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34-580: For many years, Hamilton had an unstable presence in the ORFU , with various teams folding and being renamed. The more established IRFU team, the Hamilton Tigers , faced similar struggles, and World War II proved disruptive to both leagues' operations. In 1940, as part of a wave of hastily-assembled teams brought together to fill the void of the ORFU teams that had suspended operations, the ORFU returned to Hamilton with

68-698: A sport dominated by the IRFU and the Western Interprovincial Football Union , which had both become fully professional. Indeed, by then it was the only fully amateur union still challenging for the Grey Cup. Even so, it retained enough prestige that it played the WIFU champion for a berth in the Grey Cup final. The IRFU was reluctant to accept the WIFU as a full equal, even after the Calgary Stampeders won

102-605: A team informally named after the Hamilton Alerts , a short-lived and long-dormant team notable for winning the 1912 Grey Cup . In 1941, the Tigers suspended operations due to the war, and the IRFU as a whole would do so from 1942 and 1944, leaving many talented players to join teams in the ORFU as well as a void in Hamilton football. Hamilton's ORFU franchise requested to use the Tigers name and colours but were rebuffed, opting to take on

136-418: A winter bubble enabling use during inclement weather. The multi-use capability was one of the main reasons that the plan was passed by the governing council, as opposed to the 25,000-seat stadium. Compared to the old Varsity Stadium, the seating is closer to Varsity Arena, almost making the two structures one conjoined complex. Part of the red brick wall along Bloor Street was maintained for historic purposes, but

170-467: The 1976 Summer Olympics , Varsity Stadium hosted several soccer matches, and was the site of the semi-final game between Brazil and Poland . The NASL's Toronto Metros-Croatia used Varsity Stadium through 1978, before moving to Exhibition Stadium. They returned six years later as the Toronto Blizzard and again made it their home for the 1984 season. On October 3, 1984, before 16,842 fans,

204-677: The Canadian Rugby Union (CRU), with a preference to use the snap-back system of play used in Ontario. When the CRU did not adopt the system, his motion was approved for the ORFU to adopt the CRU rules in 1906. In December 1906, The Gazette reported that a proposal originated from Ottawa for the ORFU and the Quebec Rugby Football Union to merge, which would allow for higher calibre of play and create rivalries. Hewitt helped organize

238-621: The Grey Cup . Capacity of the stadium has varied with time, but peaked at about 22,000 in the 1950s although, with the use of temporary bleachers, a record crowd of 27,425 watched the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 50–27 in the 1956 Grey Cup final. Perhaps the most famous Canadian football game played in the Stadium was the 1950 Mud Bowl for the Grey Cup championship. During

272-467: The Netherlands were also staged in 1994. Minor league professional soccer team Toronto Lynx moved into the stadium in 1997 but was forced to move to Centennial Park Stadium due to the impending demolition of the historic facility. The stadium was demolished mid-2002 after the cost of maintaining the large facility was far more than it generated in revenue. At that time, several structural sections of

306-472: The CFC became the modern Canadian Football League and formally took ownership of the Grey Cup, these earlier developments effectively heralded the start of the modern era of Canadian football. The ORFU ceased to operate as a true senior league after 1960, but continued play at the intermediate level. Eventually the word "senior" came to replace the word "intermediate." By 1974, the ORFU had ceased to exist. However,

340-593: The Canadian intercollegiate championship, the Vanier Cup (as it had been for most years from 1965 to 1988 [with exception of 1973–75]), but that too moved to larger quarters such as SkyDome (now known as Rogers Centre ) as the popularity of the collegiate championship grew. Canada's national soccer team played several matches at Varsity Stadium, including crucial World Cup qualifying matches versus Costa Rica in 1985 and Mexico in 1993. Friendly matches versus Germany and

374-408: The ORFU protested, the professional unions threatened to resign from the CRU and create their own national championship. Realizing this would leave them merely competing for a trophy of far diminished stature, the ORFU subsequently withdrew from Grey Cup competition in exchange for a promise that they would be permitted to challenge for the trophy again if their calibre of play improved. In reality there

