Category: Ontario Rugby Football Union

Canadian Football’s Quirky Playoffs, Part II: No Dominion Championship in 1885, An All-Star Game Instead

This is the second in an ongoing series of articles looking back at some of Canadian football’s rather quirky playoff systems used over the years. A previous article examined how tie schedules and challenge cups were used on the road to the first Dominion championship game organized by the Canadian Rugby Football Union in 1884.

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
Fediverse Reactions
June 3, 2026
Canadian Football’s Quirky Playoffs, Part I: Tie Schedules and Challenge Cups in 1884

With the recent announcement that the CFL is changing its playoff format in 2027, I thought it would be an interesting learning experience to revisit some of the old playoff systems used in Canadian football, starting in 1884.

When the Canadian Rugby Football Union was relaunched in 1884, one of its mandates was to establish a national championship between the Ontario Rugby Football Union and the Quebec Rugby Football Union. Both the ORFU and QRFU held their own competitions using what was called the Tie Schedule. In this context, a tie refers to a match pairing between two teams and not a draw. Basically, Team A played Team B and the winner played Team C. The winner of that game played Team D and so forth until only one team remained undefeated. It was more or less a knock-out style tournament as opposed to a balanced round-robin schedule like the regular season we are accustomed to today.

In Quebec, the Montreal Football Club and the Britannia Football Club met on October 11th with Montreal securing a 14-2 victory. On the same day, McGill defeated Bishop’s by a score of 50-0. The following week, the two victors met with Montreal coming out on top 21-0 to win the QRFU. Montreal had defeated Britannia, McGill, as well as the Kingston Cadets.

Article about the Montreal-Britannia game. (Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1884)

Quebec also used the Challenge System where a team could “challenge” the champion, If the challengers won, they became the champions; if the champions won, they remained champions. On November 1st, Britannia challenged Montreal for the Quebec Union’s Challenge Cup. Montreal scored a rouge, the only point scored in the entire game. According to a report in the Montreal Gazette, the game was declared a draw. Montreal retained their title and was declared the Quebec champion. Apparently, this game was played using the old English Rugby rules. I presume this is the reason the game was officially a draw as only goals and tries were counted in English Rugby rules. Why this particular game was played using old English Rugby rules instead of the emerging Canadian-style game is rather odd. The article in the Gazette alludes to the game being rather boring.

A summary of the 1884 Ontario Rugby Football Union playoffs. (Toronto Mail, 4 November 1884)

In Ontario, fourteen teams were eligible to compete in the playoffs for the Ontario Cup. Five of these teams chose not to play. The remaining nine – Toronto, University of Toronto, Hamilton, London, Peterboro, Strathroy, Queen’s University, Royal Military College, and Ottawa – were paired up in a knock-out style tournament lasting four rounds…well, almost four rounds. In the final game for the Ontario Cup, Toronto was supposed to host Ottawa. But Ottawa forfeited the game, leaving Toronto as the Ontario champions.

Ottawa forfeits the Ontario Challenge Cup. (Montreal Star, 3 November 1884)

So, that’s how the two provincial champions were crowned in 1884. Montreal was declared the Quebec champion after a draw against Britannia in a game that was played using different rules. Toronto was the declared the Ontario champion after Ottawa didn’t show up. A bit anti-climatic, eh?

Preview of the CRFU Dominion Championship between Toronto and Montreal. (Toronto Mail, 6 November 1884)

Nevertheless, the scene was set for the first-ever Rugby Football Championship of the Dominion. Held at the University of Toronto on November 6th, the Montreal Football Club handily defeated the Toronto Football Club by a score of 30-0 in front of 1500 fans. Montreal scored two goals, three tries, and two rouges.

Summary of the Montreal victory over Toronto in the first Dominion championship. (Montreal Gazette, 7 November 1884)

Despite the informalities and quirks associated with the season schedules used at the time, the domination of the Montreal Football Club arguably proved that they were strongest team in Canada and worthy of being called Dominion champions.

Something else stood out to me when researching the 1884 season. There were several more exhibition games played after the Dominion championship in Toronto. For instance, after losing the championship game Toronto travelled to Montreal to play the Britannias. Imagine the losing team of the Grey Cup playing a meaningless road game the following week? Ah, such are the peculiarities of good old Canadian football.

Special thanks to Robert Sproule who shared with me some of his research on early Canadian football during this period. It helped shed some light on on the tie schedule format and general structure of the leagues.

Sources:
Canadian Football Timeline (Canadian Football Research Society)
Important Dates in Canadian Football by Bob Sproule, Coffin Corner, 1991
Montreal Gazette, 3 November 1884
Montreal Gazette, 7 November 1884
Montreal Star, 3 November 1884
Toronto Mail, 4 November 1884
Toronto Mail, 6 November 1884
Fediverse Reactions
May 13, 2026
Tigers Quit the Big Four

In the Spring of 1948, the Hamilton Tigers shocked the Canadian football world when they announced their withdrawal from the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. A founding member of the league also known as the Big Four, the Tigers traced their roots back to 1869. They were undoubtedly the face of Hamilton football.

