If the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup were to go head-to-head with the National Football League’s Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is awarded to the Super Bowl champions, our Canadian prize would win with an extra down to spare. Although the Super Bowl might be bigger, the Grey Cup is older. And as sportswriter Stephen Brunt writes in 100 Grey Cups, we’ve been blessed with more than a century of fascinating, idiosyncratic and distinctly Canadian football.

Brunt, a columnist and broadcaster at Sportsnet and the author of several bestselling sports books, has collected countless anecdotes, photographs and historical snippets in what is essentially a scrapbook woven together by a rich narrative. Each chapter explores a different notable Grey Cup, of which there are many: the inaugural Grey Cup game in 1909, when the trophy donated by Lord Grey was won by the University of Toronto; the 1948 victory by the Stampeders that sent a rowdy crowd of Calgarians whooping it up in downtown Toronto long into the night; the 1957 cup, when a player was tripped by a spectator on the sidelines — a mysterious figure who, after outing himself 20 years later, turned out to be an Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge; even the 1995 championship that was won by Baltimore during the CFL’s brief expansion into the United States.

100 Grey Cups has been published in time for this autumn’s 100th Grey Cup championship. Although it can be difficult to take in every sidebar, news clipping and stat box while following the main narrative, the sometimes jumpy flow of the book is a testament to the overwhelming volume of information presented. Complete with appendices, 100 Grey Cups is a compelling read for even the most casual of CFL fans.