Blog

The Founding of the Canadian Rugby Union

On December 19, 1891, football representatives from Ontario and Quebec met at the old Windsor Hotel in Montreal to launch (or more accurately relaunch) the Canadian Rugby Union. The new CRU replaced the unsuccessful Canadian Rugby Football Union that was actually formed a decade earlier.

The idea behind a new Canadian Rugby Union was for a properly run organization to oversee a common set of rules and hold a national championship game. From the onset, only teams in the Ontario and Quebec rugby football unions participated. This isn’t surprising considering much of western Canada was sparsely populated at the time. Interestingly, the Montreal Gazette mentions the potential future inclusion of clubs from the Maritimes. It seems the elusive Atlantic Canada team has been sought after much longer than we thought.

The Gazette published an article full of praise of the new entity and those involved in creating it. According to the article, the whole thing – rules, regulations, an executive team, and a constitution – were drawn up and adopted in less then five hours. Efficient.

Article in the Montreal Gazette summarizing the formation of the new Canadian Rugby Union (21 December 1891)

At the time, Canadian football was much closer to the game of rugby than to the gridiron game we enjoy today. The article discusses the idea of the new CRU joining the English union. I’m not sure if they’re talking about the England-based Rugby Football Union or the relatively new International Rugby Football Board which the RFU had itself just joined. The more favourable proposal was to encourage a rugby side from England to come to Canada to play games against the CRU. The CRU representatives also agreed to reward members of the championship team with badges and souvenirs. Can’t argue against that.

Over time, the Canadian Rugby Union would welcome leagues from the western provinces. The Grey Cup would become the CRU’s national championship in 1909. Canadian rugby slowly evolved into a unique brand of Canadian football with the adoption of changes such as the Burnside rules and the forward pass. The game became professional following the Second World War. And the Canadian Football League formed and seceded from the CRU in 1958.

After all this, the Canadian Rugby Union still remained the governing body of amateur football in Canada. In the 1960s the CRU was rebranded as the Canadian Amateur Football Association. Around the same time, a new organization called the Rugby Union of Canada was formed as the governing body of rugby union football in Canada. Alas, the final separation of rugby and Canadian football was complete. Each sport would now use its own nomenclature.

The original CRU/CAFA still plays a pivotal role in Canadian football. Today, it is known as Football Canada. It is still the national governing body of amateur Canadian football and is also responsible for the Canadian national teams that compete in international gridiron competitions.

Announcement in the Hamilton Spectator on December 19, 1891 about the Montreal meeting to launch the new Canadian Rugby Union.

July 30, 2025
Montreal Crushes Ottawa in Olympic Stadium Opener Before Record Crowd

Midway through the 1976 CFL season, the Montreal Alouettes played their first game in their new home. After leaving behind the Autostade (that stadium likely warrants its own article), the Als hosted the Ottawa Rough Riders at the Olympic Stadium, the largest stadium ever built in Canada.

Bacon, Dick. “A new era in Montreal football set to start in Olympic Stadium.” Montreal Gazette,
25 September 1976, p. 11.

Post-Olympic fever was still gripping Montreal in the weeks leading up to the game. The Alouettes were expecting a record crowd to come see a .500 home side take on the East Division leaders from Ottawa. No doubt, many just wanted to catch a glimpse of the so-called billion-dollar sports palace. Without question, Olympic Stadium – affectionately known as the Big O or disparagingly known as the Big Owe – with its sheer size and modern-day amenities put other CFL stadiums to shame. In 1976, Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium was still a couple years away and the domed stadiums in Vancouver and Toronto came much later.

Olympic Stadium layout for football (Montreal Star)

The stadium was designed by Roger Taillibert, a French architect, and was the main stadium for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. It featured state-of-the-art scoreboards with video capabilities as well as modern artificial turf. Plus comfortable seats and corporate boxes. Of course, the promised “retractable” roof would have to wait.

