1907 Dominion Championship Explained

1907 Dominion Championship
Date:November 30, 1907
City:McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
Visitor Name:Peterborough Club
Home Name:Montreal Football Club
Visitor Coach:Crowley
Home Coach:Chaucer Elliott
Visitor Record:1–1
Home Record:5–1
Visitor1:6
Visitor2:4
Visitor3:0
Visitor4:0
Home1:23
Home2:12
Home3:22
Home4:14
Referee:Russell Britton
Attendance:3,000[1]
Previous:1906 Championship
Next:1908 Championship

The 1907 Dominion Championship was a Canadian football game that was played on November 30, 1907 at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec that determined the Senior Rugby Football champion of Canada for the 1907 season.[1] [2] This was the first championship game to feature the newly created Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) champion, which was the Montreal Football Club. Montreal defeated the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) champion Peterborough Club in a 71–10 blowout victory to win their second Canadian Championship.[1] [3] [4] This was the eighth appearance in the title game for Montreal and the first and only appearance for Peterborough.[2] [1] Notably, referee Russell Britton admitted after the game that there was a scoring error when a touch-in-goal (one point) was given to Montreal when it should have counted as a try (five points).[3] While the score should have been 75–10, it was officially recorded as 71–10.[1] [3] [5] This was the highest scoring Dominion championship/Grey Cup in Canadian football history.[1] [2]

Background

The Intercollegiate Union did not allow the CIRFU champion Ottawa College to play Montreal for the Dominion title, in solidarity with a decision made by the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union (CAAU).[6] The CAAU alleged that IRFU players were professionals and would not allow college teams to play against them.[6] [5] The CAAU also decreed that they would ban any teams from playing an intercollegiate team that had also played against an IRFU team.[7] A match had been scheduled for November 23, 1907 between Peterborough and Ottawa, but only if it were for Dominion honours.[7] Because Peterborough intended on playing Montreal in a championship game if they won, and Ottawa could not play Montreal if they won, the match was cancelled.[7] [8] While a home-and-home series was considered, ultimately this sudden death game was scheduled for November 30 instead.[8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CFL Guide and Record Book, 2017 Edition . 236. July 6, 2020.
  2. Book: Brunt, Stephen. 100 Grey Cups. 20 September 2012. 9780771017445. July 6, 2020.
  3. News: Peterboro Swamped. The Ottawa Citizen. 18 of 20. December 2, 1907. July 4, 2020.
  4. News: Peterboro' Could not Cope With Tigers' Splendid System. The Peterborough Examiner. 7 (60 of 494 in archive). October 8, 1906. July 7, 2020.
  5. Web site: The Coffin Corner: Vol. 2, No. 4 (1980) . Pro Football Researchers . Sproule . Robert . July 4, 2020.
  6. News: Stands by C.A.A.U.. The Ottawa Citizen. 5 and 10 of 20. November 16, 1907. July 5, 2020.
  7. News: Another Football Mix-Up. The Ottawa Citizen. 12 of 14. November 21, 1907. July 5, 2020.
  8. News: No Championship Game. The Ottawa Citizen. 5 of 7. November 22, 1907. July 6, 2020.
  9. News: Montreal and Peterboro.. The Ottawa Citizen. 5 of 13. November 23, 1907. July 6, 2020.