The above article appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on the eve of the 2nd Grey Cup. The Hamilton Tigers were preparing to host the University of Toronto at the A.A.A. Grounds in Hamilton.
Note the new cheer being introduced:
O-S-K-E-W-A-W-A
W-H-I-S-K-E-We-We
H-O-L-Y M-A-K-I-N-A-W
T-I-G-E-R-S E-A-T E-M R-A-W
W-O-W!
A variation of the Oskee Wee Wee cheer is still performed at Hamilton Tiger-Cat games today.
On Saturday December 4, 1909, the first Grey Cup game was played to crown the Dominion football champions. While the Grey Cup trophy itself wasn’t presented at the game (apparently the Governor General Earl Grey forgot to order the actual trophy), the game proved popular with the nearly 4,000 fans in attendance at Rosedale Field. Did they know they were witnessing history in the making?
The University of Toronto – the intercollegiate champions – beat Toronto Parkdale, who were the champions of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, by a score of 26-6. Coverage in the Toronto Star the following Monday heaped plenty of praise on the ORFU squad, deemed a stronger team than the Ottawa Rough Riders – who Varsity handily beat a week earlier in the semi-final.
Below are a couple of photos from the Toronto Star showing game action. I find these shots of early Canadian football absolutely fascinating.
Welcome to my Canadian football history blog. As a longtime CFL football fan and season ticket holder of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, I believe our league, our teams, and our game are a great story.
While there is a great deal of content online pertaining to the present game, I feel there is gap when it comes to the stories of the past. The notion of a blog with a focus on Canadian football history came to me one day when browsing old newspapers looking for information on a completely different subject. I realized that there are literally thousands upon thousands of news articles, pictures, and other information out there ready to be seen, read, and consumed once again by a new generation.
So, without further ado let’s get this kicked off.