Male athletes who competed in Canada's first organized team sports, especially sports imported from Britain, were compelled to compete to the best of their abilities in a 'gentlemanly' manner. Likewise, audiences maintained a state of decorum and were not overzealous in their appreciation for their favourite team. The first audiences to cheer wildly were supporters of the Montreal Shamrocks lacrosse team in the 1870s.
Owing to the irregularity of matches with outside teams and the obstacles fans and teams had to overcome when travelling to games, spectator numbers were relatively small. Trains were the primary mode of transportation, and were often late.
Reproduced from The Argosy, published by the Eurhetorian Society of the University of Mount Allison College, vol. XXIX, no. 2, Nov. 1902, p. 51b.
May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
The first audiences to attend sporting events at Mount Allison were recorded in 1876, at games of cricket (October) [1], football (November) [2] and handball (December) [3]. Female spectators, who attended a football match between the University and Male Academy, were singled out by The Argosy (November 1876) for having given "tone to the occasion," and for having "prompted the young gentlemen to noble deeds of gallantry." [4]
Opportunities for Ladies' College students to see Mount Allison's male students at that time were rare, and the mere presence of females at sporting events lent an air of civility to the athletes and the rest of the crowd. Ladies' College students also needed to be invited in order to attend, as University student William Seaman testified in a letter to his brother Frank on 8 May 1886:
"The boys are going to play a cricket match today. The girls are invited to attend. I am one of the players but do not know whether I shall participate or not." [5]
Audiences at Mount Allison and in the Maritime region became more partisan toward their home teams by the turn of the century. Cheers and yells in support of Mount Allison's teams were established by 1892 [6], and spectators used them energetically. Cheerleaders, who performed on the field dancing and singing songs to engage the crowd were unknown then.
By 1900 some Mount Allison fans also began taunting their opponents with belligerent comments. For example, spectators attending a football match on Mount Allison's new Athletic Field were singled out by The Argosy (November 1900) for being disrespectful of the other team, shouting "coarse and impertinent remarks." [7] In March 1903 Mount Allison hockey players were accosted by spectators at Acadia University. A member of Mount Allison's hockey team noted in The Argosy (March 1903):
"We very much regret that a Mt. Allison man struck an Acadia player in the game, even though provocation was great. At the same time we take serious exception to the action of the spectators, most of whom were Acadia students, in hissing that man. We are not in the habit of hearing collegians hiss nor of being hissed ourselves and think such action at least somewhat unsportsmanlike." [8]
Games against Acadia in the sports of hockey and football aroused the most interest among fans at Mount Allison before the First World War. Mount Allison had strong teams in both sports, and it was easy for everyone at Mount Allison to get excited. One such person was David Allison, who was president of the University from 1891 to 1911. [9] Rev. J.W. O'Brien, a student at the University between 1898 and 1900, wrote in his memoirs that "During an intercollegiate football game Dr. Allison was always the most excited person on campus." [10] Dr. Allison even declared a campus holiday following Mount Allison's victory in hockey over Acadia in 1903. [11]
The excitement generated by games against Acadia continued well into the next decade. University student Fred Rand, Class of 1912, noted in an interview conducted 1 February 1977:
"... the feeling would be more keen concerning Acadia, if we could beat Acadia, we didn't care how much the other fellas beat us, that was the main thing. So that the feeling of competition between Acadia and Mount A at that time was much more intense than it was with the other ones." [12]
View looking north toward York Street. Buildings, left-right: (Second) University Men's Residence; Centennial Hall; Owen's Art Gallery; Borden Hall; Domestic Sciences Building (former Ladies' College gymnasium); Conservatory of Music.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/53. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Between 1907 and 1914 Acadia's and Mount Allison's rugby football teams frequently vied each other for intercollegiate championship honours with matches generating huge interest among fans. In 1910 [13] and 1911 [14] Mount Allison "rooters" boarded chartered special trains to Truro, Nova Scotia, site of each year's championship game. Female students were permitted to attend sporting events on their own and ride on the same special trains in separate cars. [15] Over 2,000 people [16] watched the championship match on 17 November 1911, and the Saint John Globe newspaper (22 November 1911) reported:
"Excitement on the sidelines ran high and Mount Allison's supporters could hardly contain themselves as they saw the splendid work of their team." [17]
Another championship football match against Acadia was played in Sackville on 14 November 1913 in front of the largest crowd ever seen at Mount Allison until then. [18] Two hundred fans from Acadia arrived by special train to watch their team defeat Mount Allison.
