Sports were one of the earliest means of communal exchange available at Mount Allison University. As early as 1869, players from the Academy and University teams were participating in sports games with inhabitants of Sackville. These early Town-Gown games allowed students to engage in friendly rivalries with members of the community and to rub shoulders with people who might differ socially from themselves. This tradition continued with members of the Acadian community. By the turn of the twentieth century, Mount Allison’s collegiate sports teams were frequently playing games of football, baseball, handball, and hockey against the Collège St. Joseph, receiving them for home games in Sackville and traveling to Memramcook to play on their fields. Mount Allison’s collegiate teams also played against teams from Middle Sackville, which were often made up predominantly of Acadian men. Through sports, men were able to transcend the language, cultural, and class barriers that might have separated them in everyday life and engage in meaningful social exchanges.
Mount Allison University Archives. Raymond Clare Archibald fonds, 5501/MTA5/6/1/6
On 13 October 1906, Mount Allison University hosted St. Joseph on the athletic field for the first football game of the season.
The article reads "The football season opened on Saturday Oct. 13th with a game between Mt A and St. Joseph's on the home grounds. The day was an ideal one for playing, and the attendance was large, the youth and beauty of our institutions and of the town as well being represented."
The final score was 15-0 in favour of Mount Allison.
"Athletics." The Argosy, vol. XXXIII, no. 1, October 1906, pp. 60-61.
On 5 May 1906, Mount Allison University hosted the Standards of Middle Sackville for a game of handball. The team from Middle Sackville was made up predominantly of Acadian men, including: C. Ouiel, P. Cormier, B. Legere, B. Melanson, B. Lorette, S. S. Burke [Bourque?], L. F. Cormier, C. F. Connor, and R. F. Gaudet. The final score was 12-0 in favour of Mount Allison.
On 10 May 1906, the Mount Allison team traveled to Memramcook to play against St. Joseph. The final score was 9-2 in favour of St. Joseph.
"Athletics." The Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 7, May 1906, pp. 420-21.
The Argosy, vol. XXXIII, no. 2, November 1906, p. 98.