Awards have been handed out for sporting excellence at Mount Allison since 1887 when medals were given in men's gymnastics. Sixteen years later Mount Allison began competing for intercollegiate trophies in track and field and rugby football. In 1910 women at Mount Allison began competing for their first interclass cup in basketball.
Awarding prizes in sports coincided with an increase in the level of competition among athletes. Prior to the 1880s team sports such as cricket, handball, and baseball were generally played for recreation, health benefits, and socializing among peers. However, after the 1880s it is likely that strong competition influenced the establishment of prizes and competition became keener because of them.
Unfortunately, Mount Allison University does not possess any medals or trophies before 1919, but the Archives has many pictures of teams with their trophies and scores of printed documents describing the importance to the athletes of winning them. These photographs and documents emphasize the importance trophies and prizes had in the development of sports at Mount Allison.
Trophies, left-right, top: Sumner Cup (intercollegiate hockey). Bottom: Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition (track and field); interclass hockey; Dennis Cup (track and field); [unidentified]; Herald and Mail road race; Machum Cup (men's interclass basketball); unidentified track trophy (possibly interclass).
Mount Allison University Archives, Arthur Carman Tuttle fonds, accession 8435/1/37. May be reproduced only with permission of Mount Allison University Archives.
The first awards for sporting excellence at Mount Allison were given in University men's gymnastics in 1887. [1] That year six prizes were awarded including a gold and two silver medals and three others donated by town merchants. [2] In 1895 Halifax merchant Jairus Hart donated $100 to be used to award competitors.[3] His generosity continued through 1897.
Between 1895 and 1911 students at the Male Academy held annual gymnastics exhibitions and competitions during Mount Allison's closing week ceremonies where the winning contender received a $5 gold piece donated by the principal of the school. [4]
Field Day prizes (between 1895 and 1912): Prizes were awarded at Mount Allison Field Day competitions in 1896 [5], 1898 [6], and again in 1907 [7] when Field Day became a regular component of Mount Allison's week-long closing ceremonies at least until 1912. [8]
Intercollegiate Track and Field Trophy (1903-1910): Mount Allison joined its first intercollegiate track and field league in 1903 [9], together with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and Acadia University. Each year a trophy was awarded to the team that collected the most points. The trophy became the permanent property of Acadia in 1910 [10] after the school won the award for a fifth time. [11]
Dennis Cup (1911): William Dennis, publisher of the Halifax Herald and Evening Mail newspapers [12], offered this cup for competition between Acadia, UNB, and Mount Allison, [13] but at that time Mount Allison was considering abolishing track sports due to a lack of interest among the student body. There are no records of competition but it was in Mount Allison's possession in 1922.
Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition Trophy (1912- ): Competition for this trophy was held in Halifax, and rules stipulated that the first team to win the exhibition three times would own the cup. [14] Unlike previous intercollegiate track and field league competitions between 1903 and 1910, this annual exhibition did not feature any field events. [15] Mount Allison was victorious in September 1912, the first year the trophy was offered. [16] In 1913 Mount Allison won again against teams from Dalhousie, King's College and Acadia. [17] In autumn 1914 [18] competition was suspended due to the First World War.
Mount Allison University Archives, Ben Church Hicks fonds, accession 9623/1. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Mount Allison University Archives, Arthur Carman Tuttle fonds, accession 8435/1/37. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
King-Richardson Cup (1903-1913): The most coveted trophy in varsity sport at Mount Allison before the First World War was offered by the King-Richardson Company, a Springfield, Massachusetts-based publisher. [19] Teams competing for the cup were UNB, Acadia, and Mount Allison. [20] Initially the team winning the trophy three times in a row could keep it, but in 1908 this was changed to five total wins. [21] The cup was donated with hopes that it would help speed the creation of an intercollegiate rugby football union. [22]
Mount Allison won the trophy in 1904, 1905 and 1910, and Acadia had also won it three times by 1911. [23] Acadia University went on to win the cup twice more, and in 1913 the trophy became its permanent property. [24]
Gass Shield (1910- ): From 1910 until at least 1919 [25], interclass rugby football teams competed for the Gass Shield.[26] It was donated by J.C. Gass of Halifax [27] for annual competition between the freshman, sophomore, and Academy classes of Mount Allison. [28] The league was created initially to benefit the first and second varsity rugby football teams [29] and continued during the years of the First World War despite a decision by the students to halt intercollegiate football.
