This is the fourth article examining some of Canadian football’s rather interesting playoff formats used over the years. Be sure to check out parts I, II, and III.
1909 was a special year in Canadian football. That’s the year when Earl Grey, who was serving as the Governor General of Canada, donated a trophy to be awarded to Canada’s amateur rugby football champion. Of course, this trophy as well as the championship game itself would become known as the Grey Cup. Only teams affiliated with the Canadian Rugby Union were eligible to compete for the new Grey Cup championship. So that meant no western clubs could challenge for the trophy.
Canadian football at the time was still an amateur affair, with senior football being the top level of play (above intermediate and junior). It was initially (mis)understood that the Grey Cup would be given to the winner of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (which was formed two years earlier) and Intercollegiate union game. But the CRU ruled a third league – the Ontario Rugby Football Union – was also a senior union and had the right to compete for the Grey Cup, as well.
The Montreal Gazette published the final standings for 1909 in all three senior leagues of the Canadian Rugby Union:
Montreal Gazette, 15 November 1909
The Canadian Rugby Union had previously established a rotational playoff system where the champion of each union would alternately receive a bye to and host the Dominion championship. Since the new Grey Cup was now the Dominion championship, the CRU simply extended this arrangement. For 1909, it was the ORFU’s year to host; so, the winner of the ORFU final would host the first-ever Grey Cup.
Montreal Star, 22 November 1909Ottawa Citizen, 25 November 1909
On November 20th, Toronto Parkdale won the ORFU championship with an 8-3 win over the Toronto Amateur Athletic Club, securing their berth in the Grey Cup. On the same day, the Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Hamilton Tigers 14-8 to win the IRFU championship.
Below is some excellent coverage in the Toronto Star of the IRFU and ORFU playoffs.
Toronto Star, 22 November 1909
On November 27th, the Rough Riders travelled to Toronto to play the University of Toronto in the Interprovincial-Intercollegiate final. Varsity won handily by a score of 31 to 7, setting up a Varsity vs. Parkdale all-Toronto final for the Grey Cup.
Sources: Montreal Gazette, 15 November 1909 Montreal Star, 22 November 1909 Ottawa Citizen, 25 November 1909 Toronto Star, 22 November 1909 Toronto Star, 6 December 1909
This is the third part of an ongoing series of articles looking back at some of Canadian football’s quirky playoff formats. Today, we’re going to go west and examine a rather peculiar set up for the 1906 season of the Manitoba Rugby Football Union.
The MRFU was founded in 1892 and included a number of teams over the years. In 1906, four teams competed in the league’s senior competition: the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club (known as the Winnipegs), the St. John’s Rugby Football Club, the Winnipeg Rowing Club, and the Brandon Football Club.
Financial constraints led to an unbalanced schedule. For instance, Brandon – being the only team from outside of Winnipeg – was allowed to play just four games. On the other hand, St. John’s and the Rowing Club were scheduled to play five games each. The Winnipegs were originally scheduled to play six games.
To compensate for the unbalanced schedule, the MRFU devised a somewhat complicated but rather ingenious points system to provide some equity in the standings. Teams could receive a total of 30 points maximum on the season (if they won all their games). A value for a team’s win would be weighted depending on how many games they were to play. The formula used was 30 divided by the number of games played. In summary, Brandon would receive 7-1/2 points for each win (30 divided by four games played), St. John’s and the Rowing Club would receive 6 points for a win (30 divided by five games played), and a Winnipeg win would be worth five points (30 divided by six games played).
Here is how the Winnipeg Tribune explained the schedule and points system:
Winnipeg Tribune (14 September 1906)
The team with the most points in the standings was determined the champion. The Winnipegs picked up one win but lost two games and defaulted three of their remaining games after pulling out of the competition, finishing with a 1-5 record and five points.
Here is the article published in the Winnipeg Tribune about the Winnipeg Rugby Football Club ceasing operations during the 1906 MRFU season:
Winnipeg Tribune (19 October 1906)
The top two teams – Winnipeg Rowing Club and Brandon – squared off on Sunday October 28th in a game that ultimately determined the championship. The “Oarsmen” (as the rowing club was nicknamed) defeated Brandon by a score of 20-1. The win gave the Winnipeg Rowing Club an undefeated 4-0 record and 24 points in the standings. Brandon ended the season 3-1 with 22-1/2 points.
Winnipeg Tribune (19 October 1906)
The Rowing Club had one more game to play versus St. John’s, but the game was cancelled as it had no meaning in the standings, the Oarsmen having already earned the highest number of points to win the 1906 MRFU championship.
Of course, the MRFU wasn’t a member of the Canadian Rugby Union, so the Manitoba champion wasn’t eligible to compete in any playoff for the Dominion championship.
Sources: Winnipeg Tribune (14 September 1906) Winnipeg Tribune (19 October 1906) Winnipeg Tribune (29 October 1906)
Most football fans like a lot of scoring. You really can’t beat seeing two teams going back and forth and lighting up the scoreboard. Of course, a good defensive matchup can still make for some entertaining football now and then. But back in 1966, a game between Montreal and Ottawa redefined the meaning of a defensive battle.
On October 30, 1966, the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders by a score of 1-0. No, that’s not a typo. The lone score in this affair came by way of a rouge.
Article in the Montreal Gazette about the Alouettes beating Ottawa 1-0 (31 October 1966).
It was the last game of the regular season for both teams, and the game didn’t have any significance when it came to the standings. The Rough Riders had already locked up first place in the CFL’s Eastern Football Conference. And, win or lose, Montreal was going to finish third.
The game, played before about 12,000 fans who braved the cold at Montreal’s Molson Stadium, produced a total offence of just 386 yards collectively. Montreal’s offence came mostly from their ground game with 165 yards rushing. Of note, Montreal running back Don Lisbon surpassed over 1000 yards on the season during this game. On the other hand, most of Ottawa’s offence was produced in the air by star quarterback Russ Jackson, who passed for 132 yards.
Montreal Star (31 October 1966)
With the game scoreless, it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that Montreal kicked the single point. A rouge from a missed 36-yard field goal attempt by Peter Kempf. It was the lowest scoring game in CFL history and, thankfully, the record still stands.
Montreal-Ottawa Game Summary in the Montreal Gazette (31 October 1966).
Interestingly, it is suggested that the game tied a previous Canadian football record set in 1948 or 1949 when Winnipeg supposedly defeated Calgary 1-0. But I can’t find any reference to this WIFU game in newspapers or historical statistics. I suspect it was a reporting error in the Montreal Gazette article above that contributed to this incorrect notion.
Sources: Montreal Gazette, 31 October 1966 Montreal Star, 31 October 1966
News of the Canadian Rugby Football Union’s new Inter-provincial Rugby Match. (Hamilton Spectator)
It’s now a new year, and Canadian football is still finding its footing so to speak. Good or bad pun? And the CRFU held is second Dominion championship. Sort of. Not really.
But first, imagine this completely theorical scenario. The Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the East and West divisions respectively. But instead of the Als and Riders squaring off in the Grey Cup, the culminating game features a team of eastern all-stars playing a team of western all-stars instead. Sound silly? Well, this theorical scenario is how the Canadian football playoffs looked in 1885.
Like the previous year, the Ontario Rugby Football Union and the Quebec Rugby Football Union both used a tie schedule format. To recap, a tie in this context is simply a pairing of teams. Rather than a balanced schedule with standings, teams were paired up and competed in a knock-out style tournament. The Kingston Daily News featured the tie schedule for the ORFU. Have a look to see how the system worked:
1885 ORFU Tie Schedule in the Kingston Daily News
In 1885, the ORFU had two separate divisions, one for college teams and one for the city clubs. The winner of each division met for the Ontario Challenge Cup. In Quebec, there were only four teams – Montreal, Britannia, McGill, and Lennoxville – that competed for the Quebec Challenge Cup.
