The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

league comprising teams in the Canadian province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the

Burnside rules The Burnside rules were a set of rules that transformed Canadian football from a rugby-style game to the gridiron-style game it has remained ever since. The rules were first adopted by the Ontario Rugby Football Union in 1903, and were named aft ...

, from which the modern Canadian football code would evolve.

History

W. A. Hewitt William Abraham Hewitt (May 15, 1875September 8, 1966) was a Canadian sports executive and journalist, also widely known as Billy Hewitt. He was secretary of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1903 to 1966, and sports editor of the ''T ...

was vice-president of the ORFU for the 1905 and 1906 seasons, and a representative of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He sought for ORFU to have uniform rules of play with the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU), with a preference to use the snap-back system of play used in Ontario. When the CRU did not adopt the system, his motion was approved for the ORFU to adopt the CRU rules in 1906. In December 1906, '' The Gazette'' reported that a proposal originated from Ottawa for the ORFU and the Quebec Rugby Football Union to merge, which would allow for higher calibre of play and create rivalries. Hewitt helped organize the meeting which established the

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 ...

(IRFU) in 1907. For most of the first half of the 20th century, the ORFU was one of the stronger unions in Canada, and its champion was a frequent fixture in the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

even as the game became increasingly professionalized in the 1930s. During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Ontario-based military teams played in the ORFU, filling the gap during the suspension of play by the IRFU (Toronto Navy – H.M.C.S. ''York'' played out of

Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues, the athletic teams of the University of Toronto. Athletic events have been hosted on the site since 1898; th ...

, using the

' equipment and uniforms.) 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 For ...

were the last amateur team to win the Grey Cup in 1942. Many from the ranks of the military teams in the ORFU became stars in the CFL after the war. With the return of peace, however, the ORFU found it increasingly difficult to compete in an environment dominated by the IRFU and the

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 ...

, which had both become fully professional. Indeed, by then it was the only fully amateur union still challenging for the Grey Cup. Even so, it retained enough prestige that it played the WIFU champion for a berth in the Grey Cup final. The IRFU was reluctant to accept the WIFU as a full equal even after it was clear that its quality of play had become the equal of the IRFU. The ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition in 1954. Although the amateurs would not be formally locked out of Grey Cup play for another four years, this heralded the start of the modern era of Canadian football. The ORFU ceased to operate as a true senior league after 1960, but continued play at the intermediate level. Eventually the word "senior" came to replace the word "intermediate." By 1974, the ORFU had ceased to exist. However, the junior Ontario Rugby Football Union which was formed in 1890 lasted until the 1970 season.

Notable teams

* Toronto Football Club (1883–1895) *

(1898–1906) * Toronto Athletic Club (1896), Toronto Athletic Club-Lornes (1897) *

Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton intere ...

1883–1906, 1948–1949 * Ottawa Football Club (1883–1897),

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

(1898–1906) * Ottawa College Football Club (1885–1889, 1892–1898) * Kingston Granites (1899–1901) * Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club (1909–1910, 1912–1913, 1920–1923) 4 time ORFU champions, lost Grey Cup in

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * J ...

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

* Hamilton Alerts – 1st Grey Cup Champions of the ORFU in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ** German geophysicist Alfred ...

(1911–1912, another team played by the name in 1940) * Toronto Balmy Beach – 2 time Grey Cup Champions:

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

(1924–1957) * Sarnia Imperials – 2 time Grey Cup Champions:

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

(1928–1955) * Toronto Amateur Athletic Club – ORFU Champion 1908 and 1910 * Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association – ORFU Champion 1915, 1919 and 1920 * Hamilton (Flying) Wildcats – Grey Cup Champions:

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

(1941–1947) * Toronto Indians (1941–1948) *

– Grey Cup Champions:

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

(1942–1943) * Ottawa Trojans (1943–1947) ORFU Champion 1947 *

Windsor Rockets The Windsor Royals were a football team from Windsor, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and contested for the Grey Cup until the team folded after the 1952 season. Histo ...

(1945–1950), Windsor Royals (1951–52) * Brantford Redskins (1952–1953) * Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen (1953–1959) ORFU Champion 1954–1957 * London Lords (1956–1970) * Rochester Rockets (1956) *

Sarnia Golden Bears Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

ORFU Champion (1958–59) *

Bramalea Satellites Bramalea Satellites was a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a senior league that preceded the Canadian Football League. When the ORFU ceased, it transferred over to the Northern Football Conference for the 1973 and 1974 seasons, and the ...