People, left-right, back row: Dixon, [?]; Doe, Andrew Wyman; Steeves, [?]; Motyer, Arthur John (Captain); Oulton, John Roderick; Hallett, Rupert Carlyle Hollis; McQuaid, Edward S. Second row: McFadzen, Frank H.; Wright, Charles W.; Rackham, [?]; Beals, [?]; Schaefer, [?]; Russell, Bernard Wallace. Third row: Black, Vaughan Elderkin (Second Captain); Jakeman, Harry W. Bottom row: DeLong, M. Lorne; Llewellyn, Thomas H.
Note: King-Richardson Cup in foreground.
Mount Allison University Archives, Mount Allison University Department of Physical Recreation and Athletics fonds, accession 9940/1/5. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
People, left-right, back row: Hartley, Ralph Perley (Manager); Parker, John Stewart; White, C. Avard; Glendenning, George B.; Woodman, Ralph B.; Peacock, Fletcher. Second row: Milford, John Carl; Godfrey, Willian Stephen; Cochrane, Caleb Haliburton (Captain); Buckley, Louis Albert; Smith, Frank Morton. Third row: McKean, H. Stewart; Lawrence, John F.; Rowe, Frank H. (Trainer); Moore, Guy S.; Dickenson, Frank. Bottom row: Trapnell, Donald M.; MacDougall, Charles Gordon.
Note: King-Richardson trophy in foreground.
Mount Allison University Archives, Robert Cutten Read Collection, accession 8731/3/1/19. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
People, left-right, back row: [all unidentified]. Middle row: [unidentified]; [unidentified]; [unidentified]; Toombs, Wendell; Thompson, Charles C.; Baxter, [?]; Mercer, A. Jenson. Bottom row: Godfrey, William Stephen; [unidentified]; [unidentified].
Note: Gass Shield trophy in foreground.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/148. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Hewson Cup (1906-1908): The first intercollegiate hockey trophy Mount Allison competed for was the Hewson Cup. It was offered by E.E. Hewson, of Amherst, Nova Scotia's Hewson Wollen [sic] Mills [30] in 1905 [31] and accepted by a newly inaugurated intercollegiate league in 1906. [32] The rules stipulated that the team that won the trophy three times would be able to keep the cup permanently. [33] The teams involved were originally UNB, Acadia, St. Francis Xavier (St. FX) and Mount Allison, [34] joined by King's College In 1908. [35] St. FX was victorious in the first three years [36], and the league was disbanded in 1909. [37]
Sumner Cup (1909- ): F.W. Sumner [38] of Moncton donated the Sumner Cup to a new Intercollegiate Hockey League, which was organized in 1909 [39], and consisted of Acadia, Mount Allison and UNB. [40] UNB won the first year [41] and Acadia the second. [42] In 1911 King's College joined the league, but the cup was not awarded that year because of a dispute over game rules in the championship match between Acadia and UNB. [43] Intercollegiate hockey was banned in 1912 [44], but resumed the following year with King's College winning the cup. [45] Mount Allison won the trophy in 1914 and 1915 [46, 47], and kept it for the duration of the First World War while play was suspended. [48] The Sumner Cup was not awarded again until 1921, [49] and Mount Allison won it in 1922 and 1927 [50, 51].
Brown Trophy (1914- ): Winners of the western and eastern Maritime intercollegiate hockey leagues competed against each other for the Brown Trophy. The western league, which included Mount Allison, formed in 1909, disbanded in 1912, reformed in 1913, and was discontinued once again in 1916 for the duration of the war. The eastern league, which included Halifax Tech., St. FX and Dalhousie University, was formed during the 1913-14 season. [52] Mount Allison, winner of the western intercollegiate league in 1914 and 1915, went on to win the Brown Trophy in 1914 over Dalhousie [53], but lost it in 1915 to St. FX. [54]
Interclass Hockey Cup (ca. 1907- ): Interclass hockey competition began sometime before 1911 when the Class of 1911 won the Interclass Hockey Cup. The Male Academy was included in the schedule and won the cup at least once, in 1918. Teams continued to compete through the First World War and into the early 1920s.
Mount Allison University Archives, Arthur Carman Tuttle fonds, accession 8435/1/38. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
People, left-right, back row: McKay, Arthur H.; Boone, Gordon V.; Pickup, Samuel; Cochrane, Caleb Haliburton; Guptill, Scott D. Front row: MacDougall, Charles Gordon; Wheeler, Harold K.; North, Cyril B.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/95. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/97. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Machum Cup (1910-[1920s?]): Men's class [55] basketball teams competed for the interclass Machum Cup, donated by former Allisonian [56] Edwin R. Machum, between 1910 and at least 1922 [57, 58]. The Male Academy was also involved in the competition and won it in 1913-1914.
