Category: Grey Cup

  • Queen’s Over Elks in 1922 Grey Cup

    Queen's Grey Cup win over Edmonton Elks in 1922 article
    Source: The Edmonton Bulletin, 4 December 1922, page 7

    On Saturday December 2, 1922, Queen’s University defeated the original Edmonton Elks 13-1 in the 10th Grey Cup game held at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ontario. In those days, the road to the national championship was a convoluted affair featuring playoffs between the champions of multiple leagues across the country. The Wikipedia article “1922 in Canadian football” does a good job illustrating the national playoff picture.

    Edmonton was the champion of the Alberta Rugby Football Union and had defeated Regina and Winnipeg to emerge as the western champion. Queen’s was the champion of the Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union, the conference featuring university teams, and emerged as the eastern representative after defeating the Toronto Argonauts.

    Click on the article below to read a detailed write up of the game that appeared in the Edmonton Bulletin the following Monday.

  • Tiger-Cat Defence Strangles Roughriders

    “Tiger-Cat defence strangles Roughriders” read the headline in The Ottawa Citizen on Monday December 4, 1967. That pretty much sums up Hamilton’s 24-1 win over Saskatchewan in the 1967 Grey Cup game played a couple days earlier.

    1967 Grey Cup action (Ottawa Citizen)
    Source: The Ottawa Citizen, 4 December 1967, page 23.

    1967 – being Canada’s Centennial and all – featured the Grey Cup being played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. Tiger-Cats quarterback Joe Zuger (who recently passed away at the age of 84) scored a running touchdown, passed for a touched down, and kicked three singles, leading him to be named Grey Cup MVP.

    The Hamilton Tiger-Cats used this commemorative logo in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s Centennial. (courtesy SportsLogos.Net)

  • Facts About the Final | 1910 Grey Cup

    Here’s an interesting snippet of some facts about the 1910 Grey Cup final held in Hamilton, including the team rosters for the Hamilton Tigers and the University of Toronto.

    1910 Grey Cup summary in the Hamilton Spectator
    Source: The Hamilton Spectator, November 25, 1910, page 12

  • Tigers and Rooters Ready For Action

    Hamilton Tigers 1910 Grey Cup coverage in the Hamilton Spectator
    Source: The Hamilton Spectator, November 25, 1910, page 12

    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.

  • Parkdale Gave Varsity an Interesting Argument | U of T Wins First Grey Cup 26-6

    Source: The Toronto Daily Star, Monday December 6, 1909, page 10

    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.

    1909 Grey Cup action (Toronto Star)
    Source: The Toronto Daily Star, Monday December 6, 1909, page 11
    Source: The Toronto Daily Star, Monday December 6, 1909, page 1