The Alouettes were the first permanent tenant for the Big O once the Olympics were over. On Sunday September 25, 1976, a record Canadian Football League crowd of 68,505 fans were on hand to see the first game. They were treated to a pre-game ceremony that included former Montreal quarterback Sam Etcheverry performing the ceremonial kickoff.

Bacon Dick, “Als crush Ottawa before record 68,505.” Montreal Gazette, 27 September 1976, p. 13.

Led by quarterback Joe Barnes and kicker Don Sweet, the Alouettes cruised to a 23-2 victory over the Rough Riders. The Alouettes’ win helped put Montreal back in the playoff hunt in the CFL East. The 1976 Alouettes were coached by the legendary Marv Levy. Levy understood the impact a large vocal crowd could have on the game.

“The crowd could be the 13th man on the field. If they’re a supportive crowd, it could be the start of a new era in fan enthusiasm and what it means to the team.”
– Marv Levy

I’ve been to Olympic Stadium only once. That was for a Grey Cup game. When the place is packed – just like it was in the late 70s – it’s an awestriking experience. But the atmosphere diminishes exponentially the smaller the crowd.

Today, the Alouettes play their home games at the much more intimate (and much older) Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on the campus of McGill University. They haven’t played a football game at the Big O since 2012. But a new roof is being constructed, and there are hints of a further refurbishment down the road.
Is it possible that the Alouettes will once again look at playing some if not all their games at Olympic Stadium in the future?

Perhaps the team can recapture some of that post-Olympic pride that helped them shatter attendance records. At the very least, it won’t be too long before the Grey Cup game returns to Montreal – and with that the roar of the crowd will once again reverberate throughout Olympic Stadium.

Montreal Gazette, 27 September 1976

Montreal Star, 27 September 1976

July 23, 2025
CFL Media Guides in the 1960s

For eons, the Canadian Football League published Media Guides or Fact Books for its teams. These little handbooks were meant to familiarize local journalists with the players and coaching staff of the team they were covering. They included biographies, statistics, records, and team histories.

Team media guides were also a great little souvenir for the savvy football fan. I have several in my own collection I like to peruse every now and then.

The CFL still produces them at least in electronic form. At least for some teams. I’m not sure if the league still offers print copies, though. It looks like they’ve met the same fate as game day programs and printed tickets, which is unfortunate.

Anyway, I thought what better way to spend the dog days of summer than by taking a look at some of these CFL media guides from the 1960s (or the late 1950s in a couple of cases). It was an exciting decade for the CFL and Canadian football.

Here are some photos of the media guides (front and back covers) for each CFL team from that era:

The above photos are courtesy of the good folks at the Canadian Football Research Society.
Fediverse Reactions
July 16, 2025
Ron Lancaster Retires

When I first started following CFL football in the early 1990s, Ron Lancaster was considered one of the best coaches in the game. His Edmonton Eskimos were consistently in the hunt for top spot in the West Division. Perennial Grey Cup contenders.

But long before he was coaching Edmonton onto victory, he was a standout player – one of the best quarterbacks in the game – for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He actually started his CFL career with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1960. He and Russ Jackson were Ottawa’s quarterbacking duo. In 1963, he joined the Green Riders.

Ron Lancaster, dubbed “the Little General,” played 16 seasons with Saskatchewan. Throughout his time quarterbacking the Roughriders, Saskatchewan played in five Grey Cup games, winning in 1966, the Riders’ first championship. In fact, Lancaster had only one losing season in all those years. Quite a remarkable feat.

That one losing season turned out to be Lancaster’s last…1978. The Roughriders finished with a dismal 4-11-1 record and placed last in the West Division, missing the playoffs. At the age of 40, the Little General would call it quits.

Ron Lancaster’s final game was on Sunday October 29, 1978 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, he led the Roughriders back from a six-point deficit to defeat Edmonton 36-26.

