Wow. Time sure does fly. It’s been just over a year since I launched the Canadian Football History website.
Admittedly, I wasn’t quite certain there would be an audience for the content I wanted to share here. Sure, I was a football fan and a history buff, but were there others out there who would be interested in this stuff? Well, it turns out there are plenty of you. And this makes me happy.
The site averages about 1000 visitors per month, which is a nice start. Not surprisingly, the bulk of these visitors are from Canada. But there is a good chunk of web traffic from the United States and Europe, too.
We have a strong presence in the social media landscape and are active on Facebook and Bluesky. And we’ve gained some good traction using Reddit and the CFL forums (both excellent communities btw). CFH is even on the Fediverse (which I am still trying to figure out).
I hope to have some exciting news to share in the coming weeks and months as CFH continues to grow and evolve. I’ll continue to pump out fresh (as “fresh” as historical content can be, of course) on a regular basis but will probably take a brief break on publishing any lengthy articles until the new year.
In the meantime, I want to thank you for following along, reading the articles, and by sharing with me a passion for celebrating the rich history of the great game of Canadian football.
Universities in Canada have played football since…well…since football has been played in Canada. Teams from the University of Toronto, McGill University, and Queen’s University played what would become Canadian football long before the CFL and professional football ever took hold. In fact, university teams even competed for the Grey Cup in the early years.
In the modern era of Canadian football but before 1965, universities across Canada would compete for regional championships such as the Yates Cup in Ontario. There was no national football championship for university or collegiate football. That changed in 1965.
Toronto Star article about the new Vanier Cup
Vancouver Sun article about the new Vanier Cup
In 1965, a new national university football championship was established called the Canadian College Bowl. It’s important to remember that up until the 1960s the terms “university” and “college” were often used interchangeably. There were no community or vocational colleges (post-secondary non-degree awarding institutions) like what we have today. So, it was common to refer to university football as college football.
Advertisement in the Globe and Mail advertising tickets for sale for the Save the Children College Bowl for the Vanier Cup
The initial Canadian College Bowl was sponsored by the Save the Children Fund. In fact, the initial college bowl was partly set up to help raise money for the charity. A team of panellists selected the two teams – the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the University of Alberta Golden Bears – that would compete for the first “national championship.” It wasn’t until 1967 that a national playoff system was held to determine the Canadian College Bowl contestants.
Coverage of the first Canadian College Bowl in the Toronto Star
On November 20, 1965, the Varsity Blues defeated the Golden Bears by a score of 14-7 in dismal conditions at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. Less than 2500 fans braved the rain to come out to watch the inaugural championship. Not only did the weather keep the fans away, but the game was also largely overshadowed by the CFL playoffs that were being played and televised on the same day.
Governor General Georges Vanier, an avid sports fan, lent his name to a trophy to be awarded to the winner of the Canadian College Bowl. Thus, the Vanier Cup was born. His Excellency himself presented the new trophy to the U of T at a banquet the following year.
Governor General Georges Vanier presenting the Vanier Cup to the University of Toronto (Toronto Star photo by Doug Griffin)
The Canadian College Bowl began to gain some traction in the years that followed. Like the pros, university teams now had a national championship to play for. Finally, in 1982, the name of the game was formally changed from the Canadian College Bowl to the Vanier Cup.
Sources: Globe and Mail (17 November 1965) Kingston Whig Standard (22 November 1965) Toronto Star (2 September 1965) Toronto Star (16 March 1966) Vancouver Sun (2 September 1965)
In 1909, Governor General Earl Grey donated a trophy to be awarded to the amateur rugby football champions of Canada. The University of Toronto won the inaugural championship with a 26-6 win over Toronto Parkdale. Various teams in Toronto and Hamilton competed in the early Grey Cup contests before the game was put on hold after 1915 due to the First World War.
1920 University of Toronto Varsity Team (photo courtesy of the Canadian Football Research Society)
The Grey Cup was then virtually forgotten. The trophy itself was locked away hidden in a storage vault. War has a way of resetting priorities, you see. After football resumed in Canada in 1919, there were growing organizational issues amongst some teams and disagreements amongst the rugby unions, climaxing in a decision by McGill University and Montreal to refuse to contest the Canadian Rugby Union playoffs. Alas, there was no Grey Cup in 1919, either.
Coverage of the 1920 Grey Cup in the Toronto Star on December 6, 1920.
But in 1920, the Grey Cup made its triumphant return. And a couple of familiar teams were back in the mix to win the big game. On Saturday, December 4, 1920, the University of Toronto played the Toronto Argonauts in the 8th edition of the Grey Cup. Played in less-than-ideal conditions (rain and mud!) at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium, Varsity’s Joe Breen was the star of the day, according to the Toronto Star, leading his team to a 16-3 victory over the Argonauts.
