Hall of Fame
It cost Governor General Earl Grey $48, quite a lot in 1909, but it was worth every penny. The Grey Cup, ”to be awarded to the amateur rugby football champion of Canada,” has given Canadian sports fans some of their most intense moments in football for the last 95 years.
The winners of the first Grey Cup were none other than the U of T Varsity Blues. At the time, the Blues were the intercollegiate title holders and had already beaten the Ottawa Rough Riders, a Big Four club, 31-7 to get into the final round, This game attracted more than 11,000 to Rosedale Field, which had a stated capacity of about 3,400. Then, on December 4, Varsity won the inaugural Grey Cup with a solid 26-6 victory over Toronto Parkdale, champions of the Ontario Rugby Football Union. The game, also played at Rosedale Field, was witnessed by about 3,800 spectators.
Three players have earned individual induction to the Sports Hall of Fame – Smirle Lawson (1987), Hugh Gall (1989) and Billy Foulds (2000) – and now they are joined by their teammates: Jim Bell, Bill Cruickshank, John Dickson, Ewart “Reddy” Dixon, W.C. “Billy” Foulds, Charlie Gage, Hugh Gall, W.W. “Whisper” Hume, Gordon Jones, George Kingston, Jack Lajoie, Smirle Lawson, Jack MacDonald, Art Muir, Jack Newton (Captain), Frank Park, Gordon Rankin, Hugh “Bull” Ritchie and Murray Thomson. The team was coached by Harry G. Griffith and managed by W.E. “Butch” Allison.
