Canadian Football News in 1903

The ORFU

Ontario Rugby Football Union

The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...

 adopted the Burnside Rules

Burnside Rules

The Burnside rules were a set of rules that transformed Canadian football from a rugby-style game to the gridiron-style game it has remained ever since...

 which reduced teams to 12 men per side, put into play the Snap-Back system of moving the ball, required the offensive team to gain 10 yards on three downs, abolished the Throw-In from the sidelines, permitted only six men on the line, stated that all Goals by Kicking were to be worth two points and the opposition was to line up 10 yards from the defenders on all Kicks. The Rules were to be made uniform across the country as quickly as possible. The CIRFU

CIS football

Twenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec...

, QRFU

Quebec Rugby Football Union

The Quebec Rugby Football Union was a football league consisting of teams from Quebec and formed in 1883. Eastern Ontario teams like Ottawa City and Ottawa College joined in 1894.- League Formation and Play :...

 and CRU

Football Canada

Football Canada is the governing body for amateur Canadian football. It is Canada's representative member of the International Federation of American Football , the world's governing body for American football.-History:...

 refused to adopt the new Rules.

QRFU and CRU reduced their rosters from 15 to 14 players. CRU ruled that possession could not go beyond three scrimmages unless during the third scrimmage the ball was moved five yards on a run or a kick. Ottawa

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 returned to the QRFU and the MRFU

Manitoba Rugby Football Union

Manitoba Rugby Football Union was a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and was founded in 1888.Teams of the MRFU consisted of:* Winnipeg Football Club* St...

 moved to a fall schedule.

Final regular season standings

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

Ontario Rugby Football Union Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would... Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Hamilton Tigers Hamilton Tigers (football) The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in...   4 4 0 0 139 51 8 Toronto Torontos 4 2 2 0 73 75 4 Hamilton WEPC 4 0 4 0 35 97 0

Quebec Rugby Football Union Quebec Rugby Football Union The Quebec Rugby Football Union was a football league consisting of teams from Quebec and formed in 1883. Eastern Ontario teams like Ottawa City and Ottawa College joined in 1894.- League Formation and Play :... Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Ottawa Rough Riders Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...   6 5 1 0 75 31 10 Montreal Football Club Montreal Football Club The Montreal Football Club was a Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec that played in the Quebec Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1915. The club was a founding member of the QRFU and played in the first football game in...   6 4 2 0 78 43 8 University of Ottawa University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...   6 3 3 0 57 43 6 Britannia Football Club 6 0 6 0 23 116 0

Intercollegiate Rugby Football Union CIS football Twenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec... Team GP W L T Pts Varsity Blues Varsity Blues The Varsity Blues is the name for the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 26 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and Canadian Interuniversity Sport. The Varsity Blues traces its founding to 1877, with the formation...   4 3 0 1 7 McGill Redmen McGill Redmen The McGill Redmen CIS football team is one of the oldest in all of Canada, having begun organized competition in 1898. The team has appeared in three Vanier Cup national championships, in 1969, 1973 and 1987, with the Redmen finally winning the title in the 1987 game...   4 2 2 0 4 Queen's University Queen's University Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England... 4 0 3 1 1

Playoffs

• No Dominion Final was played this year due to a rules dispute over the newly adopted Burnside Rules used by the ORFU.