The following is an overview of the events of 1884 in Canadian football, primarily focusing on the senior teams that played in this era. This includes news, standings, playoff games, and championships. This was the second season since the creation of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) and the Quebec Rugby Football Union (QRFU) in 1883 and the first since the re-establishment of the Canadian Rugby Football Union (CRFU). The season was highlighted by the first ever Rugby Football Dominion Championship where the Montreal Football Club defeated the Toronto Football Club by a score of 30 to 0.
Canadian football news in 1884 On February 7, 1884, the Canadian Rugby Football Union was formed to provide a regulatory body for Rugby Football in Canada along with establishing a national championship game. The QRFU adopted a point based system this year, adopting the ORFU model, as opposed to the previous year where they recorded the number of tries and goals scored.
QRFU results QRFU First RoundOctober 11, 1884 - Montreal, Quebec Montreal Football Club 14–2 Britannia Football ClubOctober 11, 1884 - Lennoxville, Quebec McGill College 50–0 Bishop's College
QRFU Second RoundOctober 18, 1884 - Montreal, Quebec Montreal Football Club 21–0 McGill College
QRFU FriendlyOctober 25, 1884 - Montreal, Quebec Britannia Football Club 16–0 McGill College
Quebec Challenge Cup The Montreal Football Club and the Britannia Football Club played for the Quebec Challenge Cup. The teams proved evenly matched with Montreal only scoring one rouge in the entire game while the Brits did not score. Since Montreal did not record enough points, the game ended in a draw. Because Britannia was not able to defeat Montreal, Montreal retained their Quebec title and were declared the champions of Quebec.
QRFU Final November 1, 1884 - Montreal, Quebec Montreal Football Club 1–0 Britannia Football Club Montreal retains the QRFU championship by draw
ORFU results At the beginning of the season, 14 Ontario rugby clubs were eligible to compete for the Ontario Challenge Cup. Five of these clubs either did not participate or forfeited immediately. The remaining nine teams competed in a series of sudden death matches until one undefeated team remained, being named the Ontario Rugby Challenge Cup champion.
ORFU First RoundOctober 11, 1884 - Strathroy, Ontario Strathroy Football Club 20–2 London Football ClubOctober 11, 1884 - Peterborough, Ontario Toronto Football Club 29–8 Peterborough Football ClubOctober 11, 1884 - Kingston, Ontario Kingston, Queen's 4–0 Kingston, R. M. C.Did not play, advanced to second round Ottawa Football Club 1–0 Kingston Football Club (defaulted) Hamilton Football Club Bye Toronto University Bye
ORFU Second RoundOctober 18, 1884 - Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton Football Club 6–4 Strathroy Football ClubOctober 18, 1884 - Toronto, Ontario Toronto Football Club 24–0 Toronto UniversityOctober 19, 1884 - Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Football Club 19–7 Kingston, Queen's
ORFU Third RoundOctober 25, 1884 - Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Football Club 24–4 Hamilton Football Club Ottawa Football Club Bye
Ontario Challenge Cup Prior to the scheduled final between Toronto and Ottawa, Ottawa declared forfeit due to seven of their players being unable to make the trip to Toronto. Given the short notice, since the Toronto club received the telegram one day before the scheduled match, the integrity of the Ottawa club was questioned since they had at least 35 members and appeared reluctant to send a replacement team that would only lose. Since tickets had been paid for, Toronto attempted to schedule a match with Hamilton, but were refused due to the justifiably short notice. Consequently, the Toronto Football Club were Ontario Challenge Cup champions due to Ottawa's forfeit.
ORFU FinalScheduled for November 1, 1884 - Toronto, Ontario Toronto Football Club 1–0 Ottawa Football Club (defaulted) Toronto won the ORFU championship by forfeit
Dominion Championship
1884 Dominion ChampionshipNovember 6, 1884 - University of Toronto Lawn - Toronto, Ontario Montreal Football Club 30–0 Toronto Football Club Montreal won the first ever Canadian Dominion Football Championship
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