Hamilton Spectator article about the Tigers’ leaving the IRFU (22 March 1948).

Like other teams in the IRFU, the Tigers temporarily disbanded during the Second World War. However, the Ontario Rugby Football Union, one of the other three major football leagues at the time, carried on. Hamilton had a team in the ORFU, as well – the Hamilton Wildcats. The Wildcats helped fill the void for Hamilton football fans in the absence of the Tigers.

Once the war ended and a sense or normalcy returned, the IRFU resumed operations. Suddenly, Hamilton had not one but two top tier football teams to root for. But sometimes more is not necessarily merrier.

Faced with competition from the ORFU’s Wildcats and being at odds with fellow IRFU clubs when it came to revenue sharing, the Tigers found themselves in a precarious financial position. The team did make money but had a harder time competing against the larger clubs in Toronto and Montreal. The Tigers advocated for a scheme that would have IRFU teams split revenue by giving the visiting team up to a third of game day receipts. The other IRFU teams rejected the idea and instead offered up a $10,000 “share the loss” fund that would, in effect, reimburse teams operating in the red up to $10,000.

The IRFU’s “share the loss” scheme to assist smaller clubs (Hamilton Spectator, 22 March 1948)

The Tigers and IRFU found themselves at a stalemate. At an IRFU meeting held at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa on Saturday March 20, 1948, the Tigers announced they were quitting the Big Four. Tigers President J.G. Langs suggested the IRFU was becoming too professional and that the rising costs of competing couldn’t be offset without a more generous revenue sharing model. The Tigers’ abrupt withdrawal set off a chain reaction that would create some rather interesting drama in the days ahead.

Almost immediately, reports began to circulate that the Wildcats would join the IRFU as Hamilton’s Big Four replacement team. At the time, they were arguably the best team in the ORFU and felt a jump to the IRFU would be a seamless transition. (Unfortunately, they struggled in the IRFU and won only a single game in their two seasons of play in that league.)

IRFU officials met again in Toronto to formally admit the Wildcats into the Big Four. Faced with mounting pressure from Hamilton fans, the Tigers withdrew their withdrawal and insisted on staying in the Big Four circuit. Their re-entry was approved. However, in a seemingly comedy of errors, it turns out that the IRFU had already admitted the Wildcats previously when the Tigers originally quit. So, the Big Four now had five teams, two in Hamilton.

Two Hamilton teams in the Big Four?

Although there were rumours of admitting a sixth team (likely Toronto Balmy Beach) to create a “Big Six” the IRFU executive team insisted on maintaining a four-team loop. They were adamant that one of the Hamilton teams had to go.

Hamilton Wildcats were finally confirmed into the IRFU (Hamilton Spectator, 1 April 1948).

IRFU president Eddie Emerson was tasked with finding a solution. The “ideal” solution, it appeared, was for the Wildcats and Tigers to unite as one team in the Big Four. But the notion was nixed by both teams. In the lead up to what could have been one of the more dramatic football meetings the country has ever seen, the Tigers announced that they would no longer seek to stay in the IRFU, saving a potential showdown with football executives. Eddie Emerson was surely relieved. Instead, the Tigers would take the Wildcats’ place in the ORFU.

Hamilton Tigers joined the ORFU for the 1948 season (Hamilton Spectator, 3 May 1948)

So, for two seasons – 1948 and 1949 – the Wildcats and Tigers played football in their new respective leagues. As mentioned earlier, the Wildcats struggled significantly in the Big Four. The Tigers fared better, at least on the field, finishing in first place in the ORFU. Off the field was another matter altogether. It was abundantly clear that Hamilton just couldn’t support two football teams in the increasingly professional era. As financial losses mounted, a group of Hamilton citizens revisited the idea of merging the two teams. In 1950, the original “ideal” solution was finally realised – the Tigers and Wildcats amalgamated and became the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Articles in the Hamilton Spectator about the Tigers wanting to stay in the IRFU and the the meetings that ended with both Hamilton teams briefly being in the Big Four.

Sources:
The Hamilton Spectator, 22 March 1948
The Hamilton Spectator, 24 March 1948
The Hamilton Spectator, 25 March 1948
The Hamilton Spectator, 1 April 1948
The Ottawa Citizen, 31 March 1948
Fediverse Reactions
April 1, 2026
The ORFU Adopts the Burnside Rules

An observer today would simply shrug his shoulders after reading the contents. “What’s the big deal?” he would ask. But around the turn of the 20th century the Burnside Rules would revolutionize Canadian football. Named after Thrift Burnside, who captained the University of Toronto varsity football team, the so-called Burnside Rules helped transform Canadian football from a rugby-style game to the modern gridiron game we recognize today.

Proponents of the Burnside Rules promoted the idea that they made the game more open, more exciting, and easier to follow. Opponents argued they changed the very essence of Canadian football and risked the Americanization of the game. In hindsight, both sides were probably right.

So, what the heck were the Burnside Rules anyway? And how did they change the game of Canadian football so much? Let’s take a quick look.

