1907 Dominion Championship
Peterborough Club Montreal Football Club
(1–1) (5–1)
10 71
Head coach: 
Crowley
 Head coach: 
1234 Total
Peterborough Club 6400 10
Montreal Football Club 23122214 71
DateNovember 30, 1907
LocationMcGill University
Montreal, Quebec
RefereeRussell Britton
Attendance3,000[1]

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]

References

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