The AIA Game

I need to thank the two gentlemen below for the inspiration for this post and, eventually, a page devoted to the Athletes In Action football game.

The Athletes In Action high school football game has been running since the mid 70s. I recall posting about it a bit on the previous version of this website, which crapped out in 2014 or so, so it was run until recently though not with anywhere near the amount of media coverage that it received upon its launch. Normally played in May, it tended to serve as the unofficial start of the football season, in my view.

Initially, in 1975, it was the capping event of a training camp held by the Ottawa Rough Riders and, for all intents and purposes, an all-star game between players from the Carleton and Ottawa school board teams.

Athletes In Action began sponsoring it the following year, I believe. Bear with me, I'm still doing a bit of research. 😉

At the start of camp, on a Tuesday, 104 players were said to have registered. It was expected that some would drop out as the work started but an article the following Friday pointed out that not a single one had left by that time.

The recap of the first game, played the next Monday, follows. 

Kind of neat to read about the Cook brothers in this game as both would play for the Ottawa Rough Riders later on. 

There will be much more added here about this annual event.