The 1988 Ottawa Rough Riders finished the season in fourth place in the East Division with a 2–16 record and failed to qualify for the post-season. In terms of winning percentage (0.111), this was the worst season the franchise had endured since the formation of the Canadian Football League. Additionally, it was the worst record for a Grey Cup host city team as Ottawa hosted the 76th Grey Cup this year. The Rough Riders, which prior to the start of the season promised their fans good things for the coming year, had dubbed the 1988 season "Super season '88".

Offseason CFL draft Rd Pick Player Position School 1 1 Orville Lee RB Simon Fraser 3 22 Leon Hatziioannou DL Simon Fraser 4 26 Sheridon Baptiste WR/HB Queen's 5 33 Sieg Will OT/DE Guelph 5 34 Christopher Rick OLB Queen's 6 41 Brent Matich P/K Calgary 7 49 Scott Warr OT McGill 8 57 Ray Goerke OT Weber State

Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A June 29 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 25–30 0–1 17,647 B July 6 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 36–34 1–1

Regular season Standings

Schedule Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 July 15 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 21–48 0–1 22,565 2 July 20 at Toronto Argonauts L 11–34 0–2 20,114 3 July 27 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 28–35 0–3 19,947 4 Aug 2 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 7–41 0–4 24,322 5 Aug 13 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 28–17 1–4 23,293 6 Aug 18 vs. BC Lions L 20–27 1–5 24,598 7 Aug 27 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 24–51 1–6 15,067 8 Sept 1 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 20–46 1–7 22,535 9 Sept 6 at BC Lions L 11–24 1–8 25,504 10 Sept 10 at Calgary Stampeders L 16–17 1–9 16,969 11 Sept 18 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 25–35 1–10 13,024 12 Sept 24 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 0–31 1–11 18,523 13 Oct 2 at Edmonton Eskimos L 12–40 1–12 28,052 14 Oct 8 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 3–52 1–13 18,527 15 Oct 14 at Toronto Argonauts L 7–49 1–14 21,513 16 Oct 22 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 19–3 2–14 16,237 17 Oct 29 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 15–23 2–15 16,402 18 Nov 6 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 11–45 2–16 25,615 Roster 1988 Ottawa Rough Riders final rosterQuarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

DB

Tight ends Offensive linemen C G T T G G C T

Defensive linemen DE DT DE DT DE DE DE DT Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured list SB

Italics indicate International player

Awards and honours CFL awards CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Orville Lee (RB)

CFL All-Stars Rod Brown-replacement player

References