The Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) was a football league consisting of teams from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and formed in 1883. Eastern Ontario teams like Ottawa City and Ottawa College joined in 1894.

League formation and play

The QRFU was formed officially on January 16, 1883, 10 days after the

Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt th ...

. Teams from the QRFU would compete against member clubs of the ORFU for the Dominion Championship of the CRFU beginning the following season. The QRFU adopted the ORFU point-scoring system in 1884 with the formation of the Canadian Rugby Football Union. The

Montreal Foot Ball Club The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of ...

claimed the first ever CRFU Championship 30–0 over the

Toronto Football Club Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

. Teams of the QRFU played 15 men to a side, and did not adopt a down system until 1904, when it agreed that a team must make five yards on its third scrimmage to keep possession of the ball.

Scoring

The QRFU valued a goal from the field (field goal) as six points, a try (touchdown), goals from a try, penalties and free kicks as four points; two points for safety touches; and one point for kicks to the deadline, rouges and touch in goals.

Teams

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

''(1883–1897)'' *

Montreal Football Club The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of ...

''(1883–1906)'' *Britania Football Club ''(1882–1896, 1899–1903)'' *Quebec City ''(1883, 1893)'' * Bishop's College ''(1884–1885, 1889, 1891)'' *St. George's College ''(1887)'' *Victoria Football Club ''(1890)'' * Ottawa City Football Club ''(1894–1897, 1903–1906)'' (suspended during 1897 season for excessive rough play) * Ottawa College ''(1894–1904)'' *

Kingston Granites The Kingston Granites were a football team from Kingston, Ontario and a member of the Quebec Rugby Football Union and the Ontario Rugby Football Union, which were leagues that preceded the Canadian Football League. The team played for four seasons ...

''(1898)'' *

Brockville Football Club The Brockville Football Club was a team that played in the QRFU at the turn of the 20th century. They had great success early on in their history. In 1899, they finished in first place in the QRFU but lost to Ottawa College in the Quebec finals ...

''(1899–1902)'' *Westmount Football Club ''(1904–1906)'' *St. Patrick Saints ''(1905–1906)''

QRFU Champions

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1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

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1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

, ,

, - , 1891 , , Montreal Football Club , - ,

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

, , Montreal Football Club , - , 1893 , , Montreal Football Club , - , 1894 , , Ottawa College , - , 1895 , , Montreal Football Club , - , 1896 , , Ottawa College , - , 1897 , , Ottawa College , - , 1898 , , Ottawa College , - , 1899 , , Ottawa College , - , 1900 , ,

, - , 1901 , , Ottawa College , - , 1902 , , Ottawa College , - , 1903 , ,

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 ...

, - , 1904 , , Ottawa College , - , 1905 , ,

, - , 1906 , , Montreal Football Club , - , ''1907–36'' , , ''No League'' , - , 1937 , , Westmount , - , ''1938–42'' , , ''No League'' , - , 1943 , , Lachine RCAF Hurricanes , - ,

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

, , St. Hyacinthe-Donnacona Navy , -

Most QRFU Championships

*11-

(1883–89, 1891–93, 1895, 1906) *8- Ottawa College (1894, 1896–99, 1901–04) *1-

(1890) *1-

1905 *1-

1900

Incarnations of QRFU

The QRFU ceased operations in the 1907 after losing their best teams to 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 home ...

. The league returned in 1937 for a single season and made another return during World War II. The league is not related to, nor shares any history, with the

Quebec Rugby Federation Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, which administers

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

football in

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20141213001357/http://www.cfl.ca/page/his_timeline_1890 *https://web.archive.org/web/20121022100332/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/23-01-876.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20121022100101/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/23-02-885.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20121022100345/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/23-04-900.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20121022100349/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/23-05-908.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20101218180627/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/23-06-916.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20101218193052/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/24-01-919.pdf Defunct Canadian football leagues Canadian football leagues in Quebec