The University of Toronto recently celebrated the 60-year anniversary of the 1965 Varsity Blues football team winning the Vanier Cup.

The historic season saw the Blues defeat the Alberta Golden Bears 14-7 at Varsity Stadium to capture the inaugural Vanier Cup in front of 3,818 fans in a "mudbowl."

"This has been fantastic for a number of reasons," said Dr. Bryce Taylor, the quarterback for the 1965 Blues. "In the last 60 years since this great event happened, we have been together as a team."

Taylor gave credit to Ray Reynolds, another member of the 1965 team, as a key reason that the group has stuck together over the years. "Ray Reynolds, who we call our gentle giant, has kept us together on emails, which he sends out two to three times a month wishing any one of us a happy birthday. Everyone responds. That's been going on for many years."

"In the last 25 years we've had various reunions in-person," he said. "We have pretty good turnouts at those every year."

After hanging up his helmet, Taylor went on to become a highly regarded professional in the medical field. A retired surgeon, he earned his medical degree and completed postgraduate surgical training and a professor of surgery at U of T. In 2018, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours.

The '65 Blues were a special team known for their signature "hot potato play" as referred to by head coach Dalt White, Taylor recalled. "I started with the ball as quarterback and then it went back and forth and finally back to me. The defensive halves would be confused by this motion. In the long run I would end up throwing a long pass that was caught by Mike Eben for the touchdown." The pass was described by Taylor as the game's deciding play. Eben went on to have a decade-long career in the Canadian Football League, where he was a three-time divisional all-star.

To this day, the memory of the 1965 Blues remains alive and well and the team remains a tight-knit group 60 years later.

"There's been a connection that has kept that 1965 event alive but more importantly, it's kept alive the friendship."

The 1965 Blues were honoured with a dinner on Friday (Sept. 12) night and a pregame reception and halftime ceremony at the Blues Week 4 matchup against the Old-Four rival Queen's Gaels at Varsity Stadium on Saturday (Sept. 13) afternoon.