Argonauts to a 21-11 victory over Edmonton. There were frustrating moments for viewers when the TV image disappeared for 29 minutes while an unusual football hero - a repairman - climbed a 90-metre tower to restore the picture for 700,000 viewers.

Early Cup games were local events. Rosedale Field located in the Roxborough/Mt Pleasant Rd. was the scene of the University of Toronto's first victory. Today the bleachers are gone but tennis courts, a baseball field and, in winter, a hockey rink can be found. In 1911 the first of 30 games played at Varsity Stadium commenced.

While Hamilton teams - the Alerts and the Tigers - won the Ambitious City-hosted games in 1912 and 1913, the University of Toronto gang was not actually defeated in the season finale until the Argos prevailed in the 1914 cup at Varsity. This win was the first of nine by the Argo teams in Hogtown. Surprisingly, the last year that Toronto supporters were able to savour a home field win was 1952. Diehard fans won't forget the home squad's last appearance, a 32-16 lose to Edmonton as the Esks captured their fifth consecutive title.

While we often think of the cup as an east/west affair the first western win didn't come until 1935 in Hamilton. It wasn't until 1941 (the 17th Toronto event) that the west (Winnipeg again) won in Ontario's capital.

Some will remember the exciting first SkyDome Grey Cup of 1989 as typical of the wide-open Canadian game. With 777 yards of passing offence recorded that day, the game was in doubt until a last second Dave Ridgway field goal gave the Saskatchewan Roughriders their second national championship, 43-40.

In contrast to the pristine conditions of the SkyDome, most cup games have been impacted by weather. The 1950 Mud Bowl (13 total points), the Wind Bowl of 1965 (where only 139 yards in passing were recorded), or the 4-3 thriller of 1937, played just two weeks before Christmas, are cases in point.

Not to worry. This year's Nov. 25 game will take place in the comfy confines of the Rogers Centre. Tickets, if you can get them, start at $94.

Much of the material for this column has been taken from Stephen Thiele's entertaining book 'Heroes of the Game - A History of the Grey Cup,' published by Moulin Publishing in 1997.