Queen’s may not hold the record for most Vanier Cup wins, but part of the reason for that is because the program had some of its best years before the Vanier Cup existed (heck, they had a few good ones before Georges Vanier, former governor general of Canada and the man for whom the trophy was named, was even born). That’s what happens when you launch a football team in 1882.
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You know what else happens? Five moments like these:
1. Dec. 2, 1922: Just shy of 74 years before a certain Quebec-based team took the field for the first time, Queen’s wins its first of three consecutive Grey Cups, beating the Edmonton Elks 13–1 at home in Kingston.
2. Sept. 22, 1968: On the back of four touchdown passes by game MVP Don Baynes, the then-Golden Gaels defeat the Waterloo Lutheran (now Wilfrid Laurier) Golden Hawks 42–14 in the fourth-ever Vanier Cup to claim their first national title. Back then their game tapes looked like this:
3. Nov. 21, 1992: The dominant Queen’s defence blanks St. Mary’s, and the Gaels win 31–0 in the only shutout in Vanier Cup history. For his part in the team’s third national championship, defensive tackle Eric Dell receives the first-ever Bruce Coulter Award for the game’s best defensive player.
4. Nov. 14, 2009: Queen’s topples the mighty Western Mustangs in a 43–39 shootout to win its 23rd Yates Cup, giving the school a CIS-record 30 conference titles (they won seven Dunsmore Cups as a member of the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference between 1974 and 2000).
5. Nov. 28, 2009: Down 25–7 to Calgary at the half of the 45th Vanier Cup, Queen’s wideout Devan Sheahan caught a 60-yard TD pass at the start of the third quarter to get the Gaels back in the game. Queen’s went on to win 33–31 and claim its fourth Cup.
What did we miss? Fill in your favourite Queen’s football moments in the comments section below.