The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team operated by the Varsity Blues athletics program of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. They are members of the

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

conference and compete in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the C ...

. The Varsity Blues senior team won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

in 1921 and 1927, and won the gold medal for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

. The team is based at

Varsity Arena Varsity Arena, located at 299 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontarioretrieved from http://rrs.osm.utoronto.ca 2007-10-22 is an indoor arena that opened on December 17, 1926, and is primarily home to the ice hockey teams of the University of Toronto, ...

on the University downtown campus in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. The Varsity Blues have won 39 conference titles in the

OUA Oua is an islet on the north-east of Nukufetau atoll, Tuvalu, next to Lafanga Lafanga or Lafaga is an islet of Nukufetau, Tuvalu. The traditional history of Nukufetau recalls that in order to protect the atoll from raiders from Tonga Tong ...

as well as 10

Championships: 1965-66, 1966-67, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77 and 1983-84.

History

The Varsity Blues were founded in 1891, and are the longest continuously operated ice hockey program in the city of Toronto. The program currently includes only players enrolled at the University, however the Varsity Blues have historically had a junior ice hockey team for students, and a

senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisd ...

team for graduates. Notable coaches of the Varsity Blues include

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

Ace Bailey Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey (July 3, 1903 – April 7, 1992) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for eight seasons, from 1926–1933. His playing career ended with a fight he encountered during ...

, Tom Watt, and Mike Keenan, and Lester Bowles Pearson later

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

recipient and

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

. David Bauer played for the Varsity Blues during the 1945–46 season, before becoming a Basilian priest and then founding the Canada men's national ice hockey team in 1963.

Senior team

The Varsity Blues graduates were a successful OHA Senior A League team in the 1920s and 1930s. They won the

J. Ross Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...

as league champions in 1921, 1927, 1929, and 1930. Toronto also became Canadian national champions with their victories at the 1921 Allan Cup and the 1927 Allan Cup. During the

1920 Allan Cup The 1920 Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The curr ...

playoffs, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) president Frederick E. Betts expressed concerns that the Varsity Blues team had violated the rules by participating in both the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the

Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Can ...

(CIAU) playoffs. At the 1920 general meeting, the CAHA debated the issue and decided that the team was eligible for the Allan Cup.

1928 Winter Olympics

The University of Toronto Graduates as the 1927 Allan Cup champions were chosen to represent the Canada men's national team in ice hockey at the 1928 Winter Olympics. Conn Smythe coached the team during the OHA season, but refused to go to the Olympics due to disagreements on which players were added to the team by the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ( ...

. The Graduates went without Smythe, led by team captain Red Porter, and Olympic Committee member W. A. Hewitt, who oversaw the team's finances. The format of the Olympics hockey tournament saw the Canadians receive a bye into the second round, without any games in the first week. Despite the wait to play, the Graduates won all three games by scoring 38 goals and conceding none, to win the gold medal. 1928 Olympic roster: * Charles Delahaye * Franklyn Fisher * Louis Hudson * Herbert Plaxton * Hugh Plaxton * Roger Plaxton *John Primeau * Frank Sullivan * Joseph Sullivan * Ross Taylor * Dave Trottier Some sources show the names of Norbert Mueller and

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

as being on the Olympic roster, but those two names are not listed in the "Official" Olympic Winter Games guide.

Junior team

The Varsity Blues formerly operated a junior ice hockey team, that played in the OHA in the 1930s, but withdrew from the junior loop during the 1939–40 season. Former NHL players Hugh Plaxton, Dave Trottier and Dunc Munro all played for the Varsity Blues.

Season-by-season results

NHL alumni

List of

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

alumni involved with the Varsity Blues. (seasons in parentheses)

References

Sources

External links

Toronto Varsity Blues men's hockey websiteToronto Varsity Blues men's hockey history

{{Defunct OHL Ice hockey teams in Toronto University of Toronto U Sports men's ice hockey teams Toronto Varsity Blues Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally