Grey Cup Century

1959–Present

1

1909: Undisputed Rugby Champions of the Dominion

The greatest of traditions often stem from the humblest of beginnings, and the Grey Cup is no exception. Born in the mid-19th century, Canadian football struggled to define itself against its parent, rugby, and underwent decades of changes in rules and scoring as coaches and players worked to refine the game and establish standards that would enable the best team in the Dominion to rise to the top.

The first organized competitions were established in 1883 when the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) were formed. The following year these two unions came together to form the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU), and at the end of that season the Montreal club defeated the Toronto Argonauts 30–0 to win the first ever CRFU championship. Despite the interest and fervor, the CRFU collapsed before the end of the decade. It was reorganized in 1891 as the Canadian Rugby Union, but the ground beneath it continued to shift.

The proverbial game-changer came in 1903 when the ORFU became the first major competition to adopt the rules that University of Toronto coach Thrift Burnside had derived from those already in place in the United States. The adoption of the Burnside Rules was considered a radical move, but by 1906 they were in force throughout Ontario and Quebec and it was from these very rules that the modern Canadian football code evolved. From this point the game evolved more rapidly.

In September 1907, the Hamilton Tigers and the Toronto Argonauts of the ORFU joined with the Montreal Foot Ball Club and Ottawa Rough Riders of the QRFU to form an elite competition: the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU), also known as the Big Four. On December 1 of that year the Montreal Foot Ball Club defeated the Peterborough Quakers and won the first-ever Dominion Championship. In 1908, the Hamilton Tigers won the championship, defeating the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues. These matches were the genesis of today’s Grey Cup.

Albert Henry George Grey, the grandson of a former British prime minister and the son of Sir Charles Grey, who served for a time as a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada, was born in 1851 in London. In his early career he served as a member of British Parliament, and at the age of 43 he inherited the Earldom Grey. He was also one of the first four trustees responsible for the administration of the funds that established the Rhodes Scholarship. In 1904, King Edward VII appointed Grey the ninth governor general of Canada, succeeding his brother-in-law, Lord Minto.

As governor general, Grey was a vigorous promoter of Canadian unity and strived to help the young nation forge its identity. He travelled the country extensively, and while he was unsuccessful in negotiating Newfoundland’s entry into Confederation, it was with his granting of Royal Assent to the appropriate Acts of Parliament that Alberta and Saskatchewan joined Canadian Confederation in 1905. He helped plan Quebec’s tercentenary in 1908 and led the negotiations between the Canadian and British governments that resulted in the creation of the Royal Canadian Navy.

While he was a well-known patron of the arts, having established, for example, the Grey Competition for Music and Drama, Grey was also interested in sport. He had wanted to sponsor a trophy to honour Canada’s top amateur hockey team but was beat to it by Sir Hugh Montague Allan, who made his formal announcement early in 1909. It was very soon after that that Grey was persuaded to donate a trophy tied to the Dominion Football Championship of Canada — an amateur competition played between members of the Canadian Rugby Union.

With the regular season drawing to a close, excitement began to build around the playoffs. The Interprovincial final between the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Hamilton Tigers was scheduled to take place on November 20 in neutral territory — Toronto’s Rosedale Field. Approximately 7,000 fans witnessed the match, 2,000 of whom had arrived from out of town. According to the Globe, it took two special trains to carry the Hamilton contingent, while a train load came from the capital. And they came to make merry, with bands and banners.

It was a well-played game, and in the end it was the Rough Riders’ persistence that paid off. They won 14–8, capturing the IRFU championship title. The ecstatic crowd swarmed the field and carried off the victors.

Meanwhile, on Varsity Field at the University of Toronto, the Ontario final was being fought between the Parkdale Canoe Club and the Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (TAAC). In Parkdale’s brief three-year history they had already won two senior championships and had lost only one game — ironically, to this very club three weeks earlier. With a score of 3–0 at the half, the TAAC were looking the winners again, much to the dismay of Parkdale. But in the second half the Paddlers fought back and with only minutes to go made good on a TAAC fumble and carried the ball over their opponent’s line for a touchdown. With a final score of 9–3, the Parkdale Canoe Club won the ORFU championship title.

That night the executive committee of the Canadian Rugby Union met at the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto and, on the back of a cocktail napkin, cobbled together the remainder of the playoff schedule. It was decided that the senior finalists, Ottawa and Varsity, would meet the following weekend and the winner of that game would advance to battle Parkdale on December 4 for the Dominion Championship.

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues had a rugby football tradition that extended back before Confederation. The Ottawa Rough Riders, on the other hand, had just soundly defeated the Hamilton Tigers — another team with a rich football history. Many believed that this upcoming match would come to represent the pinnacle of amateur football in Canada.

The first documented gridiron football match played in Canada occurred on November 9, 1861, at the University of Toronto. However, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated from a game of rugby played in Montreal in 1865.

The game took place once again on Rosedale Field. It should be noted that while the venue had a 3,400-seat capacity, reports set the attendance somewhere upward of 12,000. Walking around the present-day grounds — now ringed by tree-lined streets tightly packed with grand homes — a crowd like this is almost impossible to imagine.