Here’s how the Regina Leader-Post described Lancaster’s final game:

Hughes, Bob. “Lancaster legend comes to appropriate close.” Regina Leader-Post, 30 October 1978, p. 17.

Within days of playing for the last time, Ron Lancaster formally announced his retirement. He was the CFL’s first player to pass for over 50,000 yards and was selected as the league’s most outstanding player twice (1970 and 1976).

Post-Retirement

Upon retiring as a player, Lancaster was immediately named Saskatchewan’s new head coach, replacing Walt Posadowski. Lancaster’s first head coaching gig wasn’t as successful as his playing career, however, and the Riders missed the playoffs both years Lancaster was at the helm.

In 1981, he moved to the broadcast booth and became the colour commentator for the CFL on CBC. It was in 1991 that he returned to the sidelines as Edmonton’s head coach.

In late 1997, we football fans in Hamilton rejoiced as the Little General came east and took over the coaching duties for the Tiger-Cats. In one year, he helped turn around the Ti-Cats, leading the team to the Grey Cup for the first time in almost a decade.

Sadly, Ron Lancaster died in 2008 just shy of his 70th birthday. A member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (inducted in 1982), the Little General is easily one of the greatest to play, coach, and call the game.

July 9, 2025
Alouettes Defeat the Tiger-Cats 82-14 in 1956 Blowout

A close game always makes for good entertainment for us football fans. We enjoy the back-and-forth battle and the inevitable drama that ultimately decides the final score. But sometimes the game is anything but close. That was the case on October 20, 1956 when the Montreal Alouettes cruised to an 82-14 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The headline in the Montreal Gazette tells the story.

The crowd at Molson Stadium witnessed history in the making that Saturday afternoon with the Alouettes breaking a couple dozen IRFU/Big Four records. Newspapers in both Hamilton and Montreal remarked how the game kept the statisticians busy.

A recap of records broken as outlined in the Montreal Gazette.
(Degeer, Vern. “Team, Game Scoring Marks Fall in Fantastic Frolic.” Montreal Gazette, 22 October 1956, p. 25.)

The Hamilton Spectator’s recap of records broken.
(“Statisticians Go Crazy.” Hamilton Spectator, 22 October 1956, p. 17.)

Montreal’s opening kickoff by Johnny Blaicher sailed through the Hamilton endzone to put the Alouettes up 1-0 from the get-go. What followed can only be described as good old fashion Canadian walloping.

Led by quarterback Sam “The Rifle” Etcheverry, Montreal scored an incredible 12 touchdowns. Yes, twelve! The Alouettes were up 20-0 after the first quarter and went into halftime with a commanding 54-7 lead. I certainly wouldn’t’ve wanted to be in the Hamilton dressing room at the half.

Montreal players who scored touchdowns in the record-setting game. Future Alabama Governor Fob James scored four touchdowns for the Alouettes.

Unfortunately for the Ti-Cats the second half wasn’t any better. Montreal’s Hal Patterson returned Hamilton’s kickoff to start the third quarter a record-breaking 104 yards for a touchdown. Talk about going from bad to worse. Having his way with the Tiger-Cat defence all afternoon, the Rifle might’ve put the Als over the 100-point mark had he stayed in the entire game. His favourite target Fob James, who years later would become the Governor of Alabama, scored four majors for the Alouettes.

The Hamilton Spectator didn’t mince words.
(Miller, Ivan. “Alouettes Re-write Record Book in Wild Game.” Hamilton Spectator, 22 October 1956, p. 16.)

With the astounding lopsided victory, Montreal clinched first place in the Big Four conference. The two teams would meet again the following month in a two-game total-point series for the IRFU final. Montreal came out on top, winning by a 78-62 combined score, but would lose to the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1956 Grey Cup game.

The 82-14 score set on October 20, 1956 still stands today as the largest margin of victory in a game played in the modern era of Canadian football.

The scoring summary of the record-setting game.

July 2, 2025