The 1958 St. Anthony Rough Riders

The St. Anthony's junior football club was quite successful in the 1950s, albeit playing in a very small local league with only two or three other teams. They were ridiculously dominant in 1957 in particular, going 7-0 and scoring 352 points while allowing only 15.

The league in which they played, the Junior Interprovincial Football League, ceased operation following that season. A similar, three-team league emerged in 1959 but it did not include St. Anthony's. The following year, the Ottawa Sooners joined up and have cemented their place in Ottawa's football landscape since.

While filling out the Sooners history page, I came across an article which mentioned that the Sooners were a retooled version of the St. Anthony Saints. I had never heard that before so it was time to go fact hunting. 

St. Anthony did continue to play in 1958, just in a different format.  

St. Anthony became directly affiliated with the Ottawa Rough Riders in a program similar to a farm system in hockey, playing the other Big Four affiliates. They achieved limited success, however, posting a 2-4 record. 

Sep  6th: St. Anthony's 07 @ Brantford Tiger-Cats 14   L

Sep 13th: East York Argonauts 27 @ St. Anthony's 13    L

Sep 20th: Lakeshore Alouettes 00 @ St. Anthony's 27    W

Sep 27th: St. Anthony's 07 @ Lakeshore Alouettes 22    L

Oct  4th: St. Anthony's 11 @ East York Argos 33        L

Oct 11th: Brantford Tiger-Cats 00 @ St. Anthony's 13   W

The image below is from the September 15th Ottawa Journal and the only one I recall coming across in St. Anthony game recaps for that year. 

The article below is, as you'll see, for the game played the following week in which they dominated the league's Montreal entry.

The season was difficult financially, however, and caused the Saints (or Rough Riders, I guess) to bow out in 1959. The professional version of the Rough Riders started a relationship with a team in Cornwall instead as St. Anthony's closed up shop, football-wise.

The Sooners then showed up as a new entry into a local intermediate league in 1960 and have been hanging around for the past 60 years.

I have not been able to find a direct link between the Saints and Sooners aside from Bruce Hamilton and Don Holtby being heavily involved with both clubs. Being that Hamilton is recognized as the founder of the Sooners, however, and not St. Anthony's, it's difficult to think of the Sooners as the continuation of a prior club.