But this small section of Rosedale had been annexed only recently and was still surrounded for the most part by open field. Images survive of fans watching the game perched in trees and atop half-constructed homes. Indeed, if Varsity’s Hugh Gall had punted the ball hard enough, he probably could have kicked the leather clear out of the city limits.

The Rough Riders were favoured to win but the game ended in an upset, with Varsity soundly defeating the Ottawans by a score of 31–7. And so it was decided: the competition for Lord Grey’s trophy would be played between the Parkdale Canoe Club and the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues.

In the week that followed, a sub-plot developed. Robert Patchin, an Ottawa-based foreign correspondent for the New York Herald, had a keen interest in Canadian football and managed to convince the paper to support — editorially as well as financially — his efforts to secure two of the leading Canadian teams for an exhibition match to be played in New York City on December 11. Varsity and the Rough Riders were chosen since they had each won their respective titles.

But Patchin arrived in Toronto the Friday before the big game only to learn that the Varsity club decided to turn down his invitation. The organization had a number of reasons, one being that several of the players had exams on the proposed date, another being that the academic calendar had no more room left for football. And, with all due respect to the Herald, the university said they would have rather the invitation came from one of the American colleges.

This left Patchin scrambling. He immediately approached the Hamilton Tigers club about taking the place of the Varsity team. A meeting was held Saturday morning at 11:00 between the executive of the Tiger club, Patchin, and Harry Griffith, the Varsity coach. Much to Patchin’s relief, the Hamilton club embraced the offer. Ottawa was immediately notified by long-distance telephone and, while the Dominion Championship was being contested in Toronto, these two clubs hammered out the details of their trip to New York.

There were 3,807 in attendance at Rosedale Field — quite modest compared to the attendance the previous couple of weekends. Clearly this Dominion Championship game, not yet referred to as the Grey Cup, was being considered something of an anticlimax to the season. And, to be fair, it was entirely possible that the fans were suffering from a bit of football burnout after the playoffs.

The event was covered not only by the Toronto dailies but by other papers, as well, both nationally and abroad, including the Ottawa Citizen and Hamilton Spectator, and the New York Herald and New York Times.

The game was set to commence at 2:30 p.m. Conditions were ideal: cloudy skies, a dry field, and temperatures above freezing. Varsity won the coin toss and chose to start at the west end of the field to allow whatever light winds were available to help carry the ball. Bill Ritchie kicked the oval to Percy Killaly of Parkdale, who took a few steps before losing the ball to Varsity’s Jack Newton, who was then tackled at the Parkdale 30-yard line. The game was afoot.

Varsity scored the first point — a rouge in rugby football parlance. On the first down Parkdale gained some yards, but then fumbled the ball to Varsity. The oval came to Hugh Gall, who manoeuvred around the end for a touchdown — or a try. Ritchie attempted to convert but the angle was too difficult to manage and he missed the mark. The score remained 6–0 for Varsity until the end of the first quarter. The tricky Parkdalers answered in the second quarter, however, with a touchdown scored by Tom Meigham after a Varsity fumble. There was no conversion. Several more scrimmages followed, but neither team was able to make further gains before the end of 30 minutes.

With the score at halftime a close 6–5 in favour of the students, the Paddlers received a standing ovation. This wasn’t going to be the drubbing that everyone was expecting. According to the Toronto Star’s report, there was some anxiety in the Varsity camp as to the final outcome. No doubt Coach Harry Griffith had a few words for his players.

The cloud cover had broken and the second half opened with Varsity staring down autumn’s late-afternoon sun. Despite the distraction, the Blue and White came out charging, searching for opportunities to widen the gap. The first one came when Parkdale’s halfback, Moore, fumbled a pass at his own 40-yard line. Varsity’s Murray Thomson seized the ball and was allowed to trample over his opponents and fall on the ball for a touchdown. With Ritchie’s kick, Varsity climbed to a 12–5 lead. It continued to be a lively quarter with Varsity scoring three more rouges, the last of which came off a 45-yard kick from Gall. Parkdale managed to score a point, but the Paddlers’ frustration was showing, with two of their players taking the only penalties of the game. The third quarter ended with the score 16–6.

After a few kicks into the final quarter it was more than apparent that Varsity was in control of the game. The students kept the ball at the Paddlers’ end, and after a rouge, a touch-in-goal, and yet another rouge they were suddenly up 20–6. The Canoe Club was playing a losing game but fought to keep the damage to a minimum by punting the ball as far as possible downfield. Varsity, however, made good returns on each kick, allowing their backfielders to move closer to the Parkdale line.

