Toronto Parkdale was an 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 ( ...

and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

club based in the Parkdale neighbourhood in the west end of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. As a branch of the Parkdale Canoe Club established in August 1905, the club's hockey and football teams were nicknamed the Paddlers. They were also known colloquially as the West Enders, and as the Green and White, after the team colours. The Paddlers' senior football team lost to the

University of Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues is the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues traces its founding to ...

in the first Grey Cup game in 1909. The senior hockey team had

Billy Burch Harry Wilfred Burch (November 20, 1900 – November 30, 1950) was an American-born, Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans, Chicago Black Hawks, and Bos ...

on their roster in the 1919–20 season.

Early years (1905–1914)

The Paddlers joined 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 ...

(ORFU) in 1905, entering a team in the junior series. With former

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 ...

quarterback

Lou Marsh Lewis Edwin Marsh (February 17, 1879 – March 4, 1936) was a Canadian athlete and referee, and one of the pioneers of sports journalism in Canada, working at the ''Toronto Star'' for 43 years. Life and career Marsh was born in Campbellford, On ...

as their coach, the Parkdale juniors won the Toronto district championship in 1907, and in 1908 they won the Ontario provincial and Canadian Dominion championships. In 1909 the club decided to enter a team made up of its junior graduates in the ORFU senior series. In that inaugural season in the upper series, they finished in a first-place tie in the standings with the defending champion

Toronto Amateur Athletic Club The Toronto Amateur Athletic Club (TAAC) or Torontos was an athletics organization in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club fielded teams in various sports, including ice hockey and rugby football. The Toronto Amateur Athletic Club also had a gymnas ...

team, whom they defeated 9–3 in the resulting tie-break, securing the senior title in their first season of play. As league champions they qualified to compete for the Dominion championship along with the champions of the Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union and 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 ...

. After the Intercollegiate champion

defeated the Interprovincial champion Ottawa Rough Riders in the Dominion semifinal, the Paddlers faced the heavily-favoured Blues in the final. They lost 26–6 at

Rosedale Field Rosedale Field was a grandstand stadium located in Rosedale Park at 20 Scholfield Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally called Toronto Lacrosse Grounds, it was linked to St. Andrew's College located in the area west of MacLennan Avenue fr ...

in Toronto, having trailed 6–5 at half-time. For the first time that season, the Dominion champions were presented with the Grey Cup, giving Parkdale a place in Canadian football history as one of the first two teams to challenge for the trophy. After a winless 1910 season the Paddlers dropped out of the ORFU, making their return to the league in 1912. In the meantime, the Parkdale Canoe Club had iced an Ontario Hockey Association junior team. In 1913 the Paddlers finished in first place with a record of 3–1 and defeated the Toronto Rowing and Athletic Association team 8–5 in a playoff to capture their second ORFU championship. When the Intercollegiate champions, McGill University, declined to participate in the Dominion championship, Parkdale advanced to their second Grey Cup berth, losing to the favourite

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 ...

in Hamilton by a score of 44–2.

Later years (1914–1923)

With the outbreak of war in 1914, the Paddlers again dropped out of the ORFU and did not return to league competition until 1920. In 1921 they won their third ORFU championship and advanced to what, in previous seasons, would have been the Grey Cup final against the

. However, in 1921 a new layer of competition was introduced to the Dominion championship pitting the Eastern Canada champions against the Western Canada champions for the Grey Cup. Playing in the first-ever Eastern Final, Parkdale was beaten 16–8 by the undefeated Argonauts, who went on to win the first-ever East-versus-West Dominion title. In 1922 the Paddlers repeated as ORFU champions with a 6–0 record, only to fall again to the Argos in the Eastern Final by a score of 20–1. After finishing in second place in 1923, Parkdale dropped out of the ORFU for the third and final time. The football club would fold, but the Parkdale Canoe Club continued to thrive as a social and athletic club. In 1935 the club changed its name to the Boulevard Club. It continues to operate under that name today.

Early years (1905–1914)

Later years (1914–1923)

ORFU season-by-season

References

Further reading