On this day, December the 4th, in the year of 1909, the Grey Cup, Canadians Football’s main championship, equivalent to the Lombardi Trophy or the Stanley Cup, was first awarded.

Technically, while the University of Toronto was awarded the Grey Cup on this day in 1909, due to the then Governor General of Canada forgetting he made the promise to give the cup, it was not awarded to the team in March of the following year.

In its early years of being awarded, the Cup was primarily awarded to collegiate teams, as they dominated Canadian Football at the time. 

But by 1966, the game was so dominated by professional teams that it was only awarded to Canadian Football League Teams, a professional league (Canadian Football HOF) (Britannica).

To read more daily facts and tidbits, see the Barron Perspectives “On this Day Archives” webpage.