Parkdale needed to finish with a few more points on the board. They struggled to get something happening. On the final play the ball was kicked out of scrim to Varsity quarterback William Foulds. Parkdale managed to break through and cornered Hugh Gall. This was Parkdale’s chance. But Foulds had called Smirle Lawson’s number. Lawson, the player they called the Big Train, secured the oval, crashed through the entire Canoe Club team and, with the clock running out, launched into one of his spectacular 50-yard runs for a touchdown. According to the Toronto Star, the timers were on the field trying to notify the referees. Finally, just as the ball was touched down over the line, the officials blew the whistle, bringing to an end what was the first Grey Cup. No attempt was made to convert the goal and the final score was 26–6, ending a perfect season for the Blue and White. Police Sergeant Armstrong gave the nod to his 50 men to allow the crowd onto the field to surround their champions.

The two rather conspicuous absences from the game were the trophy itself and its sponsor. Apparently Lord Grey had forgotten to place his order for the sterling silver cup with Birks Jewelers. In the meantime, the Varsity players were each awarded a miniature silver cup, cufflinks, and a football-shaped watch fob.

The receipts from the first Grey Cup game were $2,616.40, or about $52,590 in 2011 dollars. That puts the average ticket price at less than 70 cents and, converted to today’s coinage, that probably wouldn’t even cover your parking.

Monday brought the verdict in the papers. In the Star’s assessment of the game, Varsity’s Charlie Gage, an outside wing, was singled out as the most sensational player on the field, an athlete who played like a fiend to the very end.

Credit was also given to Murray Thomson, who couldn’t let go of the ball if he tried. Hugh Gall was praised for his remarkable punting ability. Jimmy Bell, who despite his cracked ribs was always in the midst of the doings, tackling fearlessly, was also given a nod, and Bill Ritchie was cited for his skill at keeping the team on its toes.

While Ritchie had praised Parkdale, saying they had a better line than Ottawa, the Star’s reaction was a bit more tepid, saying that Percy Killaly punted very well, halfback Alex Cromar played a very useful game, and that quarterback Jimmy Dissette played a good game, his passing being accurate. The Star was saving its hyperbole for Varsity, going on to remark how their defence was solid and they were on the Paddlers like wolves.

The 1909 University of Toronto Rugby Football Club. The image of the Grey Cup has been super-imposed.

In contrast, there was no shortage of criticism for the Varsity team from the Ottawa Citizen or the Hamilton Spectator. The Citizen opened their report with conquerors of Ottawa team took things carelessly at beginning of match … Lawson and Gall were both off color, fumbling repeatedly, generally describing it as a distinctly off day for the victors, and concluding with the statement that the interest in the struggle was probably the least ever shown in a Canadian senior rugby final. Even the college choruses lead by the Highlanders band lacked spirit.

The Spectator opened with a headline saying that the Varsity Team Was Way to the Bad. The correspondent went on to report that, while the Parkdale crew created a surprise by their good showing, the work of the college team was very ragged and far from the brilliant standard they established in the game against Ottawa. It’s interesting to find out how old a creature that cynical sports enthusiast is: The crowd, as usual, was eager to see the favorites lose, and at half-time pulled hard for Parkdale.

While it seemed that none of the newspapers thought Parkdale deserved to lose, none of the papers seemed to think that Varsity deserved to win.

There are many footnotes to this inaugural Grey Cup. Here are just a few:

The Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders got to play their exhibition game in Van Cortlandt Park in New York City the following weekend in front of an audience of 15,000. The Tigers beat the Rough Riders 11–6.

On March 10, 1910, the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues were finally awarded the actual Grey Cup. The invoice from Birks came to $48.

A number of Canadian football stars emerged out of the match, and several of them — all from the Varsity club — were inducted into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame: Smirle Lawson, Jack Newton, quarterback William Foulds, coach Harry Griffith, and Hugh Gall, who still holds the record for number of single-point kicks in a Grey Cup game (eight).

In the early part of the century, Lord Albert Grey, in the capacity of governor general, worked tirelessly at strengthening the bonds within the young Dominion. But it is through his sponsorship of a trophy awarded to amateur football champions that he is most remembered, because that simple gesture has evolved into a sporting event that on an annual basis unites millions of Canadians.

And so the tradition began.

2

1910–1920: The First Great Rivalry: Toronto vs. Hamilton

The rich history of football in the city of Hamilton reaches almost as far back as Confederation. Shortly after the first club was established, the team played a match against the Toronto Argonauts, switched their colours from black and orange to black and yellow, and after that was known as Hamilton’s Tigers.

The Tigers were a founding member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union in 1883, winning their first championship in 1890 over Queen’s University. They struggled through the turn of the century, but came roaring back in 1903, dominating competition in ORFU for a time and winning four consecutive provincial championships. Sitting out the nationals until 1905 because of a rules dispute with the Quebec Union, they relented in 1906, rejoined the game, and went on to defeat McGill University and claim their first Dominion Championship. The Tigers were also founding members of the Interprovincial Union in 1907, earning the Dominion Championship title again the following year.

• • •

Rain poured down in the days leading up to the second Grey Cup, and the clay field at Hamilton’s Amateur Athletic Association Grounds — the Tigers’ jungle — was puddling much of the moisture. The game took place the last Saturday in November and there was a chill in the air. That didn’t discourage the several thousand Varsity Blues fans from travelling to the Mountain City by car, boat, or special train to witness what was being dubbed the Battle of Hamilton.