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Canadian Olympians in World War I
Due to WW1 starting, the second olympics of the decade had to be canceled. Instead of going to Berlin and competing, many skilled athletes decided to become soldiers. Unfortunately, 5 of them passed away from the battles. -
The National Hockey League is Formed
On November 26, 1917, the National Hockey League was created. The teams included were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Arenas. The first ever NHL game was played on December 19, 1917 which was a matchup between the Arenas and Wanderers. It was an exciting game for the 700 fans who watched it live. The Arenas won 10-9. -
Canada’s Best Ever Olympic Boxing Medal Haul
During the 20th century, Canada won 17 medals in the Olympics. Their best boxing olympic year was in Antwerp, 1920 where they won 5 medals out of 8 events. The only gold medal came from welterweight division champion, Albert Schneider. He had put himself into boxing training after being denied by the Royal Canadian Army at the start of WW1 because he didn't have his Canadian citizenship. Even though he didn't have it, he was selected to represent Canada's boxing team in Antwerp, 1920. -
The First East-West Grey Cup
The CFL started during the 1860’s but really started gaining popularity over the years. In 1909, Canada's ninth Governor General, Earl Grey donated a silver trophy for the championship trophy. Community and collegiate teams from central Canada battled for the Grey Cup until 1921, where Western teams began competing for it as well. This created rivalries between East-West making it an exciting game to watch. The game took place in Toronto and the Toronto Argonauts beat the Edmonton Eskimos 23-0. -
The Edmonton Grads Begin World Basketball Reign
From 1915-1940, the Edmonton Grads had a record 502 and 20. In 1923, The Grads won their first National Title and they had to face the American Champions, the Cleveland Favorite-Knits. They showed up on the court in shorts that said “world champs” stating their confidence that they will win. Over 2 games, the Grads beat them by a combined score of 55-33. They won the Underwood Trophy. Due to the Grads consistently winning the world championship, they were given the trophy permanently in 1940. -
Toronto Granite Hockey Club Wins Olympic Gold
In 1924, the Toronto Granite Hockey Club won gold at the Chamonix Olympics. They faced off against the Americans in the finals just to beat them 6-1. It was a very intense, physical game and as a result a Canadian player by the name of Harry Watson was knocked out cold within the first 20 seconds of puck drop. He later went on to score 2 goals and win Canada gold -
Toronto St. Patricks Renamed Maple Leafs
On February 14, 1927, the Toronto St Patricks team was renamed to become the Toronto Maple Leafs. The club was purchased by Conn Smythe. The original jerseys had a green maple leaf on it but was changed to be the blue maple leaf. -
University of Toronto Grads Win Olympic Gold
On February 19, 1928, the Toronto Grads won Canada their third hockey olympic gold medal in St. Moritz. Since Canada was so much better than every other team in the Olympics, an official decision was made to give them a bye straight to the finals. Even though they had no game experience at the Olympics that year, they ended up beating Switzerland 13-0, winning Gold -
Fanny Rosenfeld Wins Olympic Silver
Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld was a Canadian female track runner. In 1928, she won the silver medal at the summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was later voted to be Canada's female athlete of the half century in 1950. She received this award because of her 100m run back in 1928.
