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| Date | November 15, 1902 | ||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Ottawa College Grounds [1] | ||||||||||||
| Location | Toronto, Ontario | ||||||||||||
| Referee | N. Lash [2] | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 6,000 [2] [3] | ||||||||||||
The 1902 Dominion Championship was a Canadian football game that was played on November 15, 1902 at the Ottawa College Grounds in Ottawa, Ontario that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada for the 1902 season. [4] [1] The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) champion Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) champion, and defending national champion, Ottawa College in a 5–0 victory to win their third Dominion Championship. [3] [4] This was a re-match of the 1898 Dominion Championship game which the Rough Riders also won on the Ottawa College Grounds. [3] The Rough Riders made their third appearance in the title game, all within five years, and it was the seventh appearance for Ottawa College with their only losses in the game coming from the Rough Riders. [5]
This was the last national championship game to be played with 15 players for each team on the field as rule changes took place after this season, reducing that number to 14 in some unions and to 12 in others. [5] [6] It wa also the last game to be played in just two halves and not four quarters. [6] Rule changes to the game of rugby football became inconsistent between the ORFU, QRFU, and Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) which led to disputes that ultimately resulted in the cancellation of future championship games until one was finally played again in 1905. [5] [6] The Rough Riders were favoured 2 to 1 to win the game, with even bets to double Ottawa College's score. [2] [4]
The Rough Riders won the toss and chose the north goal since there was a slight wind advantage playing from that side. [2] Hal Walters opened the scoring after receiving a throw-in which he punted to touch-in-goal where he scored one point for the Rough Riders. [2] This was the Rough Riders' first point to be scored in a first half all year, although the club had only played two other games, both against the Toronto Argonauts, due to the withdrawal of the Hamilton Tigers. [2] [5] Later in the first half, following a muffed punt return by Ottawa College's O'Brien, Walters received a pass from Jim McGee and was able to run over the goal line for a touchdown, making the score 5–0 in favour of the Rough Riders. [2] The convert attempt failed, so the score total remained at five. [6] In the second half, Ottawa College had the wind advantage, but the Rough Riders focused on retaining possession of the ball and College was unable to score. [2] It was estimated that the Rough Riders had possession of the ball 80% of the time while Hal Walters himself had the ball 60% of the time. [2] The strategy by the Rough Riders proved successful as they maintained their lead and won their third Canadian Dominion Championship. [2] [6]
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The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of the QRFU and played in the first football game in Quebec in 1872. The club was dominant in Quebec, winning 12 of the 24 QRFU titles in the years that they played in that league. Montreal also won the first Canadian Dominion Football Championship in 1884, a predecessor of the Grey Cup and again won the championship in their first season in the IRFU in 1907.
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The 1908 Canadian football season was the 17th season of organized play since the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) was founded in 1892 and the 26th season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883. The season concluded with the Hamilton Tigers defeating the Toronto University team in the 1908 Dominion Championship game.
The 1907 Canadian football season was the 16th season of organized play since the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) was founded in 1892 and the 25th season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883. This year also marked the first for the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, which is a predecessor of the modern day's CFL East Division. The season concluded with the Montreal Football Club defeating Peterboro in the 1907 Dominion Championship game.
The 1906 Canadian football season was the 15th season of organized play since the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) was founded in 1892 and the 24th season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883. The season concluded with the Hamilton Tigers defeating the McGill University Seniors in the 1906 Dominion Championship game.
The 1905 Canadian football season was the 14th season of organized play since the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) was founded in 1892 and the 23rd season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883. The season concluded with the Toronto University team defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 1905 Dominion Championship game.
The 1884 Canadian football season was the second season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883 and the first since the re-establishment of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU). The season was highlighted by the first ever Rugby Football Dominion Championship where the Montreal Football Club defeated the Toronto Football Club by a score of 30 to 0.
The 1907 Toronto Argonauts season was the Argonaut Football Club's 10th season of organized league play since joining the Ontario Rugby Football Union in 1898, and its first season in the newly formed Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team finished in last place in the new "Big Four" league with one win and five losses and failed to qualify for the Dominion playoffs.
The 1907 Dominion Championship was a Canadian football game that was played on November 30, 1907 at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada for the 1907 season. This was the first championship game to feature the newly-created Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) champion, which was the Montreal Football Club. Montreal defeated the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) champion Peterborough Club in a 71–10 blowout victory to win their second Canadian Championship. This was the eighth appearance in the title game for Montreal and the first and only appearance for Peterborough. Notably, referee Russell Britton admitted after the game that there was a scoring error when a touch-in-goal was given to Montreal when it should have counted as a try. While the score should have been 75–10, it was officially recorded as 71–10. This was the highest scoring Dominion championship/Grey Cup in Canadian football history.
The 1906 Dominion Championship was a Canadian football game that was played on December 1, 1906, between the Hamilton Tigers and the McGill University Seniors, that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada. The Ontario Rugby Football Union champion Tigers defeated the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union champion McGill squad 29–3 to their first Dominion Championship. This was the second appearance in the title game for the Tigers with the first coming in 1897. This was the first and only appearance of a McGill team in the Dominion Championship game.
The 1905 Dominion Championship was a Canadian football game that was played on November 25, 1905 at Rosedale Field in Toronto, Ontario that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada for the 1905 season. The Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union (CIRFU) champion Toronto University team defeated the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) champion Ottawa Rough Riders in an 11–9 comeback victory to win their second Dominion Championship. This was the third appearance in the title game for Varsity and the fourth appearance for the Rough Riders while also being their first loss in the championship game.
The 1884 Rugby Football Championship of the Dominion was a Canadian football game that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada for the 1884 season. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day on November 6, 1884 on the University lawn at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. The Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) champion Montreal Football Club defeated the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) champion Toronto Football Club with a 30–0 victory in the first ever game to decide a national champion, as directed by the Canadian Rugby Football Union.