In August 1927, football was in its third full season at the University of B.C., but could the Grey Cup find its way to the school's trophy case?
The University of Toronto had won the Grey Cup four times by this point and Queen's University won three years in a row, holding its opponents to four points overall and shutting out the Regina Roughriders.
In 1927, UBC Varsity (these were the days before the Thunderbird moniker) played in the provincial Big Four League and an undefeated squad qualified for the provincial title, winning 8-5 with, as one newspaper declared, determination and "college spirit."
This was a defining moment for UBC. As B.C. champions, the Blue & Gold for the first and only time would enter the Canadian Football League playoffs in the Western Division final to qualify for the Grey Cup.
Standing in their way were the Regina Roughriders. As UBC basked in the glow of its provincial amateur championship, the Riders were already on their way from Saskatchewan for a best two-out-of-three series at Athletic Park. Kicking off with a dance, banquet and parade, followed by the largest crowd of the season, gridiron football in Vancouver experienced a "tidal wave of popularity." UBC faced a Regina onslaught that "featured a fast and furious workout with snappy signals, clever fake plays and strenuous line work." Local media noted, "The whole team moved together, hitting the line with heads down and making yards continually."
The Roughriders won 131, somewhat dimming visions of a Grey Cup for UBC.
After the second game, the campus newspaper, The Ubyssey, chimed, "Going down in a 19-0 defeat to Regina, now champions of Western Canada, the varsity football team is a wiser and better outfit."
It was true. In the city and at the university, football received a tremendous boost. Despite their greater experience, Riders manager Terry Rennobolm said, "We were told that varsity was a bunch of green, willing youngsters but instead we found a fighting crew of lads who are well developed in the fine points of the game."
The Roughriders, in a respectful gesture, claimed UBC was the toughest squad they had played all year. They nonetheless waived the trip east to Toronto for the Grey Cup that year but would travel each November for the next five years, losing each time.
Fred Hume is a Vancouver sports historian.
