With Canadians serving on battlefields across Europe and the Pacific, the first ever non-civilian Grey Cup took place in 1942. The

Toronto RCAF Hurricanes The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes was a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union and was formed during the Second World War after several teams disbanded for the war. The team was composed of football players who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

defeated the

Winnipeg RCAF Bombers The Winnipeg RCAF Bombers were a Canadian football team during World War II. They lost the 30th Grey Cup and 31st Grey Cup games. In 1942, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers didn't have any competition for the regular season so they created their own comp ...

on an icy field at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.

Canadian Football News in 1942

The WIFU and the

IRFU The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and ...

suspended operations for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. A couple of military teams based in Toronto, the RCAF Hurricanes and the Navy York Bulldogs joined the regular ORFU teams like Balmy Beach and the Toronto Indians. The Ottawa Rough Riders continued operation, but as part of the an Ottawa based league. Out West, a three team Winnipeg city league was formed with the Winnipeg Bombers, the

University of Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays their games at Investors Group Field. The soccer team play their home games at the University of Manitoba ...

and a military team called the RCAF Flyers.

Regular season

Final regular season standings

''Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points''

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...

*NO LEAGUE PLAY

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

*NO LEAGUE PLAY *Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.

Grey Cup playoffs

''Note: All dates in 1942''

Winnipeg City playoffs

*''The Bombers won the total-point series by 34–29''

Ottawa City Finals

ORFU Finals

Western Finals

Winnipeg Tribune - November 9, 1942

Eastern Finals

Playoff bracket

Grey Cup Championship

1942 Ottawa City Senior Rugby Football Union All-Stars selected by ''Canadian Press''

''NOTE: During this time most players played both ways, so the All-Star selections do not distinguish between some offensive and defensive positions.''

*QB – P/O Bobby Coulter, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *FW – Joseph "Curley" Moynahan, Ottawa Rough Riders *HB – P/O

Tony Golab Anthony Charles Golab, (January 17, 1919 – October 16, 2016) was a Canadian football halfback and flying wing who played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union and Interprovincial Rugby Football Union for 11 years with the Sarnia Imperials, O ...

, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *HB – Tommy Daley, Ottawa Rough Riders *DB – Arnie McWatters, Ottawa Rough Riders *DB –

Thain Simon Thain Andrew Simon (April 24, 1922 — September 18, 2007) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played three games in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings during the 1946–47 season. Thain is the brother of the former NHL pl ...

, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *E – Pete O'Conner, Ottawa Rough Riders *E – Hart Findley, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *E – Jack Beull, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *C –

Doug Turner Douglas William Turner (born January 3, 1969) is the founding partner of the global communications firm Agenda. He also was a Republican candidate for the New Mexico gubernatorial election in 2010, where he was defeated in the primary election ...

, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *G – Leo Seguin, Ottawa Rough Riders *G – George Fraser, Ottawa Rough Riders *T – F/O

George Sprague George Able Sprague (November 30, 1871 – November 8, 1963), businessman, was mayor of Dallas in 1935–1937. Biography George Able Sprague was born on November 30, 1871, in Preston, Fillmore County, Minnesota, to Isaac Sprague and Anna Jeannet ...

, Ottawa RCAF Uplands *T – Eric Chipper, Ottawa Rough Riders

1942 Canadian Football Awards

Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy The Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy is a Canadian football award recognizing the most outstanding football player of the Quebec Student Sport Federation (RESQ) The trophy was originally presented to the player who best exemplified skill, sportsmanshi ...

(IRFU MVP) – ''no award given due to World War II'' * Imperial Oil Trophy (ORFU MVP) - Bill Stukus - Toronto RCAF Hurricanes

References

Canadian Football League seasons Grey Cups hosted in Toronto {{Canadianfootball-stub