Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club

Last updated

Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club
Founded 1907
Folded 1929
Based in Edmonton, Alberta
League
Nicknames
  • Esquimaux
  • Eskimos
  • Elks
Championships
League titles (0)
  • 7 league championships
  • 2 WCRFU championships

Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club was an early Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The team was founded in 1907 as the Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club. The club was renamed the Edmonton Esquimaux in 1908 and again as the Edmonton Eskimos in 1910. Later it took the name Edmonton Boosters, then the Edmonton Hi-Grads in 1936, then yet another incarnation of the Eskimos before ceasing operation as the Second World War began. The team is neither affiliated with the current franchise, the Edmonton Elks (also previously named Eskimos), nor forms part of its history.

Contents

Football had been played in the city and environs for nearly two decades before the Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club was founded in 1907. The first game in Alberta was played in Edmonton, with Edmonton and Clover Bar (an outlying community, now a suburb) playing to a scoreless tie in 1890. [1] "The first record of an organized rugby club in Edmonton appeared in the Edmonton bulletin on September 19, 1891." [2] In 1891 Edmonton defeated Calgary 6-5 in the Alberta Total-point Challenge Series. [1] A team from Edmonton (actually the outlying community of Fort Saskatchewan) had a picture taken of themselves after they defeated a Calgary team (in Calgary,) declaring themselves Champions of Alberta; the picture has two dates on it, being taken in either 1893 or 1895. [3]

"The Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club was formed on April 10, 1907, and adopted the uniform colors of black with yellow facings. Edmonton played its first game on November 9 and defeated the Calgary City Rugby Foot-ball Club 26-5 at the Edmonton Exhibition Grounds." [1] The club was renamed the Edmonton Esquimaux in 1908 and again as the Edmonton Eskimos in 1910. [4] They competed in the Alberta Rugby Football League and later Alberta Rugby Football Union (AFRU) when it was created in 1911. In the years before and after the First World War the city was represented by the Edmonton Civics in 1914 and the Edmonton Canucks in 1919.

The Edmonton Eskimos were AFRU and WCFRU champions in 1921, earning the right to compete for the Grey Cup in the 9th Grey Cup championship game – the first time for a Western Canadian team – losing 23–0 to the undefeated Toronto Argonauts. [5] The team was renamed the Edmonton Elks in 1922 and represented the WCFRU in the 10th Grey Cup, losing 13–1 to the Queen's University Golden Gaels. [6]

The team changed back to the name Eskimos for the 1923 season, [7] winning their third consecutive AFRU championship but failing to clinch the WCFRU championship. [8] The Eskimos did not win the 1924 AFRU championship, and folded before the 1925 season. [8]

The Eskimos team returned for the 1928 season, winning the ARFU or ARFL championship for the seventh time in 14 seasons of competition. [9] Their last season was 1929, when the team was succeeded by a new club called the Edmonton Boosters. [10] [11] [9] The Boosters folded after 3 season, and were later followed by the Edmonton Hi-Grads in 1936 (a team of high school graduate all-stars) and then yet another incarnation of the Eskimos, a team lasting two seasons (1938 and 1939) before ceasing operation as the Second World War began.

Seasons

SeasonNameGWLTPFPAFinishPlayoffs
1907 Rugby Football Club?-----1stAlberta Rugby Football League Champion (beat Calgary Rugby Foot-ball Club, CRFU winners, 2 games to none, 26-5 & 10-5)
1908 Esquimaux?-----1stAlberta Rugby Football League Champion (beat Calgary Tigers, CRFU winners, 2 games to none, 7-1 & 11-2)
1909 Esquimaux?-----?lost Alberta Rugby Football League (beat by Calgary Tigers, 2 games to none, 25-1 & 23-6)
1910 Eskimos?-----?lost Alberta Rugby Football League (beat by Calgary Tigers, 2 games to none, 25-7 & 14-12)
1911 Eskimos641173412ndlost AFRU championship to Calgary Tigers, 14-0
1912 Eskimos431055202nd
1913 Eskimos431074281st - tiebeat Calgary Tigers in tiebreaker, 10-7, for ARFU championship, lost to Regina Rugby Club in western semi final, 19-7
1914 did not play (see Edmonton Civics)
1915 did not play
1916 to 1918suspended due to war
1919 did not play (see Edmonton Canucks)
1920 Eskimos22005441stlost AFRU championship to Calgary Tigers in 2 game series, total points, 35-33
1921 Eskimos330014851stARFU champion, beat Winnipeg Victorias, 16-6 (WCRFU championship) to advance to 9th Grey Cup , lost to Toronto Argonauts, 23-0
1922 Elks22005411stARFU champion, beat Regina Rugby Club, 13-8 & Winnipeg Victorias, 19-6 (WCRFU championship) to advance to 10th Grey Cup , lost to Queen's University, 13-1
1923 Eskimos22003091stbeat Calgary 50th Battalion for AFRU championship, lost to Regina Rugby Club in western semi-final, 9-6
1924 Eskimos21109112ndlost playoff to Calgary 50th Battalion, 2 games total points, 16-15 (14-1 & 1-15)
1925 to 1927did not play
1928 Eskimos431031261stARFU champion - did not participate in western playoffs
1929 Eskimos6150361273rdlost city championship to University of Alberta, 19-3
Totals3524101564272-2 Grey Cup game losses ; 7 Alberta Rugby Football Union or League championships

Other Edmonton football clubs

SeasonNameGWLTPFPAFinishPlayoffs
1911 YMCA624024853rd
1914 Civics312020212nd
1919 Canucks20208174th
1922 Harlequins20201562nd
1930 Boosters 514042613rd
1931 Boosters 413020242nd
1932 Boosters 41301772nd
1936 Hi-Grads514023393rd
1938 Eskimos 8080291174th
1939 Eskimos 11380801474th

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Football Canada". Football Canada. Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  2. ↑ A History of the Edmonton Rugby Union
  3. ↑ Item EA-780-2 - Fort Saskatchewan Team - Played For Edmonton, City of Edmonton Archives
  4. ↑ "Oct. 16, 1908: Edmonton football team renamed" (PDF). Edmonton Journal. October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  5. ↑ "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ "CFL.ca - Official Site of the Canadian Football League". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Line Alone Carries Eskimos To Victory Over Calgary's New Squad". Calgary Daily Herald . October 29, 1923.
  8. 1 2 "Esks. Lose Rugby Supremacy". Calgary Daily Herald . 1924-10-20. p. 12. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  9. 1 2 "History of the Edmonton Eskimos". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ 1929
  11. ↑ 1930
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