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 evolve.

During the second world war, the military teams in Ontario played in the ORFU filling the gap during the suspension of play by the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. (Toronto Navy - H.M.C.S. York played out of Varsity Stadium using the Toronto Argonauts equipment and uniforms.) The Toronto R.C.A.F. Hurricanes were the last amateur team to win the Grey Cup in 1942. Many from the ranks of the military teams in the ORFU became stars in the CFL after the war.

The ORFU champion challenged for and won the Grey Cup in its early decades, but by the 1950s their challenges proved to be perennial failures against the stronger professional interprovincial leagues, the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Football Union. The ORFU withdrew from Grey Cup competition in 1954 in a move that heralded the start of the modern era of Canadian football. The ORFU ceased to operate as a true senior league after 1960, but continued play at the intermediate level. Eventually the word "senior" came to replace the word "intermediate." By 1974, the ORFU had ceased to exist.

Notable Teams

 * Hamilton Alerts - 1st Grey Cup Champions of the ORFU in 1912.
 * Sarnia Imperials - 2 time Grey Cup Champions: 1934, 1936.
 * Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers - 2 time Grey Cup Champions: 1927, 1930.
 * Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen
 * Toronto Indians
 * London Lords
 * Brantford Redmen
 * Windsor Royals/Rockets
 * Bramalea Satellites
 * Ottawa Trojans
 * Hamilton Tigers and Hamilton Wildcats (both merged to become the Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
 * Toronto R.C.A.F. Hurricanes

ORFU Champions
1883 Toronto Argonauts

1884 Toronto Argonauts

1885 Ottawa College

1886 Ottawa College

1887 Ottawa College

1888 Ottawa College

1889 Ottawa College

1890 Hamilton Tigers

1891 Osgoode Hall

1892 Osgoode Hall

1893 Queen's University

1894 Queen's University

1895 University of Toronto

1896 University of Toronto

1897 Hamilton Tigers

1898 Ottawa Rough Riders

1899 Kingston Granites

1900 Ottawa Rough Riders

1901 Toronto Argonauts

1902 Ottawa Rough Riders

1903 Hamilton Tigers

1904 Hamilton Tigers

1905 Hamilton Tigers

1906 Hamilton Tigers

1907 Peterboro Seniors

1908 1909 Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club Paddlers

1910 Toronto AAC

1911 Hamilton Alerts

1912 Hamilton Alerts

1913 Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club Paddlers

1914 Hamilton Rowing Club

1915 Toronto Rugby & Athletic Association Black and White "Torontos"

1916 World War I

1917 World War I

1918 ]]Toronto Beaches]]

1919 Toronto Rugby & Athletic Association Black and White

1920 Toronto Rugby & Athletic Association "Torontos"

1921 Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club

1922 Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club

1923 Hamilton Rowing Club

1924 Toronto Balmy Beach

1925 Toronto Balmy Beach

1926 Toronto Balmy Beach

1927 Toronto Balmy Beach

1928 University of Toronto Orphans

1929 Sarnia Imperials

1930 Toronto Balmy Beach

1931 Sarnia Imperials

1932 Sarnia Imperials

1933 Sarnia Imperials

1934 Sarnia Imperials

1935 Sarnia Imperials

1936 Sarnia Imperials

1937 Sarnia Imperials

1938 Sarnia Imperials

1939 Sarnia Imperials

1940 Toronto Balmy Beach

1941 Hamilton Wildcats

1942 Toronto RCAF Hurricanes

1943 Hamilton Flying Wildcats

1944 Hamilton Wildcats

1945 Toronto Balmy Beach

1946 Toronto Balmy Beach

1947 Ottawa Trojans

1948 Hamilton Tigers

1949 Hamilton Tigers

1950 Toronto Balmy Beach

1951 Sarnia Imperials

1952 Sarnia Imperials

1953 Toronto Balmy Beach

1954 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

1955 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

1956 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

1957 Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

1958 Sarnia Golden Bears

1959 Sarnia Golden Bears

1960 London Lords