Coverage of the 1920 Grey Cup in the Globe and Mail on December 6, 1920.
This would be the University of Toronto’s fourth and final Grey Cup championship. At the time, Varsity was considered by many to be the best football team in the country. Their championship win cemented this sentiment.
Despite being relegated to a dark memory hole just a few years prior, the Grey Cup was back. And perhaps that’s what mattered most.
Canadian football in November can be cold – especially when played on the Prairies. Bone-chilling temperatures, coupled with blowing snow, made the 1993 Western Final at McMahon Stadium between the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos one of those games where the weather might have played a bigger role in the game than the players on the field.
Coverage of the 1993 Western Final in the Calgary Herald (22 November 1993)
Led by marquee quarterback Doug Flutie, the Stampeders entered the game with a league best 15-3 regular season record. They were the defending Grey Cup champions and were, without a doubt, the class of the CFL in 1993. While the underdog, Edmonton was still a strong team, having finished second in the West Division with a 12-6 record.
The city of Calgary and much of Alberta was under a winter storm warning. Game time temperatures hovered below minus 20 degrees Celsius with a windchill making it feel even colder. The cold along with the wind and snow created blizzard-like conditions. Not exactly an ideal day for football.
Coverage of the 1993 Western Final in the Calgary Herald (22 November 1993)
Calgary scored first thanks to a punt return touchdown by Pee Wee Smith. A field goal by Mark McLoughlin put the Stampeders up 10-0 after the first quarter. Calgary continued to lead 13-8 at the half. The third quarter was delayed thanks to the accumulation of snow. But when the teams returned to the field, Edmonton got on a roll.
Edmonton quarterback Damon Allen made only 8 completions on 19 passing attempts in the game. But four of those completions were touchdowns. Edmonton scored 28 points in the second half compared to Calgary’s meagre 2 (a safety late in the game). As the temperature continued to fall, Flutie’s hands literally froze, affecting his ability to throw the football. Fans in the stands and television viewers across the country were in disbelief that the CFL’s best quarterback seemed to be completely neutralized by the cold weather.
Freezing Flutie (Calgary Herald)
When the final whistle was blown, Edmonton had secured a 29-15 victory and advanced to the Grey Cup that was being played at McMahon Stadium the following week. A dedicated crowd of over 20,000 braved the elements but left disappointed that their team wasn’t going to repeat as champions. The hope of the hometown team playing in the Grey Cup was over.
Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman’s reaction (Calgary Herald)
In the aftermath of the loss, Stampeders owner Larry Ryckman was not a happy camper. He insisted the CFL move up the season to avoid such wintery games in the future. Either that or build a domed stadium in Calgary. The Western Final on November 21, 1993, was one of the coldest – if not the coldest – football games played in Canada. He might’ve had a good point.
It’s September 1952 and a new technology – black and white television – is taking the country and much of the world by storm. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) entered the TV business with two flagship stations: CBFT in Montreal and CBLT in Toronto.
Grey Cup Advertisement for Sweet Caps cigarettes in the Toronto Star (27 November 1952)
The decision was soon made to broadcast the upcoming Grey Cup game on CBLT. The Canadian Rugby Union championship was scheduled for Saturday November 29th at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.
Grey Cup Advertisement by Northern Electric in the Toronto Star (27 November 1952)
The novelty factor of the new technology coupled with the popularity of the hometown Toronto Argonauts, who were playing in the championship, helped drive sales for television sets in Toronto. Several ads selling TVs appeared in local newspapers. These didn’t come cheap, but vendors were more than happy to set up affordable payment plans for excited football fans.
Ads promoting TV sales
While the Grey Cup game itself was the first Canadian football game ever televised, broadcast crews did a practice run a few days before in the playoff game between the Argonauts and the Sarnia Imperials of the Ontario Rugby Football Union. In those days, the ORFU still challenged for the Grey Cup. The Toronto-Sarnia Grey Cup semi-final game at Varsity Stadium was used as the dress rehearsal for the big game. The 1952 Grey Cup commentators Norm Marshall and Larry O’Brien were actually chosen after an audition for the roles was held during the Sarnia game.
Notes about the TV practice run done during the Grey Cup semi-final between Toronto and Sarnia (Toronto Star, 27 November 1952)
Pubs in and around Toronto with television sets were packed on the day of the game. Meanwhile, in nearby Hamilton, Westinghouse set up several TVs so that employees and friends could watch the game. The broadcast even included a short pre-game show hosted by Annis Stukus.
In the end, the Argonauts defeated Edmonton by a score of 21-11 in front not only record crowd at Varsity Stadium but also tens of thousands of television viewers in the Toronto area. A new era for the Grey Cup and for Canadian television was here.