Women's Basketball Trophy (1910-1911, 1919- ?): The only trophy to be awarded in women's sports at Mount Allison before 1919 was in basketball. Former students of the Ladies' College donated the cup to commemorate the construction of a new gymnasium for the Ladies' College in 1910 and to encourage competition between the Ladies' College and female students of the University. [59] The two teams played each other in a series of three games, and the winner of the series claimed the prize. [60] The trophy was awarded in 1910 and 1911 [61], and the University women were victorious both times.
After disappearing for a number of years, the women's basketball competitions returned in 1919 as evidenced in an interclass women's team photograph. [62]
One person identified: Clinton Briggs, captain. Machum Cup trophy in foreground
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/39. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
People, left-right: Hughes, Helen; Chesley, Mary; Vaughan, Gladys; Gass, Daisy; Kilburn, Bess.
Note: first trophy awarded in women's sports at Mount Allison is in foreground.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/25. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
People, left-right, top row: Machum, Marion; MacMillan, Helen Janet; Moore, Beryl; Barnes, Harriet Ada. Left-right, bottom row: Pickard, Margaret; Jordan, Frances Henderson; Hemmeon, Ellen C.
Note: first trophy awarded in women's sports at Mount Allison in foreground.
Mount Allison University Archives, Donald F. Taylor fonds, accession 7601/2/12. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Harold Eugene Bigelow, chemistry professor and former Mount Allison student and prominent athlete, donated a cup to the winner of the University men's tennis tournament in 1916. [63] In 1917 an interclass league was formed, and trophies were awarded to the victorious senior class tennis team. [64]
[1] Calendar and Catalogue of the University of Mount Allison College, 1887-8, p. 43 (this is the first reference to awards that this writer can find)
[2] Calendar and Catalogue of the University of Mount Allison College, 1887-8, p. 43
[3] Calendar and Catalogue of the University of Mount Allison College, 1894-95, p. 42
[4] [Saint John] Globe, May 27, 1905, "Sackville News," by Dr. Alfred D. Smith
[5] Argosy, vol. XXV, no. 7, Apr. 1896, "Athletics," p. 16
[6] Argosy, vol. XXIV (ns) (XXVII os) no. 8, May 1898, "Athletics," p. 13
[7] Argosy, vol. XXXIII, no. 8, May 1907, "Athletics," p. 364; [Saint John] Globe, May 29, 1907, "Sackville News," by A.D. Smith
[8] [Sackville] Tribune, May 27, 1912, "Closing Exercises at Old Mount A.," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, 5501/6/1/12, p. 133 (though no mention of prizes)
[9] Programme, "First Annual Intercollegiate Sports," St. John, May 29, 1903, located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, 5501/6/1/7, p. 6, flat storage
[10] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 1, Oct. 1910, "Athletics," p. 54
[11] Argosy, vol. XXXIV, no. 8, May 1908, "Rules Governing the Intercollegiate Track Meet," p. 371 (article says school to win it five times keeps the cup)
[12] [Sackville] Tribune, Jan. 12, 1911, "New Trophy Offered for the Colleges," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, 5501/6/1/12, p. 9
[13] Argosy, vol. XXXVIX, no. 1, Oct. 1912, "Athletics," p. 75
[14] Argosy, vol. XXXVIX, no. 1, Oct. 1912, "Athletics," p. 75
[15] Argosy, vol. XXXIX, no. 1, Oct. 1912, "Athletics," pp. 75-80
[16] Argosy, vol. XXXVIX, no. 1, Oct. 1912, "Athletics," p. 76
[17] Argosy, vol. XL, no. 1, Oct. 1913, "Athletics," pp. 75-80
[18] Argosy, vol. XLI, no. 1, Oct. 1914, "Athletics," p. 63
[19] Argosy, vol. XXX, no. 3, Dec. 1903, "Athletics," pp. 94-8; “Turn Out and Cheer!” website, Acadia University Archives (http://library.acadiau.ca/archives/sporthistory/trophies/APC1893.html)
[20] Argosy, vol. XXX, no. 3, Dec. 1903, "Athletics," p. 98 (for company name and competing teams)
[21] Argosy, vol. XXXIV, no. 4, Jan. 1908, "Athletics," p. 178
[22] Argosy, vol. XXX, no. 3, Dec. 1903, "Athletics," p. 98
[23] Argosy, vol. XXXVIII, no. 3, Dec. 1911 "Athletics," p. 171
[24] "Turn Out and Cheer!" website, Acadia University Archives
[25] Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, Folder 27 (neg. slip no. 000 758) (Gass Shield in foreground of class of 1922 team photo, 1919).
[26] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 2, Nov. 1910, "Athletics," p. 119; Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 8, May 1911, "Athletics," p. 407
[27] Mount Allison University Archives, Bennett Family fonds, accession 7746/1, photograph (postcard) (Gass Shield in foreground, with the following written on it: “Football Trophy, presented by J.C. Gass, of Halifax.”)