Mount Allison University Archives, Christian McKiel (née Harris) fonds, accession 7767/16. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/62. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, accession 2007.07/63. May be reproduced only with permission of Mount Allison University Archives.
During the First World War varsity sports came almost to a standstill and there were fewer opportunities to watch intercollegiate competition. Intercollegiate hockey was played in 1915 and still generated interest among fans. In February 1915 eight hundred people attended a match against Acadia at Sackville's rink. [19] The next month, 100 "rooters" from Sackville travelled by a special train to Fredericton to watch Mount Allison claim the Sumner Cup as western league intercollegiate champions in a game against the University of New Brunswick. [20]
By 1919 intercollegiate competition resumed in all major sports, and fans of varsity sports once again had something to cheer about.
View looking east toward York Street.
Mount Allison University Archives, Harold Stevens Bishop fonds, accession 8814/1/37. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
View looking east-northeast toward York Street.
Mount Allison University Archives, Donald F. Taylor fonds, accession 7601/2/21. May only be reproduced with permission of the Mount Allison University Archives.
[1] Argosy, vol. III, no. 2, Oct. 1876, "Sackvilliana," p. 29
[2] Argosy, vol. III, no. 3, Nov. 1876, "Sackvilliana," p. 43
[3] Argosy, vol. III, no. 4, Dec. 1876, "Sackvilliana, p. 54
[4] Argosy, vol. III, no. 3, Nov. 1876, "Sackvilliana," p. 43
[5] Mount Allison University Archives, William Seaman fonds, accession 9114/2/38, letter from William Seaman [to brother Frank], May 8, 1886
[6] Argosy, vol. XXII, no. 1, Oct. 1892, p. 3 (first mention of yells found so far)
[7] Argosy, vol. XXVII, no. 2, Nov. 1900, [untitled], p. 3
[8] Argosy, vol. XXIX, no. 6, Mar. 1903, "The Hockey Trip," p. 180
[9] Mount Allison University Archives, Biography File, “David Allison,” typed manuscript
[10] A Parson Reminisces, by Rev. J.W. O'Brien, The Tribune Press, Sackville, NB, [1950], p. 22
[11] Mount Allison Record, vol. 37, summer 1954, "Know the Signposts," speech by H.F.S. Paisley at the Athletic Reunion, 10 May 1954, p. 76
[12] Mount Allison University Archives, accession 8213, interview with Fred Rand, class of 1916 and 1920, 1 February 1977, conducted by Pamela Swainson, transcript
[13] Argosy, vol. XXXVII, no. 2, Nov. 1910, "Locals," p. 109
[14] Allisonia, vol. IX, no. 1, Nov. 1911, "Sports," p. 33
[15] Allisonia, vol. IX, no. 1, Nov. 1911, "Sports," p. 33
[16] [Saint John] Globe, Nov. 22, 1911, "Acadia Wins Trophy - An Interesting Game," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 102
[17] [Saint John] Globe, Nov. 22, 1911, "Acadia Wins Trophy - An Interesting Game," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 102
[18] [Saint John] Globe, Nov. 19, 1913, "Football: Acadia Defeated Mount A.," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 143
[19] [Sackville] Tribune, Feb. 11, 1915, "Mount Allison Wins the First," located in Mount Allison University Archives, R.C. Archibald fonds, accession 5501/6/1/12, p. 163
[20] [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 (somehow, despite losing the game, MTA still claimed the cup)