Ontario Rugby Football Union

The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would evolve.

History

W. A. Hewitt was vice-president of the ORFU for the 1905 and 1906 seasons, and a representative of the Toronto Argonauts.[1][2] He sought for ORFU to have uniform rules of play with the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU), with a preference to use the snap-back system of play used in Ontario.[3] When the CRU did not adopt the system, his motion was approved for the ORFU to adopt the CRU rules in 1906.[4] In December 1906, The Gazette reported that a proposal originated from Ottawa for the ORFU and the Quebec Rugby Football Union to merge, which would allow for higher calibre of play and create rivalries.[2] Hewitt helped organize the meeting which established the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) in 1907.[5]

For most of the first half of the 20th century, the ORFU was one of the stronger unions in Canada, and its champion was a frequent fixture in the Grey Cup even as the game became increasingly professionalized in the 1930s.

During World War II, the Ontario-based military teams played in the ORFU, filling the gap during the suspension of play by the IRFU (Toronto Navy – H.M.C.S. York played out of Varsity Stadium, using the Toronto Argonauts' equipment and uniforms.) The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes were the last amateur team to win the Grey Cup in 1942. Many from the ranks of the military teams in the ORFU became stars in the CFL after the war.

With the return of peace, however, the ORFU found it increasingly difficult to compete in an environment dominated by the IRFU and the Western Interprovincial Football Union, which had both become fully professional. Indeed, by then it was the only fully amateur union still challenging for the Grey Cup. Even so, it retained enough prestige that it played the WIFU champion for a berth in the Grey Cup final. The IRFU was reluctant to accept the WIFU as a full equal even after it was clear that its quality of play had become the equal of the IRFU.

The ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition in 1954. Although the amateurs would not be formally locked out of Grey Cup play for another four years, this heralded the start of the modern era of Canadian football. The ORFU ceased to operate as a true senior league after 1960, but continued play at the intermediate level. Eventually the word "senior" came to replace the word "intermediate." By 1974, the ORFU had ceased to exist. However, the junior Ontario Rugby Football Union which was formed in 1890 lasted until the 1970 season.

Notable teams

  • Toronto Football Club (1883–1895)
  • Toronto Argonauts (1898–1906)
  • Toronto Athletic Club (1896), Toronto Athletic Club-Lornes (1897)
  • Hamilton Tigers 1883–1906, 1948–1949
  • Ottawa Football Club (1883–1897), Ottawa Rough Riders (1898–1906)
  • Ottawa College Football Club (1885–1889, 1892–1898)
  • Kingston Granites (1899–1901)
  • Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club (1909–1910, 1912–1913, 1920–1923) 4 time ORFU champions, lost Grey Cup in 1909, 1913
  • Hamilton Alerts – 1st Grey Cup Champions of the ORFU in 1912 (1911–1912, another team played by the name in 1940)
  • Toronto Balmy Beach – 2 time Grey Cup Champions: 1927, 1930 (1924–1957)
  • Sarnia Imperials – 2 time Grey Cup Champions: 1934, 1936 (1928–1955)
  • Toronto Amateur Athletic Club – ORFU Champion 1908 and 1910
  • Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association – ORFU Champion 1915, 1919 and 1920
  • Hamilton (Flying) Wildcats – Grey Cup Champions: 1943 (1941–1947)
  • Toronto Indians (1941–1948)
  • Toronto RCAF Hurricanes – Grey Cup Champions: 1942 (1942–1943)
  • Ottawa Trojans (1943–1947) ORFU Champion 1947
  • Windsor Rockets (1945–1950), Windsor Royals (1951–52)
  • Brantford Redskins (1952–1953)
  • Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen (1953–1959) ORFU Champion 1954–1957
  • London Lords (1956–1970)
  • Rochester Rockets (1956)
  • Sarnia Golden Bears ORFU Champion (1958–59)
  • Bramalea Satellites (1967–1970)