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408-675: The University of Toronto's collegiate Canadian football team, the Varsity Blues . However it was, until the opening of Exhibition Stadium in 1959, the home of the Toronto Argonauts of what would become the Canadian Football League . Although it has not hosted a meaningful CFL game in almost half a century, it still holds the record for the number of times any stadium has hosted the Canadian professional football championship game,

442-423: The WIFU. Although the Canadian Rugby Union constitution nominally prevented the professional unions from outright barring amateurs from challenging for the Grey Cup, they nevertheless came to a gentlemen's agreement to coordinate their schedules so that their respective championships would be awarded about a week before the Grey Cup, thus leaving no feasible date to contest an inter-union Grey Cup semifinal. When

476-628: The Wildcats claimed back-to-back regular season first-place finishes in 1946 and 1947, but lost in the ORFU finals both years. Due to monetary disputes that the Hamilton Tigers were having with the IRFU, the Tigers transferred to the ORFU, with the Wildcats switching to the IRFU on April 9, 1948. The switch proved to be difficult for the team, who went from first in the ORFU to dead last in the IRFU, with only one win in their two seasons in that league. Both teams were struggling to compete for fan support and

510-634: The equal of the IRFU, and the Western union soon made it publicly known that a playoff with the ORFU was no longer desirable. Meanwhile, the IRFU had secured a contract with the National Broadcasting Company . Informed by NBC executives that the continued presence of amateur teams in Grey Cup competition was harmful to the image of Canadian football in the United States, the IRFU quickly reversed its stance and entered into informal discussions with

544-545: The final, 18–9. The new Toronto Blizzard returned to Varsity in 1987 as part of the Canadian Soccer League but would move to the smaller Centennial Park Stadium as a cost-cutting move. They returned in 1993 as a member of the American Professional Soccer League but again were forced to move, this time to Lamport Stadium, again due to financial difficulties. Varsity Stadium continued to host

578-523: The financial repercussions started to mount. As a result, local prominent citizens including Mr. Ralph W. Cooper, Mr. F.M. Gibson, Mr. C.C. Lawson and Mr. Sam Manson decided that the two clubs should amalgamate and operate as one entity. As such, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football club began play in 1950 in the IRFU as the singular representative of the city of Hamilton. Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union ( ORFU )

612-477: The games, the facility was configured to hold roughly 2,000 spectators per session. The facility also hosted the archery events of the 2015 Parapan American Games In addition to hosting several University of Toronto athletic programs, the stadium has also hosted several events including military, musical, and sporting games. The stadium has also been host to several concerts most notably the 1969 Toronto Rock and Roll Revival , which Rolling Stone once called

646-478: The gap during the suspension of play by the IRFU (Toronto Navy – H.M.C.S. York played out of Varsity Stadium , using the Toronto Argonauts ' equipment and uniforms.) The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes were the last amateur team to win the Grey Cup in 1942. Many from the ranks of the military teams in the ORFU became stars in the CFL after the war. With the return of peace, the ORFU found it increasingly difficult to compete in

680-599: The junior Ontario Rugby Football Union which was formed in 1890 lasted until the 1970 season. The Imperial Oil Trophy was awarded to the league's most valuable player . Varsity Stadium Varsity Stadium is an outdoor collegiate football stadium located in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. It is home to the Toronto Varsity Blues , the athletic teams of the University of Toronto . Athletic events have been hosted on

714-626: The last game ever contested in the original North American Soccer League was played at Varsity Stadium when the Chicago Sting defeated the Blizzard 3–2 to win the deciding game of 1984 Soccer Bowl Series. The NASL would fold before the start of the next season. In mid-1986, Varsity Stadium played host to the World Lacrosse Championships , a tournament featuring the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. The US defeated Canada in

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748-528: The last game played by the original NASL). It is located next to Varsity Arena . Athletic teams of the University of Toronto have used the site as an athletic ground since 1898. In 1911, the university opened Varsity Stadium. Canadian sprinter Percy Williams set a world record in the 100 metres with a time of 10.3 seconds at Varsity Stadium during the Canadian Track and Field Championships in 1930. Varsity Stadium has for its entire history been host to

