Returning To The Field, Part 1: 1945

2020 marked the first time since 1944 that the collection of teams of what is now the league's Eastern Division did not compete.

With an expected return to the field in August by the CFL, let's go back and see what happened the last time the league, and Ottawa specifically, came back from an interruption in play due to global circumstances.

The IRFU's simmering plans to return were communicated in an odd fashion by the Ottawa Citizen in March of 1945.

The announcement confirming that the league would indeed compete in 1945 was delivered slightly more professionally.

The Rough Riders brought back former coach Ross Trimble who had previously guided the team from 1937 to the IRFU's suspension of operations in 1941, including a Grey Cup victory in 1940. He had to request a leave of absence from the firm with which he worked in Hamilton but it was not expected to be a roadblock.

Perhaps a partial reason for his success was the football "school" he ran, referred to below. 

Tony Golab and George Fraser (more on him later) only warranted last name inclusion in the above paragraph because they had been mentioned earlier in the article. 

The 1945 IRFU (Big Four) season began on September 22nd with Ottawa hosting the Argos, a game won by the visitors 11-09.

That tertiary will need to tighten up! 😠

Okay, so...that sucked. Let's move ahead a week. 

The two teams would post 5-1 records on the season, leaving Montreal and Hamilton with one win each), and therefore meet in the two-game IRFU final as well. Ottawa and Toronto split those two games as well with Toronto winning the overall scoring by a 33-18 total.