Category: Canadian Rugby Union

Varsity Wins the Almost Forgotten Grey Cup

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.

Sources:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130820024400/http://cfl.ca/page/his_greycup_recap1920

The Toronto Star, 6 December 1920

The Globe and Mail, 6 December 1920

November 12, 2025
Getting Ready for the Grey Cup’s TV Debut

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.

Sources:

Patskou, Paul. “The First Televised Grey Cup Game.” Canadian Football Research Society. Accessed October 28, 2025. https://www.canadianfootballresearch.ca/the-first-televised-grey-cup-game/.

The Toronto Star, 27 November 1952

October 28, 2025
100 Yard Fields in Early Canadian Football

When CFL Commissioner Stewart Johnston announced sweeping rule changes to the Canadian game last month, one modification that probably alarmed traditionalists the most was the change to the size of the CFL football field. In 2027, the field will shrink from 110 yards in length to 100 yards between the goal lines.

I can certainly sympathize with the “Save the 55” crowd. After all, we humans tend not to like change. Especially when it comes to changing something we cherish. But upon further review, it appears that 100-yard football fields are not new to Canadian football.

From the Rules of the Rugby Union Game of Football adopted by the Canadian Rugby Football Union, 14 September 1880

In fact, early Canadian football was played on 100 yard long fields. In 1880, the very first rule in the new Canadian Rugby Football Union rule book stated that “The Grounds shall be, as near as possible, 100 yards long by 50 yards broad.” Of course, it’s important to remember that the game around this time was more like rugby football than the gridiron game we are accustomed to today. But still, that’s a small field.

100 yard long field being adopted by the CRFU in November 1885. (Montreal Star, 14 November 1884)

100 yard long fields continued to be the norm for several years. While the 1884 CRFU Laws of the Game stated that the field of play should not exceed 110 yards in length, in 1885, the CRFU clarified that the field should be 100 yards long by 65 yards wide.
It appears the 110 yard by 65 yard standard was finally widely adopted by the 1890s. That is the size of the field mentioned in the rules when the new Canadian Rugby Union was formed in 1891.

The 110 x 65 field we are accustomed to (taken from the Canadian Rugby Football Union Constitution and Laws of the Game published in 1884).

So, what’s the point of this discussion? Well, nothing really except to reiterate that Canadian football is not static. The rules and regulations of the game have been evolving since the beginning. And in the case of the 100 yard long field coming in 2027, it can be equally argued that rather than moving the CFL closer to the American game, we are instead taking Canadian football back to its early years.

Sources:
Rules of the Rugby Union Game of Football adopted by the Canadian Rugby Football Union, 14 September 1880
Canadian Rugby Football Union Constitution and Laws of the Game, 1 July 1884
The Montreal Star, 14 November 1885

October 15, 2025
The Death of Earl Grey

On August 29, 1917, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic reported that Earl Grey had died at the age of 65. How well do you know the man who donated the trophy that bears his name, that symbol of Canadian football supremacy?

Born Albert Henry George Grey in 1851 in London, England, he became the 4th Earl Grey upon the death of his uncle. He was a lawyer by profession and a former politician, serving as an MP in the British Parliament. He also briefly served as the administrator for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

In 1904, King Edward VII appointed Earl Grey as the Governor General of Canada. In those days, the vice regal not only represented the monarch in Canada but also acted as a representative for the British government. As such, the appointees were always a member of the British peerage and sometimes even a member of the Royal Family.

News of Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Ottawa Citizen on August 29, 1917.

By most accounts, Earl Grey was an immensely popular Governor General. He travelled the country intensively and was active in many areas of Canadian politics. Earl Grey was a strong supporter of national unity (he was largely responsible for the success of Quebec’s tercentenary celebrations!) and advocated for greater social justice for Canadians. Two of his other interests failed to gain traction, that being electoral reform and transforming the British Empire into an Imperial Federation.

As Governor General, Earl Grey lent his support to several Canadian arts and sports initiatives. In 1909, he donated a trophy to be awarded for the Amateur Rugby Football Championship of Canada. Soon, the trophy would become known as the Grey Cup.

Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Montreal Star on August 29, 1917.

Earl Grey’s death as reported in the Newcastle Journal (UK) on August 30, 1917.

Earl Grey’s tenure as Governor General ended in 1911, and he returned to England. Earl Grey died at his family home in Howick, England on August 29, 1917. He was remembered fondly by the press in both Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in countries around the world. He was survived by his wife Alice and three adult children.

One particular quote (attributed to Sir Hamar Greenwood) nicely sums up Earl Grey and his impact on and connection to Canada: “Earl Grey came to Canada an Englishman and returned to England as a keen Canadian.”

In reading the many newspaper articles about Earl Grey’s death you will notice a glaring omission. Most of them make little to no reference to the Grey Cup or to Grey’s support for Canadian football. At first glance, this appears rather odd. But it’s important to remember the times. At the time of Earl Grey’s death, Canada was in the midst of the First World War. Meaningful football hadn’t been played in Canada since 1914. There had only been six previous Grey Cup games, so the tradition hadn’t yet taken hold. In some ways, the Grey Cup was largely forgotten during the war years. Finally, the game was resurrected in 1920, setting up Earl Grey’s greatest legacy to Canada: the Grey Cup.

Earl Grey was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1963, the year the hall was established.

Sources:

The Ottawa Citizen (29 August 1917)
The Montreal Star (29 August 1917)
The Newcastle Journal (30 August 1917)
Fediverse Reactions
October 8, 2025
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