A Curated Collection of Vintage Rugby Photographs from Canada

The Toronto Wolfpack Rugby League team kicks of their inaugural season in the RFL Saturday March 4th, 2017. In celebration of the new Toronto professional sports team, I decided to post some vintage rugby photographs from Toronto and a few from other places around Ontario and Canada.

I loved looking at the kits, the fans, and the surroundings of the game. Let us know on social media anything interesting that you discover from the photos. Enjoy!

1890 - 1912? - Upper Canada College rugby team
1890 – 1912? – Upper Canada College team
1895 - University of Toronto; Varsity Rugby Football Team.
1895 – University of Toronto; Varsity Team.
1901 - Upper Canada College rugby team
1901 – Upper Canada College team
1915 - Young Men's Christian Association, Broadview Ave., Rugby team
1915 – Young Men’s Christian Association Team, Broadview Ave.,
1920 - 1940 - St Andrew's College Team
1920 – 1940 – St Andrew’s College Team
1925 - Varsity-Queens Rugby, Balstone, Q, converting
1925 – Varsity-Queens, Balstone, Q, converting
1926 - Balmy Beach, Camp Borden rugby, action
1926 – Balmy Beach, Camp Borden, action
1926 - Kingston, Queen's-Varsity Rugby, Batstone, line plunge
1926 – Kingston, Queen’s-Varsity, Batstone, line plunge
1926 - Kingston, Queen's-Varsity Rugby, on goal line
1926 – Kingston, Queen’s-Varsity, on goal line
1926 - Kingston, Queen's-Varsity Rugby, Varsity tuck play
1926 – Kingston, Queen’s-Varsity, Varsity tuck play
1926 - Varsity-Queen's Rugby, crowd on field at half-time
1926 – Varsity-Queen’s, crowd on field at half-time
1926 - Varsity-Queen's Rugby, general scene of play
1926 – Varsity-Queen’s, general scene of play
1926 - Varsity-Queen's Rugby, Varsity play on Queen's line
1926 – Varsity-Queen’s, Varsity play on Queen’s line
1927 - Argo-Ottawa rugby, pass
1927 – Argo-Ottawa rugby, pass
1927 - Argo-Ottawa rugby, tackle
1927 – Argo-Ottawa, tackle
1928 - Balmy Beach, Camp Borden rugby, action
1928 – Balmy Beach, Camp Borden team, action
1928 - Balmy Beach, Camp Borden rugby, action copy
1928 – Balmy Beach, Camp Borden team, action copy
1930 - English rugby, action
1930 – English rugby, action
1930 - English rugby, action copy
1930 – English rugby, action copy
1930 - English rugby, action copy 2
1930 – English rugby, action copy 2
1930 – English rugby, action copy 2
1930 – English rugby, action copy 2
1932 - St. Andrew's Playground Juvenile Rugby Team - Playground Champions
1932 – St. Andrew’s Playground Juvenile Team – Playground Champions
1942 - RCAF rugby, Hurricanes line up
1942 – RCAF, Hurricanes line up
1959 - Portraits of rugby players
1959 – Portraits of players
1974 - Touring English rugby team from Somerset (striped shirts) have situation well in hand as ball squirts loose during exhibition game against Ontario side at Fletcher Field
1974 – Touring English team from Somerset (striped shirts) have situation well in hand as ball squirts loose during exhibition game against Ontario side at Fletcher Field
1978 - Burlington player is tackled from behind in morning rugby match against Buccaneers
1978 – Burlington player is tackled from behind in morning match against Buccaneers
1979 - Rick Bailey of the U.S. team climbs over the scrum to grab a loose ball out of the air
1979 – Rick Bailey of the U.S. team climbs over the scrum to grab a loose ball out of the air
1982 - This Chinguacously player went high up for the ball during this line out in the game against Monarch Park at North York's Sunnybrook Park yesterday
1982 – This Chinguacously player went high up for the ball during this line out in the game against Monarch Park at North York’s Sunnybrook Park yesterday
1983 - Players from Brecon College in Wales (light tops) play Dunbarton High School rugby team on return of visit
1983 – Players from Brecon College in Wales (light tops) play Dunbarton High School team on return of visit
1985 - A defender from Nelson Boylen Secondary School Bullets left; determined to stop the enemy from going any farther in a North York senior rugby match by Sunnybrook Park yesterday
1985 – A defender from Nelson Boylen Secondary School Bullets left; determined to stop the enemy from going any farther in a North York senior match by Sunnybrook Park yesterday

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To find more vintage photographs, be sure to visit the Toronto Archives or the Toronto Public Library archives.

 

 

About Joel Levy 2623 Articles
Editor-In-Chief at Toronto Guardian. Photographer and Writer for Toronto Guardian and Joel Levy Photography