The First Grey Cup

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Rosedale Field – University of Toronto vs. Parkdale Canoe Club

Canadian football teams have been competing for a national championship since 1884, but it wasn’t until 1909 that the Grey Cup was born. The Governor General, Lord Earl Grey, wanted to present a trophy to the country’s top hockey team, but since one of those already existed – the Stanley Cup – he offered it to football instead. The University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues crushed the Parkdale Canoe Club, but apparently Lord Grey forgot all about his promised award. The Varsity Blues, the first winners of the Grey Cup, had to wait three months for the trophy to be made and delivered before they could finally hoist it.

 

A photograph of the 1909 University of Toronto Varsity rugby team that became the winners of the first (Earl) Grey Cup. This photograph from the Ottawa Citizen, published on December 6, 1909, has the caption: "The Varsity Rugby team - from left to right - Allison (manager), McArthur (secretary), Gall, Dixon, Gage, Ritchie, Lawson, Thompson, Lajole, Newton (captain), Hume, Foulds, Bell, Cruickshanks, Dickson, Prof. McCurdy (president), Kingston Oark, Ranin, and Conley (trainer)." Image sourced from Newspapers.com.
A photograph of the 1909 University of Toronto Varsity rugby team that became the winners of the first (Earl) Grey Cup. This photograph from the Ottawa Citizen, published on December 6, 1909, has the caption: “The Varsity Rugby team – from left to right – Allison (manager), McArthur (secretary), Gall, Dixon, Gage, Ritchie, Lawson, Thompson, Lajole, Newton (captain), Hume, Foulds, Bell, Cruickshanks, Dickson, Prof. McCurdy (president), Kingston Oark, Ranin, and Conley (trainer).” Image sourced from Newspapers.com.

1909

Toronto's Varsity Team wins the first Grey Cup

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