782-585: The meeting which established the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) in 1907. For most of the first half of the 20th century, the ORFU was one of the stronger unions in Canada, and its champion was a frequent fixture in the Grey Cup even as the game became increasingly professionalized in the 1930s. During World War II , the Ontario-based military teams played in the ORFU, filling

816-530: The name Hamilton Wildcats and use colours of red and white. The Wildcats' usage of numerous Tigers alumni led the Wildcats to a very successful three years in which they posted a 19–6–1 record with two appearances in the Grey Cup championship game with one win coming in 1943 . In the 1943 and 1944 seasons, the team is officially recognized as the Hamilton Flying Wildcats due to the RCAF personnel playing on

850-459: The national title in 1948. While the IRFU would go on to win the next five Grey Cups after that, it generally triumphed in close contests against WIFU opposition who had consistently outclassed ORFU champions in successive Grey Cup semifinals. Following the unexpected triumph of the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1954 Grey Cup , it was increasingly apparent that the WIFU's quality of play had become

884-495: The new facility is much more open and visible from the streets overall. The new facilities are designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects . Following the renovation, the Argonauts returned to the stadium, hosting their 2013 preseason game at their former home. Their 2014 and 2015 preseason home games were also scheduled for the stadium. For the 2015 Pan American Games the facility hosted archery between July 14 and 18. During

918-402: The second most important event in rock & roll history. This concert led to the production of a documentary, Sweet Toronto , as well as John Lennon 's Live Peace In Toronto album. Performers included: The Doors , Plastic Ono Band , Bo Diddley , Chicago Transit Authority (later renamed "Chicago"), Tony Joe White , Alice Cooper , Jerry Lee Lewis , Chuck Berry , Cat Mother &

952-477: The site since 1898; the current stadium was built in 2007 to replace the original permanent stadium built in 1911. Varsity Stadium is also a former home of the Toronto Argonauts , and has previously hosted the Grey Cup , the Vanier Cup , several matches of the 1976 Summer Olympics soccer tournament, and the final game of the North American Soccer League 's 1984 Soccer Bowl series (which was also

986-500: The stadium were being held up by temporary repairs, and the future integrity of the structure was in question. The field and track were retained after the demolition. During the demolition and re-building of the site Toronto Varsity Blues relocated to Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough . From 2003 through 2005, temporary seating of about 1,500 was installed to permit the use of the field for intercollegiate games. The name Varsity Field

1020-405: The team. Consequently, the team that won the 31st Grey Cup is recorded as the Hamilton Flying Wildcats. After the war ended, the IRFU resumed operations and players that had played for the Tigers were returned to their club. The Wildcats dropped the "flying" from their nickname since the RCAF personnel no longer played for them. After a difficult season in 1945, which saw the club miss the playoffs,

1054-518: The time of its demolition, Varsity Stadium was the second largest capacity stadium in Canada with a grass field, after Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta (however, that stadium has since switched to an artificial playing surface). The stadium opened in 2007. Facilities and features built in the first phase of the stadium's reconstruction include an IAAF Class II 400m eight-lane track, artificial field turf (FIFA 2 Star rated surface by Polytan), and

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1088-524: 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 the Burnside rules , from which the modern Canadian football code would evolve. W. A. Hewitt was vice-president of the ORFU for the 1905 and 1906 seasons, and a representative of the Toronto Argonauts . He sought for ORFU to have uniform rules of play with

1122-399: Was used from 2002 to 2006 during the period when the old stadium was demolished and the new stadium was being built. A plan to build a new 25,000 seat multi-purpose stadium on the site in 2005 was voted down by the governing council of the University of Toronto due to concerns over its cost. The facility was then planned to be built on the grounds of York University but that too failed. At

1156-549: Was virtually no chance of this occurring since the only practical means of improving their quality of play would have been for the ORFU to become a professional union, an arrangement its clubs lacked the financial resources to sustain. The professional unions would go on to create the Canadian Football Council and effectively assummed control of organizing Grey Cup competition from the CRU. Although amateurs would not be formally locked out of Grey Cup play until 1958 when

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