University of Toronto Athletics

"Thrift" Burnside was an outstanding football player and administrator at the turn of the century. He competed for the Blues from 1896-1899 and was captain of the first Yates Cup intercollegiate championship team in 1898. He also had a major role in the development of Football rules in Canada-- at the national level through the Canadian Rugby Union and on the university level through the intercollegiate league. He also drafted the first rules for U of T's intramural Football league, which included the Mulock Cup, Canada's oldest football trophy (1894). Burnside was a member of the Men's Athletic Directorate in 1897-8 and 1899-1900.