Montreal Football Club The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal , Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915 . The club was a founding member of the QRFU and played in the first football game in Quebec in 1872 . The club was dominant in Quebec , winning 12 of the 24 QRFU titles in the years that they played in that league . Montreal also won the first Canadian Dominion Football Championship in 1884 , a predecessor of the Grey Cup and again won the championship in their first season in the IRFU in 1907 . History . Founding . The Montreal Foot Ball Club was founded on April 8 , 1872 in one of the lower rooms of the Mechanics Hall buildings . Their first game played was also the first football game to be played in the province of Quebec , on Saturday , October 12 , 1872 against the Quebec City club in Quebec City at the Esplanade . The two teams would meet again on Saturday , October 26 , 1872 at McGill University where both games would be played to 0 - 0 ties . Quebec Rugby Football Union . Montreal was a founding member of the Quebec Rugby Football Union , which was formed on January 16 , 1883 , and became a dominant and influential force in that league . Games in the QRFU were played on a challenge system , meaning that teams would play an uneven number of games by challenging the top team . Since Montreal would frequently be a top team in the league , they would end up being challenged the most and subsequently would play the most games . Montreal repeated as QRFU champion in 1884 , but this time would also play the Ontario Rugby Football Union champion after the newly formed Canadian Rugby Football Union decided to crown a national champion . Consequently , the Montreal Foot Ball Club would win the very first Canadian Dominion Football Championship against the Toronto Argonauts by a score of 30 - 0 on November 6 , 1884 . The Montreal Club would continue their dominance over their QRFU rivals , winning the QRFU title 11 times in the 13 years since the union ' s inception . However , in the years that a Dominion Championship was held , the club would come home empty - handed when facing their ORFU opponent . In 1892 , the QRFU switched to a balanced schedule , where all teams would face each other an equal number of times during the season , and after 1894 it would become a permanent feature of the league . Whether it was because of this or because of increased competition , Montreal lost its grip on its dominance over its opponents , and , as a result , would go ten years without a QRFU title . It wasn ' t until 1906 that the Montreal Football Club would regain their prowess , with a first place finish and an undefeated record in the QRFU and their first title since 1895 . In order to play in the Dominion championship , the club would have to play the ORFU champion Hamilton Tigers in order to qualify for the national championship against the Canadian Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union champion McGill University . Montreal would lose the game against the Tigers 11 - 6 , who would go on to defeat McGill and win the Dominion Championship , extending Montreal ' s drought to 22 years . Inerprovincial Rugby Football Union . The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union was formed on September 13 , 1907 in an amalgamation of the Montreal Football Club and the Ottawa Rough Riders of the QRFU and the Hamilton Tigers and the Toronto Argonauts of the ORFU . Montreal immediately made up for the previous season ' s disappointment , finishing first in the IRFU , including a win over the Tigers who had eliminated the Montreal Club from the year before . Montreal then went on to defeat the Peterborough club 71 - 10 on December 1 , 1907 to become the first Dominion Champions of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union , including their first national championship since their first in 1884 . However , Montreal would never regain that form as the club ' s fortunes waned severely in the following years . Montreal would finish last six times in the next eight years and finished third in the other two . In this stretch , they won only seven games , losing the other 41 games , including three winless seasons . 1915 was the last season of competition for the team as the Montreal Football Club did not return after the First World War ended and play resumed in 1919 . They were instead replaced by the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers .