1958 United Funds Tournament: Glebe 19, Sarnia Central Collegiate 13

I haven't given this contest any attention since early March, then discovering that an Ottawa team (Fisher Park) was finally awarded the trophy in the city's ninth year of participation in the tournament. If my memory is sound, Ottawa teams had won all but one of its games against various other Ontario schools since 1949. Yet someone else was always named the "Golden Rule" champion, recognizing character and sportsmanship, until Fisher was recognized in 1957. 

So could the Ottawa area defend its title in 1958? Well...No.

No knock on the local team, it just wasn't a possibility. For some reason, the newly-named United Funds Football Tournament officials chose to not name a winner starting from this point. Presumably every team that won its game felt they had an argument for taking home the trophy so perhaps the organizers were tired of justifying their decisions every year, or they were uncomfortable with making the call in the first place.

Whatever the case may be, if you're ever bitched about handing out trophies to kids for just showing up, it may come as some consolation to know that it was happening in 1958 as well. Hell, even the losing teams got one in this tourney.

Certain selection rules were put in place as well. In past years, the choice of representative from Ottawa schools had come under a little fire which went counter to the purpose behind the entire tournament. Presumably the Ottawa area wasn't unique in that regard. There was also an attempt to avoid having the same powerhouse school(s) go every year by setting limits on consecutive participation.



Perhaps eager to prove the worthiness or their selection, Glebe skunked Lisgar to the tune of 32-07 on the Wednesday night before setting off to Toronto to play a team from Sarnia. And once there, they were featured in the opening contest. 



And here's the trophy presentation from the October 22nd Citizen. Presumably it's the same one that Sarnia received despite their loss. 



I don't know how many more years this tournament was held but I suspect we'll come to find that this particular one was the turning point that led to its demise. Media coverage lamented the lack of a champion, even if said champion was chosen rather than based on a head-to-head contest. The format changed to an East vs West total points type and fewer teams participated as I believe they normally had eight rather than six.

Attendance was quite good though so perhaps I'm wrong. We'll check back again periodically and see it to its end!

The 1957 United Funds Football Tournament: Fisher Park 22, Toronto Bathurst Heights 15

Well, son of a bitch, Ottawa actually brought in one of these at some point and has Fisher Park to thank for it.

Having taken some time to give a longer look at the first Panda Game in 1955 earlier today, I thought I'd move ahead with this tournament. Since the next one to cover was 1957's and I was in the neighborhood, so to speak, I took a few minutes to glance at its results. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Ottawa schools have a history of success at this football exhibition; they usually defeat the opponent presented to them in fairly convincing manner.

However, the trophy was normally handed off to another team that also won its game that weekend so seeing it handed over to an Ottawa rep was a bit of a shock. I suspect the dramatic fashion in which the game was won played a significant factor. Good for Fisher.