[28] Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/150, photograph (writing on Gass Shield in foreground indicates who could compete for the trophy)
[29] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 8, May 1911, "Athletics," p. 407
[30] [Sackville] Tribune, Nov. 20, 1902, p. 1 (spelled “Wollen” here and in other sources)
[31] Argosy, vol. XXXI, no. 4, Jan. 1905, "Athletics," p. 150
[32] Argosy, vol. XXXI, no. 4, Jan. 1905, "Athletics," p. 150; Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 4, Jan. - Feb. 1906, "Athletics," p. 226
[33] Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 4, Jan. - Feb. 1906, "Athletics," p. 226
[34] Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 4, Jan. - Feb. 1906, "Athletics," p. 226
[35] Argosy, vol. XXXIV, no. 4, Jan. 1908, "Athletics," pp. 177-9
[36] Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 5, Mar. 1906, "Athletics," p. 292; Argosy, vol. XXXII, no. 7, May 1906, "The Year at Mount Allison," p. 377; Argosy, vol. XXXIII, no. 5, Feb. 1907, "Editorial," p. 249; Argosy, vol. XXXIV, no. 6, Mar. 1908, "Editorial," p. 248
[37] Argosy, vol. XXXV, no. 4, Jan. 1909 [says Jan. 1908 – typo. May also say vol. xxxvi – also incorrect], "Athletics," p. 158
[38] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 10, 1910, located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 50
[39] Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[40] Argosy, vol. XXXV, no. 4, Jan. 1909 [“1908” – typo], "Athletics," p. 158; Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[41] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 10, 1910, located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 50
[42] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 28, 1910, located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 49; Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[43] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 7, Apr. 1911, "Athletics," p. 358
[44] [Sackville] Tribune, vol. XI, no. 84, "Intercollegiate Hockey is Banned," Dec. 18, 1911, p. 1
[45] Argosy, vol. XXXIX, no. 6, Mar. 1913, "Editorial," p. 341; Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[46] Allisonia, vol. XI, no. 3, Apr. 1914, "Locals," p. 94; Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[47] [Sackville] Tribune, Mar. 7 [?], 1915, "Mount Allison Lost Game at Fredericton," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 167
[48] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 14, 1916, "In and Around old Mount A.," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 199
[49] Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[50] Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8435/1/38 (postcard), Sumner Trophy, inscription on trophy
[51] Mount Allison University Archives, Robert Cutten Read Collection of Mount Allison Varsity Team Photographs and Historical Notes fonds, accession 8731/3/2/30
[52] Argosy, vol. XL, no. 3, Dec. 1913, "Athletics," p. 231
[53] “Mt. A. Wins Championship of Maritimes,” [newspaper unidentified], located in Mount Allison University Archives, Pickard, Dixon, Godfrey family fonds, accession 2000.1/12/6/7, “Old Sports Association, 1945-1976,” Some Records of the Mount Allison Hockey Team, 1914, published 1948 (16 pp.), p. 3
[54] [Sackville] Tribune, Mar. 18, 1915, "Mount Allison Lost to St. F.X. at Oxford"
[55] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 2, Nov. 1910, "Athletics," p. 119
[56] Calendar and Catalogue of the Mount Allison Wesleyan College, 1881, "Special Students," p. 9 (Edwin R. Machum, from Jerusalem, appears in class list); Argosy, vol. XXX (ns), no. 3, Dec. 1901, p. 103 (says he was a student 1879-80)
[57] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 2, Nov. 1910, "Athletics," p. 119
[58] Mount Allison University Archives, Arthur Carman Tuttle fonds, accession 8435/1/36, photograph of men’s interclass basketball champions, with Machum Cup in foreground, 1922-23.
[59] Allisonia, vol. VII, no. 2, Jan. 1910, "Sports," p. 47; [Sackville] Tribune, Dec. 8, 1910, "Varsity Girls Won at Basket-Ball," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 18
[60] [Sackville] Tribune, Dec. 8, 1910, "Varsity Girls Won at Basket-Ball," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 18
[61] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 7, Apr. 1911, "L.C. Notes," pp. 344-6; Argosy, vol. XXXIX, no. 3, Dec. 1912, "L.C. Notes," pp. 187-8 (says University and Ladies’ College basketball teams no longer playing for a cup)
[62] Mount Allison University Archives, Donald F. Taylor fonds, accession 7601/2/12, photograph of women’s senior class basketball team, with Machum Cup in foreground
[63] Argosy, vol. XLIII, no. 1, Oct. 1916, "Locals," p. 60
[64] Argosy, vol. XLIII, no. 8, Jun. 1917, p. 456b (picture)