1908 Toronto Argonauts season explained

Team:Toronto Argonauts
Year:1908
Record:1–5
Division Place:4th, IRFU
Coach:Fred Russell/Art Kent[1]
Stadium:Rosedale Field[2]
Playoffs:Did not qualify
Shortnavlink:Argonauts seasons

The 1908 Toronto Argonauts season was the Argonaut Football Club's 11th season of organized league play since joining the Ontario Rugby Football Union in 1898, and its second season in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team finished in last place in the "Big Four" league with one win and five losses and failed to qualify for the Dominion playoffs.

Soon after the end of the 1907 season all but three of the Argos' regulars abandoned the Double Blue, along with manager Billy Hewitt and coach Billy Wood, to become founding members of the new Toronto Amateur Athletic Club. Following the example of the influential Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, the TAAC established a new football team, the Toronto Crimson, with a roster that Hewitt built by raiding the Argos and other local clubs. In September the Crimson applied for Big Four membership and challenged the severely weakened Argos to a "test match" for the right to represent Toronto in the league. When the application was rejected the TAAC team joined the ORFU.

Bringing back former manager Fred Thompson to manage the club and naming centre Fred "Banty" Russell as player-coach, the Argos devoted the 1908 season to intensive rebuilding efforts. On Thanksgiving Day (November 9) they met the Crimson in a challenge match for the city championship billed as the Battle of Rosedale, which finished in a 15-15 tie.

Regular season

Standings

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union! Team !! GP !! W !! L !! T !! PF !! PA !! Pts
Ottawa Rough Riders 6 5 1 0 114 41 10
Hamilton Tigers 6 5 1 0 131 42 10
6 1 5 0 49 101 2
6 1 5 0 50 160 2
[3]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Location Final score Record
1 Oct 3 L 42–2 0–1–0
2 Oct 10 Rosedale Field L 45–11 0–2–0
3 Oct 17 W 19–13 1–2–0
4 Oct 24 @ Ottawa Rough Riders Varsity Oval L 21–2 1–3–0
5 Oct 31 Hamilton Tigers Rosedale Field L 28–9 1–4–0
6 Nov 7 Montreal Football Club Rosedale Field L 13–7 1–5–0
[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: All-Time Coaching. 2012-04-18. Toronto Argonauts. https://web.archive.org/web/20110422084043/http://argonauts.ca/page/all-time-coaching. 2011-04-22. dead.
  2. Web site: Toronto Argonauts Stadium History. 2012-04-18. Toronto Argonauts. https://web.archive.org/web/20110422083852/http://argonauts.ca/page/stadium-history. 2011-04-22. dead.
  3. 2009 Canadian Football League Facts, Figures & Records, Canadian Football League Properties/Publications, Toronto, Ontario,, p.294
  4. Web site: The Toronto Argonauts' 1908 Season. stats.cfldb.ca.