August 29, 2005

Grey Cup Memories: 1910

1910 – University of Toronto 16, Hamilton Tigers 7

The University of Toronto successfully defended its inaugural Grey Cup championship with a victory over the Hamilton Tigers.

The game drew plenty of interest, as an estimated crowd of 12,000 crammed themselves into the Hamilton Cricket Grounds. Crowd control was a problem, as a mob of people stormed through the admission gates, and it was estimated that several thousand watched the game for free.

Fans crowded around the field, blocking out the view of those sitting in the lower half of the grandstand. Toward the end of the game, they spilled onto the field, and play was stopped for several minutes in an attempt to drive them back.

Almost 5,000 Varsity fans traveled to Hamilton by special trains, automobiles and boats. A horde of people also packed downtown streets in Toronto during the game, awaiting bulletins at newspaper offices, and cheering wildly at every Varsity score.

Early morning rain showers created a treacherous field. It didn't prevent Varsity from scoring in the later stages of the opening quarter, when Hugh Gall fumbled at Hamilton's 10 yard line. Teammate Reddy Dixon picked up the loose football and ran around the end for a try for his first ever touchdown.

Varsity took an 11-0 lead before the end of the half as Jack Maynard took a lateral pass from Gall and ran the ball between the goal posts. Maynard was also good on the convert.

The Tiger began to chip away at their deficit in the second half, scoring four consecutive rouges before “Kid&rdquo Smith was successful on a drop-on-goal in the fourth quarter to cut Varsity's lead to 11-7.

The students put the Tigers on the defensive for the remainder of the game, as Gall kicked five unanswered rouges to secure the victory for Varsity.

Hamilton's best opportunity to put the outcome in doubt came in the final quarter when a penalty to the students gave the ball to the Tigers on Varsity's four-yard line. Hamilton was stopped on three attempts, losing possession on downs a foot from the goal line.

After the game, Varsity supporters took to the streets, first in Hamilton, then after a short ride home, in Toronto to celebrate another Dominion championship.