Ric Hall’s Photo Corner

1897 NWMP rugby football player in Regina (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

For this week, Ric has selected the theme of “introduction of rugby football to the Canadian prairies.”

The members of the North-West Mounted Police barracks introduced rugby football to the prairies.   Regina’s first organized rugby football team were members of Regina’s North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) who traveled to Winnipeg to play two games against the Winnipeg Football Club in 1888.

1896-1897 – NWMP Rugby Team in Regina (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

The first organized football began in 1910 with the Regina Rugby Football Club.  There are two theories on where the name “Roughriders” came from.  One states that it came from the North West Mounted Police who were called Roughriders because they broke the wild horse broncos used by the force.

Early NWMP member rugby team in Regina (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

The other states there was a Canadian contingent who fought with Teddy Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War.  Roosevelt’s troops became known as the Roughriders.   Following the war, the troops returned to Canada, part settling in Ottawa, and the rest moving out West.

With all due respect to Teddy Roosevelt, I choose to believe the first theory!   The team started out in 1910 as the Regina Rugby Club in 1910.

1919 – Photograph of the Regina RCMP Rugby Football Team (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection)

The next season the name was changed to the Regina Amateur Athletic Association.   In 1924, the team changed its name from the Regina Rugby Club to the Regina Roughriders.

Ottawa’s Rugby Club had been called the Rough Riders since the 1890’s, but dropped it in favour of the “Senators” in 1924.  Regina jumped at the chance to adopt the name “Roughriders.”

In 1948, the Regina Roughriders became a provincially-owned and -operated club, surviving only on the undying support from the entire province. They became the SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS.

If you have Force photographs that you would like to see in a forthcoming Photo Corner, please email Ric Hall at rshall69@shaw.ca

Ric will scan the photo and return the original to you.