# 1909 in Canadian football

The 1909 Canadian football season was the 18th season of organized play since the Canadian Rugby Union (CRU) was founded in 1892 and the 26th season since the creation of the founding leagues, the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883. The season concluded with Toronto Varsity defeating Toronto Parkdale in the 1909 Dominion Championship game. This year was notable for being the first year that the champions were awarded the Grey Cup trophy, although it was not delivered to the University of Toronto until March 1910.

## Canadian football news in 1909

Lord Earl Grey, the Governor General of Canada, donated a trophy to be awarded for the Dominion Football Championship of Canada. Only teams registered with the Canadian Rugby Union were eligible to compete for the trophy. The championship game was played in Toronto at Rosedale Field on December 4 between the University of Toronto and the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club with the University of Toronto winning 26–6 before 3,807 fans. Hugh Gall kicked a record eight singles in the game for the U of T. The gross revenue was $2,616.40.
On December 11, following an invitation from the New York Herald newspaper, the Hamilton Tigers and Ottawa Rough Riders played an exhibition game of Canadian football in New York City at Van Cortland Park. The Tigers won 11–6 before 15,000 fans.
Saskatchewan Rugby Football League did not play in 1909.

## Regular season
### Final regular season standings

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Hamilton Tigers | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 111 | 22 | 10 |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 76 | 71 | 10 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 54 | 93 | 2 |
| Montreal Football Club | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 91 | 2 |
Ontario Rugby Football Union :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Toronto Amateur Athletic Club | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 30 | 6 |
| Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 20 | 6 |
| Peterboro | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 112 | 0 |
Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Toronto | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 27 | 12 |
| Queen's | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 84 | 63 | 6 |
| McGill | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 75 | 56 | 4 |
| Ottawa | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 179 | 2 |
*Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs
Manitoba Rugby Football Union :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| St.John's Rugby Football Club | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 35 | 6 |
| Winnipeg Rowing Club | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 38 | 2 |
Calgary Rugby Football Union :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Calgary Tigers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 6 |
| Calgary YMCA | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 49 | 2 |
| Hillhurst Hornets | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 0 |

## League Champions

| Football Union | League Champion |
| IRFU | Ottawa Rough Riders |
| CIRFU | University of Toronto |
| ORFU | Toronto Parkdale |
| MRFU | St.John's Rugby Football Club |
| ARFL | Calgary Tigers |

## Grey Cup Playoffs

Note: All dates in 1909

### Alberta Rugby Football League Playoffs

ARFL Finals Games 1 & 2 :
| Date | Away | Home |
* Calgary wins the total-point series 48-7.

### IRFU Playoff

November 20
IRFU Playoff: Rosedale Field – Toronto, Ontario :
| Ottawa Rough Riders 14 | Hamilton Tigers 8 |
* Ottawa advances to the East Semi-Final.

### ORFU Playoff

November 20
ORFU Playoff: Varsity Grounds – Toronto, Ontario :
| Toronto Parkdale 8 | Toronto Amateur Athletic Club 3 |
* Toronto Parkdale advances to the Grey Cup.

### Dominion Semi-Final

November 27
Dominion Semi-Final: Rosedale Field – Toronto, Ontario :
| Ottawa Rough Riders 7 | Toronto Varsity 31 |
* Toronto Varsity advances to the Grey Cup.

## Playoff Bracket

| IRFU Playoff | IRFU Playoff | IRFU Playoff | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Dominion Final | Dominion Final | Dominion Final |
| | | | CIRFU | University of Toronto | 37 | | | |
| | | | IRFU | Ottawa Rough Riders | 7 | | | |
| IRFU | Ottawa Rough Riders | 14 | IRFU | Ottawa Rough Riders | 7 | | | |
| IRFU | Hamilton Tigers | 8 | | | | | | |
| IRFU | Hamilton Tigers | 8 | | | | CIRFU | University of Toronto | 26 |
| | | | | | | ORFU | Toronto Parkdale | 6 |
| | | | ORFU | Toronto Parkdale | 9 | | | |
| | | | ORFU | Toronto Amateur Athletic Club | 3 | | | |

## Grey Cup Championship

December 4
1st Annual Grey Cup Game: Rosedale Field – Toronto, Ontario :
| Toronto Varsity 26 | Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 6 |
| Toronto Varsity are the 1909 Grey Cup Champions ||||