Perhaps the biggest difference in Mr. Burnside’s rules compared to traditional Canadian rugby at the time was the introduction of the downs system. The team with possession would now have three chances (or downs) to advance the ball ten yards. The other significant difference was adoption of the snap-back formation. Instead of a rugby scrum where players heeled the ball backwards, the offence would now line up along a fixed line of scrimmage and have the centre player on the line “snap back” the ball. Both the downs system and the snap-back formation were already being used in American football at the time.

Other rule changes included the reduction of the number of players from fifteen to twelve, scrimmaging instead of throw-ins from the sideline, and capping the number of players on the line of scrimmage at six. They also made some minor kicking and scoring adjustments.

A Fine Exposition of New Rugby

The first use the Burnside Rules was the first game of the Toronto city championship between the University of Toronto and the Toronto Argonauts on November 15, 1902. The rules received rave reviews from the Toronto Star, which hailed the game a “fine exposition of new rugby.”

Praising the Burnside Rules that were used in the Varsity-Argonauts game.
(“Fine Exposition of New Rugby.” Toronto Star, 17 November 1902, p. 10.)

Still, the Burnside Rules were considered so radical by purists that their adoption divided clubs and unions and threatened to wreak havoc on Canadian football. On December 13, 1902, the Ontario Rugby Football Union formally adopted the Burnside Rules for the 1903 season. The Canadian Rugby Union and its other unions refused to adopt them initially. This led to the three CRU unions in Ontario and Quebec to play by three different sets of rules.

Article in the Toronto Star explaining the Burnside Rules after being adopted by the ORFU.
(“Adoption of the Burnside Rules.” Toronto Star, 15 December 1902, p. 10.)

By the way, the Quebec Rugby Football Union probably had the most radical rule of all. While it didn’t adopt the snap-back formation it did implement its own version of a downs system. Basically, teams had to gain at least five yards on their third down, regardless of yards gained on the previous first or second down.

Comparing the three sets of rules in Canadian football for 1903
(Toronto Star, 22 December 1902, p. 9.)

Ottawa Opposed the Burnside Rules

The Ottawa Rough Riders lead the opposition to the ORFU’s adoption of the Burnside Rules. A column appearing in the Ottawa Citizen made abundantly clear Ottawa’s stance on the new rules and took to personally attacking Thrift Burnside. Such was the passion and divisiveness surrounding these sweeping changes.

A column in the Ottawa Citizen critical of Thrift Burnside and his rules.
(Ottawa Citizen, 16 December 1902, p. 6.)

After unsuccessfully trying to convince the CRU to adopt the Burnside Rules, the ORFU opted to switch back to CRU rugby-style football in 1906. But in the years ahead, the down system and snap-back formation were eventually adopted across the country.

By the 1920s Canadian football had evolved and started to resemble the game we play and watch today. The Burnside Rules played a pivotal role in this evolution. By incorporating popular aspects of American football into the traditional Canadian game, the ORFU’s early adoption of the Burnside Rules helped shape the future of Canadian football.

More praise of the Burnside Rules by the Toronto Star.
(Toronto Star, 17 November 1902, p. 10.)

June 18, 2025
Tigers, Wildcats Merge to Form the Tiger-Cats

Depending on the criteria chosen and who you ask (relax, Argo fans!) the city of Hamilton boasts Canada’s oldest football club. The Hamilton Foot Ball Club was founded on November 3, 1869. Yes, they spelled football with two words back then. The team played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1893 to 1906 before joining the new Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1907.

A news article announcing the founding of the Hamilton Foot Ball Club
(The Hamilton Spectator, 4 November 1869, p 2.)

The team wore black and orange and later black and yellow uniforms and were known as the Tigers. It was this Tigers team that played in the second Grey Cup in 1910.

In 1941, the Tigers suspended play as a result of the Second World War. The IRFU itself shut down a year later. To fill the void, the Hamilton Wildcats were formed and played in the ORFU, winning the Grey Cup in 1943. Due to the high number of air force personnel playing for the team, the club was known as the Flying Wildcats during the war years.

After the war ended, the IRFU and the Hamilton Tigers resumed play. Unfortunately, the Hamilton market couldn’t support two football teams. Both the Tigers and the Wildcats found themselves competing for business and facing financial challenges. After a dispute with the IRFU, the Tigers and Wildcats actually swapped leagues for a couple of seasons with the Tigers playing in the ORFU and the Wildcats joining the IRFU in 1948.

“Merger of Wildcats, Tigers, Completed.” The Hamilton Spectator, 31 January 1950, p 24.

Finally, a group of Hamilton citizens pushed for the amalgamation of the Tigers and Wildcats. It was clear that Hamilton could sustain only one team, especially with the growing professionalization of the game of football.

Thus, in 1950, the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats merged into one club and became the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The 1950 amalgamated Hamilton Tiger-Cats
(photo courtesy of the Canadian Football Research Society)

This is the sixth of a series of posts that will explore the stories behind the names of the existing Canadian Football League teams. See the previous post on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

April 9, 2025