Windsor Royals (football)

Last updated
Windsor Royals
Founded1945;78 years ago (1945)
Folded1952;71 years ago (1952)
Based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Home field Windsor Stadium
Head coachJack Alexander (1952)
League Ontario Rugby Football Union
ColoursUnknown

The Windsor Royals were a football team from Windsor, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and contested for the Grey Cup until the team folded after the 1952 season. [1]

Contents

History

The Windsor football club first began as the Windsor Rockets in 1945 as a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union where they primarily played their home games out of Jackson Park. [2] They finished the 1945 season winless, and their fortunes would not improve by much over the course of their eight-year history. The club never finished above .500, never finished higher than 3rd place, and never qualified for the post-season. The team was known as the Rockets until 1950, when they were renamed the Windsor Royals.

On October 21, 1952, it was announced that the Windsor Royals had withdrawn from the ORFU, meaning that their three remaining games would be cancelled. The Royals had lost all nine games that season and had not won a game since 1950. As a result, attendance at games was dwindling, causing problems with funding and being able to pay players. [3] While there were plans to come back in 1953, those plans never came to fruition, and the Windsor football club folded after the 1952 season.

Seasons

SeasonWLTPFPAPtsFinishPlayoffs
19450702012605th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19463706113865th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19474608613885th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19480814024514th, ORFUMissed playoffs
1949570142108103rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19502605217643rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
195101002728604th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19520906027404th, ORFUFolded after nine games

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References

  1. "1952 Windsor Royals (ORFU)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Fathers, Ken (July 26, 1952). "Sports Chatter". The Windsor Daily Star. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. "Windsor Royals Withdraw from ORFU". The Montreal Gazette. October 22, 1952. Retrieved October 3, 2019.