Kingston, Ont. (February 5, 2009) - The 105th anniversary of the first Canadian university basketball game played in Canada takes place on Friday. The first organized intercollegiate hoops contest was played in Kingston, Ont., between McGill and Queen's on Feb. 6, 1904. McGill defeated the Gaels 9-7 in overtime.

Queen's, is currently fifth in the Ontario conference with a 6-11 record, and will mark the anniversary with a road game on Friday against Laurentian in Sudbury, Ont. The Gaels are still looking to improve their playoff position and snap a six game losing streak, while the Voyageurs hope to play spoiler as they are eliminated from the playoffs currently in seventh with a 2-15 record. The anniversary game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:00pm.

Unfortunately, the current edition of the McGill Redmen will not be participating this weekend as they have a bye in the Quebec league.

A brief newspaper account of the first hoops game was published in the Queen's University Journal (Vol. 31, No. 7) on Feb. 16, 1904 as follows:

"The first of the Canadian Intercollegiate basket-ball matches was played on Saturday between McGill and Queen's. It is to be hoped that this will become a permanent feature, for the more we brush up against our sister Colleges the more we will sympathize with each other."

"An inter-collegiate basket-ball match, between Queen's and McGill, was played in the YMCA gymnasium on Saturday, February 6th. McGill won out by the score of 9 to 7. There was a good attendance of spectators, as the game is quite popular among the students. The match was a good exhibition and was keenly contested. At half-time the score was 4 to 3, in favor of McGill. In the second half Queen's played up and managed to tie the score. At full time the result was 7 to 7. After 10 minutes extra play McGill scored the winning goal. For Queen's Warren did the most effective work, while A. Ross was the most conspicuous on the McGill team."

Basketball was invented James Naismith, a former student and athlete at McGill, in December of 1891. An inaugural inductee to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, Naismith graduated from McGill among the top 10 in his class with a B.A. Honours in 1887.

He later taught physical education and became McGill's first director of athletics before accepting a position at the YMCA College in Springfield, Mass., where he devised the rules to basketball in 1891. Naismith also tested the first football helmet and played in the first indoor football game. A native of Ramsay Township near Almonte, Ont., Naismith was born on Nov. 16, 1861 and died in Lawrence, Kansas on Nov. 28, 1939.


SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill University Athletics