Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers

The Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers were a Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. Spanning three decades, they appeared in four Grey Cup championships, winning twice in 1927 and 1930, and were the longest lasting member of the ORFU.

Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers
Founded1924 (1924)
Folded1957 (1957)
Based inToronto, Ontario, Canada
Home fieldVarsity Stadium
LeagueOntario Rugby Football Union
DivisionORFU Group 2 (1928)
ORFU Eastern (1929–1931)
ColoursOld Gold and Blue[1]    
League titles15th Grey Cup, 18th Grey Cup

History

The Beachers were runners-up to the national title in their first season of play in 1924 when they lost to Queen's University in the 12th Grey Cup game.[2] They would go on to win the Grey Cup three years later in 15th Grey Cup, defeating the IRFU's Hamilton Tigers.[2] After another three years, the Beachers would again return to the Grey Cup and were once again victorious, winning the 18th Grey Cup in 1930 in Canadian football over the Regina Roughriders.[2] The Beachers would go on to win the ORFU championship 10 times in their history.

Due to the dominance of the Sarnia Imperials, the Beachers otherwise had very little success in the 1930s, qualifying for the playoffs three other times that decade, only to lose the ORFU Final to the Imperials. It wasn't until 1940 that the team made it back to the Grey Cup, when they lost to the Ottawa Rough Riders in the 28th Grey Cup game, the only Grey Cup to be played as a two-game series.[3] They would continue to see futility as the team would not return to the Grey Cup for the remainder of their history.

On April 20, 1948, it was announced that the Beachers would merge with the Toronto Indians and assumed the name Toronto Beaches-Indians for that one season. The amalgamation took place due to the difficulty that the two teams were having in competing for fan support, in addition to the competition from the IRFU's Toronto Argonauts.[4] The team finished in 2nd place that year with a 5-4 record, but lost to the Hamilton Tigers (who had transferred to the ORFU from the more competitive IRFU that year) in the ORFU Finals. On January 4, 1949, the club announced that the amalgamation would end and the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers would resume play while the Indians would fold.[5]

In 1953 they won the ORFU Championship and played in the Grey Cup semi-final against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, losing in a hard fought game. The team struggled in the 1950s as the "Big Four" eastern teams and the five "Western Conference" teams began importing American players. The Beach was unable to pay the big salaries of the other two leagues and maintained an all-Canadian team which became increasingly less competitive. Despite a winning record (6-4) in 1956, their 1957 season was a disaster, losing all twelve games by a combined score of 570-35; the team folded at season's end. Many Canadian Balmy Beach players played with the "Big Four" and "Western Conference" teams and have since entered the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Canadian Football Hall of Famers

Season-by-season

Season W L T PF PA Pts Finish Playoffs
1924310283061st, ORFULost 12th Grey Cup
19255107337101st, ORFULost East Semi-Final
19265004718101st, ORFULost East Final
192751010019101st, ORFUWon 15th Grey Cup
1928400103681st, ORFU Group 2Lost ORFU Semi-Final
192960010427121st, ORFU EasternLost ORFU Final
1930400744481st, ORFU EasternWon 18th Grey Cup
193131052461st, ORFU EasternLost ORFU Final
1932411604092nd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1933320526462nd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1934060328404th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1935220591742nd, ORFULost ORFU Finals
1936310623562nd, ORFULost ORFU Final
1937111412332nd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1938330733363rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1939321582773rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
19406007512121st, ORFULost 28th Grey Cup
1941240273443rd, ECUMissed Playoffs
194273012589142nd, ORFULost ORFU Final
194382014874162nd, ORFULost ORFU Final
19444201053382nd, ORFULost ORFU Final
194562011266122nd, ORFULost Eastern Final
194664011264123rd, ORFULost Eastern Final
1947730103100142nd, ORFULost ORFU Semi-Finals
194854012486102nd, ORFULost ORFU Finals
194911105529024th, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1950620162100121st, ORFULost Eastern Finals
1951730173124142nd, ORFULost ORFU Finals
1952830215156162nd, ORFULost ORFU Finals
1953840252145163rd, ORFULost Grey Cup Semi-Final
1954111016928023rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1955111010131923rd, ORFUMissed Playoffs
1956640203183122nd, ORFULost ORFU Semi-Finals
1957012035570134th, ORFUMissed Playoffs

References

  1. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. "Grey Cup Winners". Canadian Football League Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. "Throwback Thursday: 1940 Grey Cup – Balmy Beach given Rough Ride in Ottawa". ottawredblacks.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  4. "Beaches-Indians Break Up Squad". news.google.com. The Calgary Herald. Jan 6, 1949.
  5. "'Round and About - Partnership is Dissolved". news.google.com. Ottawa Citizen. Jan 4, 1949.
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