When Harvard Went To Canada

The 1884 road game in Ottawa

When Harvard Went To Canada

Long before the University of Ottawa officially established a football team in 1891, it hosted Harvard University in an early game.

I’m not certain if Ottawa played other intercollegiate games in 1884. It seems that nobody has dug deep into the newspapers to research this.

As was so common in those days, even the mundane details of Harvard’s travel were apparently newsworthy:

From The Montreal Star, November 8, 1884, page 7

It seems that there was a similar trip a few years before, though I’m a bit fuzzy on the details:

From The Morning Journal-Courier (New Haven, Connecticut), November 8, 1884, page 2

This event also apparently had some political significance, since the Governor-General was there for kickoff:

From Ottawa Daily Citizen, November 8, 1884, page 1

Unfortunately for Ottawa College, the result wasn’t quite what they were hoping:

From Ottawa Daily Citizen, November 10, 1884, page 4

Note that there was no mention in those days of a difference in the local rules. My understanding is that the Canadian game was generally indistinguishable from rugby until around 1903.