(1967–1970)

Champions

Most championships

* 12- Sarnia Imperials (1929, 1931–1939, 1951–52) * 10- Toronto Balmy Beach (1924–1927, 1930, 1940, 1945–46, 1950, 1953) * 8-

(1890, 1897, 1903–1906, 1948–49) * 5- Ottawa College Football Club (1885–1889) * 4- Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club (1909, 1913, 1921–22) * 4- Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen (1954–1957) * 3- Toronto Football Club 1883–84,

(1901) * 3-

(1898, 1900, 1902) * 3- Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association (1915, 1919–20) * 3-

Hamilton Flying Wildcats The Hamilton Wildcats were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) from 1941 to 1947, and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) from 1948 to 1949. The team was forme ...

(1941, 1943–44) * 2-

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...

(1891–92) * 2-

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

(1893–94) * 2- University of Toronto Varsity (1895, 1896) * 2- Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (1908, 1910) * 2- Hamilton Alerts (1911–12) * 2-

Hamilton Rowing Club Hamilton Rowing Club is based in Hamilton, New Zealand. It was formed in 1903. Hamilton Rowing Club is the home club of Caroline Evers-Swindell and Georgina Evers-Swindell, 2004 Olympic champions in the double, and Fiona Patterson, 2004 World Ch ...

(1914, 1923) * 2-

(1958–59)

Imperial Oil Trophy

The Imperial Oil Trophy was awarded to the league's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. * 1934 Norm Perry – Sarnia Imperials * 1935 Hugh "Bummer" Stirling – Sarnia Imperials * 1936

Syd Reynolds Syd "Professor" Reynolds was an offensive end in the Ontario Rugby Football Union. A graduate of McMaster University, he joined the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers in 1930, their last Grey Cup championship season. Over the next 9 years he was an all- ...

– Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers * 1937

Ormond Beach Ormond Beach is a city in central Florida in Volusia County. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan ...

– Sarnia Imperials * 1938

John Ferraro John Ferraro (May 14, 1924 – April 17, 2001) was an American politician and businessman who was a Democratic member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1966 until his death in 2001, the longest tenure of any member in the city's history. Befo ...

– Montreal Nationals * 1939 Eddie Thompson – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers * 1940

Nick Paithouski Nicholas Joseph Paithouski ( – September 15, 1985) was an award-winning and all-star center in the Ontario Rugby Football Union. A graduate of Queen's University, he was a star player with the Golden Gaels, twice selected as a team MVP. In 1940 ...

– Sarnia 2/26 Battery * 1941

Al Lenard Aldon Lewis Lenard (January 6, 1921 in northern Italy – February 23, 2007 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada) was an athlete, university professor, athletics administrator, coach, and referee. Lenard was born in Italy and moved to Canada with his ...

–

Hamilton Wildcats The Hamilton Wildcats were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) from 1941 to 1947, and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) from 1948 to 1949. The team was formed ...

* 1942 Bill Stukus –

* 1943 Bob Cosgrove –

* 1944 Joe Krol –

* 1945

Arnie McWatters Arnie McWatters was a Canadian quarterback and halfback in the Ontario Rugby Football Union. Coming straight from high school, McWatters played for his hometown Sarnia Imperials from 1935 to 1938, with his finest season being 1936, when he won th ...

– Ottawa Trojans * 1946 Frank Gnup –

* 1947 Bob Paffrath – Toronto Indians * 1948 Frank Filchock –

* 1949 Don "Sleepy" Knowles – Sarnia Imperials * 1950

Carl Galbreath Carl S. Galbreath (April 15, 1927 – August 26, 2009) was an award-winning and all-star running back in the Ontario Rugby Football Union. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, he was a star player in college, selected as an All-CIAA r ...

– Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers * 1951 Bruce Mattingly – Sarnia Imperials * 1952 John Pont – Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers * 1953

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afr ...

– Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers * 1954

Bob Celeri Robert Lavern Celeri (June 1, 1927 – March 9, 1975) was a quarterback who played for the University of California, two seasons in the National Football League (NFL), and a total of eight seasons in two Canadian leagues – the Interprovincial ...

– Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen * 1955

– Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110727185339/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/07-An-245.pdf * http://www.cflapedia.com {{Authority control Defunct Canadian football leagues Canadian football in Ontario Defunct rugby union leagues in Canada 1883 establishments in Ontario 1974 disestablishments in Ontario