A Meeting at the Russell House
On September 19, 1876, thirty-four men gathered at the Russell House hotel to formally establish the Ottawa Football Club. Lumberman Allan Gilmour was named the club’s first president, lending the fledgling organization some serious local credibility right from the start.
It’s the kind of civic moment that’s easy to overlook a century and a half later, but it marks the true beginning of organized football in Ottawa.
Dressed to Play
Even before the club had taken the field, its founders had style on their minds. Jerseys and stockings in cerise and French grey were already on order from England, paired with navy blue knickerbocker trousers.
It’s a small detail, but it says a lot about how seriously Ottawans took their new club from day one.
A Winning Debut
The new club didn’t have to wait long to test itself. The very next Saturday after its founding, Ottawa faced off against the Aylmer Football Club in a hard-fought ninety-minute match.
Ottawa came out on top, giving the club a winning start to a history that would stretch on for generations.
Looking Back a Century and a Half Later
There’s something fitting about a city as sports-loving as Ottawa tracing its football roots back a full 150 years. From that first meeting at the Russell House to today’s cheering crowds, the spirit of that founding gathering still echoes through the city’s love of the game.
So if you catch a football game this week, whether on a local field or on TV, it’s worth raising a mental toast to the thirty-four Ottawans who started it all back in 1876.