On January 30, 1885, the CRFU voted to hold an Inter-Provincial Rugby Match comprising players from Ontario and Quebec, selected by their respective unions. This new annual all-star game wasn’t actually intended to replace the Dominion championship, though. But fate had other ideas for 1885.
Ontario players selected for the 1885 Inter-provincial Rugby Match, Ottawa defeated London in the ORFU city division. (Hamilton Spectator)
On October 25th, Ottawa dominated London 38-0 in Toronto to win the Ontario city division. On October 31st, Ottawa College defeated the University of Toronto by a score of 19-2 to win the college division. A week later Ottawa College defeated Ottawa City 21-0 in an all-Ottawa affair to win the Ontario Challenge Cup.
Ottawa College defeats University of Toronto to win the ORFU college division in 1885. (Montreal Gazette)
Meanwhile in Quebec, Montreal was once again that province’s dominant team. In a match to decide the winner of the Quebec Challenge Cup on October 10th, Montreal defeated rival Britannia by “two goals and several minor points to one touch.” (Montreal Gazette, 10 October 1885)
Montreal vs. Britannia in the Quebec Challenge Cup in 1885 (Montreal Gazette)
So, the stage was set for Ottawa College to travel to Montreal to play the Quebec champion in what would be the second Dominion championship. Except, it didn’t happen. In 1885, Montreal was engulfed in a smallpox epidemic. Public health concerns prompted a reluctant Ottawa College to forgo the trip to Montreal. Instead, suggestions were made for Montreal to travel to Ottawa and play the championship there.
Letter from “Sport” accusing the Montreal Football Club of “funking.
There was a rather testy exchange in the Montreal Gazette between a writer from Ottawa named “Sport” and Mr. R. Stirling, the secretary of the Montreal Football Club. “Sport” accused Montreal of “funking.” That’s old British slang for backing out because of fear. Stirling refuted the accusation and explained that logistics and costs simply made the proposal impractical. So that was the end of that. There was no Dominion championship game played in 1885.
Response to “Sport” from Mr. R. Stirling of the Montreal Football Club.
Instead, we were left with the first Inter-Provincial Rugby Match as being the pinnacle of the 1885 football season in Canada. Played on November 12th, which was Thanksgiving Day, in Toronto the Quebec all-stars scored 3 points over their Ontario counterparts. Because the rules of the day stated that a majority of 4 points were needed for a victory, the game was declared a draw.
Quebec players selected for the 1885 Inter-provincial Rugby Match. (Montreal Gazette)
Check out the Montreal Gazette’s great summary of this game, as well as other games (including a soccer game) played on Thanksgiving Day in 1885.
Coverage of the 1885 Interprovincial Rugby Match plus other football games in Montreal Gazette.
So, in short…no Dominion championship. An all-star game ending in a draw instead. And some good old mudslinging in the press. That was the Canadian football playoff picture in 1885.
Sources: Canadian Football History Key Historical Milestones and Dates -1861-1889 by Robert Sproule Hamilton Spectator, 31 January 1885 Hamilton Spectator, 26 October 1885 Kingston Daily News, 13 June 1885 Montreal Gazette, 12 October 1885 Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1885 Montreal Gazette, 4 November 1885 Montreal Gazette, 14 November 1885 Montreal Gazette, 16 November 1885 Montreal Gazette, 18 November 1885
The 2026 CFL preseason is underway with a full slate of games this weekend. I’m always happy to have football back – even if the games don’t really matter much to us fans. It’s safe to say that the coaches and players themselves get way more out of these matchups than we do.
Today, CFL teams play two preseason games each – one home and one away. However, teams used to play four preseason games. A four-game exhibition season can make for some long meaningless football from a fan’s perspective.
Here’s a Canadian Press article by Grant Kerr from 1985 bemoaning the lengthy preseason that saw fans pay regular-season prices to watch rather unexciting football often played by rookies and backups. There’s talk of an 18-game regular season and dropping the preseason games to two (which would be adopted the following year) and even giving a team a point in the regular season standings for a preseason win. An interesting idea that obviously didn’t gain any traction.