Champions

YearChampion
1883Toronto Football Club
1884Toronto Football Club
1885Ottawa College Football Club
1886Ottawa College Football Club
1887Ottawa College Football Club
1888Ottawa College Football Club
1889Ottawa College Football Club
1890Hamilton Tigers
1891Osgoode Hall
1892Osgoode Hall
1893Queen's University
1894Queen's University
1895University of Toronto Varsity Football Club
1896University of Toronto Varsity Football Club
1897Hamilton Tigers
1898Ottawa Rough Riders
1899Kingston Granites
1900Ottawa Rough Riders
1901Toronto Argonauts
1902Ottawa Rough Riders
1903Hamilton Tigers
1904Hamilton Tigers
1905Hamilton Tigers
1906Hamilton Tigers
1907Peterborough Quakers
1908Toronto Amateur Athletic Club
1909Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club
1910Toronto Amateur Athletic Club
1911Hamilton Alerts
1912Hamilton Alerts (Grey Cup champions)
1913Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club
1914Hamilton Rowing Club
1915Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association
1916No season: World War I
1917No season: World War I
1918No season: World War I
1919Torontos
1920Torontos
1921Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club
1922Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club
1923Hamilton Rowing Club
1924Toronto Balmy Beach
1925Toronto Balmy Beach
1926Toronto Balmy Beach
1927Toronto Balmy Beach (Grey Cup champions)
1928University of Toronto Seconds
1929Sarnia Imperials
1930Toronto Balmy Beach (Grey Cup champions)
1931Sarnia Imperials
1932Sarnia Imperials
1933Sarnia Imperials
1934Sarnia Imperials (Grey Cup champions)
1935Sarnia Imperials
1936Sarnia Imperials (Grey Cup champions)
1937Sarnia Imperials
1938Sarnia Imperials
1939Sarnia Imperials
1940Toronto Balmy Beach
1941Hamilton Flying Wildcats
1942Toronto RCAF Hurricanes (Grey Cup champions)
1943Hamilton Flying Wildcats (Grey Cup champions)
1944Hamilton Flying Wildcats
1945Toronto Balmy Beach
1946Toronto Balmy Beach
1947Ottawa Trojans
1948Hamilton Tigers
1949Hamilton Tigers
1950Toronto Balmy Beach
1951Sarnia Imperials
1952Sarnia Imperials
1953Toronto Balmy Beach
1954Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1955Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1956Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1957Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
1958Sarnia Golden Bears
1959Sarnia Golden Bears
1960London Lords

Most championships

  • 12- Sarnia Imperials (1929, 1931–1939, 1951–52)
  • 10- Toronto Balmy Beach (1924–1927, 1930, 1940, 1945–46, 1950, 1953)
  • 8- Hamilton Tigers (1890, 1897, 1903–1906, 1948–49)
  • 5- Ottawa College Football Club (1885–1889)
  • 4- Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club (1909, 1913, 1921–22)
  • 4- Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen (1954–1957)
  • 3- Toronto Football Club 1883–84, Toronto Argonauts (1901)
  • 3- Ottawa Rough Riders (1898, 1900, 1902)
  • 3- Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association (1915, 1919–20)
  • 3- Hamilton Flying Wildcats (1941, 1943–44)
  • 2- Osgoode Hall (1891–92)
  • 2- Queen's University (1893–94)
  • 2- University of Toronto Varsity (1895, 1896)
  • 2- Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (1908, 1910)
  • 2- Hamilton Alerts (1911–12)
  • 2- Hamilton Rowing Club (1914, 1923)
  • 2- Sarnia Golden Bears (1958–59)

Imperial Oil Trophy

The Imperial Oil Trophy was awarded to the league's most valuable player.

  • 1934 Norm Perry – Sarnia Imperials
  • 1935 Hugh "Bummer" Stirling – Sarnia Imperials
  • 1936 Syd Reynolds – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • 1937 Ormond Beach – Sarnia Imperials
  • 1938 John Ferraro – Montreal Nationals
  • 1939 Eddie Thompson – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • 1940 Nick Paithouski – Sarnia 2/26 Battery
  • 1941 Al Lenard – Hamilton Wildcats
  • 1942 Bill Stukus – Toronto RCAF Hurricanes
  • 1943 Bob Cosgrove – Toronto RCAF Hurricanes
  • 1944 Joe KrolHamilton Wildcats
  • 1945 Arnie McWatters – Ottawa Trojans
  • 1946 Frank Gnup – Hamilton Wildcats
  • 1947 Bob Paffrath – Toronto Indians
  • 1948 Frank FilchockHamilton Tigers
  • 1949 Don "Sleepy" Knowles – Sarnia Imperials
  • 1950 Carl Galbreath – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • 1951 Bruce Mattingly – Sarnia Imperials
  • 1952 John Pont – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • 1953 Dick Gregory – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
  • 1954 Bob Celeri – Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
  • 1955 Bob Celeri – Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

See also

References

  1. "Sport Review". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 7, 1904. p. 4.Free access icon
  2. "The Sport Review". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 5, 1906. p. 2.Free access icon
  3. "Meet In Kingston". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 11, 1905. p. 3.Free access icon
  4. "The Sport Review". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 11, 1906. p. 7.Free access icon
  5. Sullivan, Jack (January 13, 1961). "Dapper Little Hewitt Hasn't Got An Enemy". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. p. 24.Free access icon
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