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Saint Mary's Huskies banner.1956-2000
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Saint Mary's University (SMU) resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Saint Mary first documented game was in 1933, and they first fielded a football program in 1942 in which they were first known as a high school. Before the beginning of the 1944 season, Saint Mary's High School was starting to be known as Saint Mary's College and during those times, they were a part of the Halifax High School Canadian Football League (HHSCFL) until the end of the 1947 season. The next significant year in Saint Mary's history was in 1952 when the executives at the school decided that they want to be known as a university rather than a college, so from that year going forwards Saint Mary's College was now known as Saint Mary's University.3
The 1951 Saint Mary's football team.Circa 1951
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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SMU first season in the modern era was in 1956, when they went undefeated in the Nova Scotia Junior Football League, and won the Maritime Championship against St. Thomas University of New Brunswick 33-20 (the combined score of SMU during the regular season was 147-41). With the Maritime championship, SMU became the first team from Atlantic Canada to engage in a national championship tournament.In the tournament, SMU lost to the NDH Maple Leafs that resided from Montreal in one of the national semi-final 56-0. Even though SMU lost, they impressed students and the players from Montreal with their dedication, with their team full of students. The Santamarian, a SMU student newspaper states that 1956 was a year to remember for all the good reasons.
The next significant season was during 1958, when SMU decided to join the junior Maritime Intercollegiate Football League (MIFL) and participated in the Nova Scotia division. In the inaugural championship game against the University of New Brunswick (UNB), SMU went on to lose the game 36-3.
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The next significant season in SMU history was in 1960 when they decided to participate in the Atlantic Football Conference (AFC) 'B' section. Some universities that were in this section were Acadia and St. Francis Xavier (StFX) just to name a few.During the 1962 season, SMU was promoted to the 'A' section of the AFC, until the end of the 1965 season. During their time within the AFC, the Huskies went to win their first championships, both during the 1964 season. During the 1964 season, SMU won their first Jewett Trophy for being the best team in Atlantic Canada. During that season, the Huskies ended the 47 game winning streak of the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. With the streak ended and with the championship in hand, the Huskies went on to the play in their first ever Atlantic Bowl where they played the McMaster Marauders in Halifax. In this game, SMU went on to win their first Atlantic Bowl when they defeated McMaster 15-1. Since their was no national championship that season, SMU was champions for Eastern Canada.
In the next season (1965), a new conference was formed with Acadia, Mount Allison, and StFX just to name a few, and this conference was known to be as the Bluenose Football Conference. Also during this season, SMU won their second straight Jewett Trophy for once again being the best team in Atlantic Canada. Now regularly, the winner of the Jewett Trophy would go on to play in the Atlantic Bowl, but there was no Atlantic Bowl this season. For the rest of the 1960s, SMU went on to win one more Jewett Trophy, which was in 1968. This was the last time SMU won any sort of championship until the 1971 season in which they won two straight Jewett Trophies for being the best team in Atlantic Canada.
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The 1964 Atlantic Bowl champions.Circa 1964
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Some people considered the best season in the 20th century for the Huskies occurred during the 1973 season, in which they won their first ever Canadian College Bowl Championship (now known as the Vanier Cup). Before they got to the Canadian College Bowl, SMU won their third straight Jewett Trophy when they defeated the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Panthers 28-7, (this was the first time in which the Jewett Trophy was played for instead of being the best team) and went on to play in their third straight Atlantic Bowl championship in which the Huskies played the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks. Unlike the last time, SMU and Wilfrid Laurier met in the Atlantic Bowl (Wilfrid Laurier defeated SMU in 1972 by the score 50-17), this was a different outcomefor the Huskies. SMU won this season's Atlantic Bowl in a close game by the score of 19-17. With that win SMU went on to play in their first ever Canadian College Bowl against McGill University, in which SMU won by the score of 14-6.The last championship in the 1970s in which the Huskies won was in 1974 when they won their fourth straight Jewett Trophy when they defeated the Acadia Axemen 22-7. Also this was the first season in which they join the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association (AUAA) with Acadia, St. Francis Xavier, and Mount Allison.
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Roster for Saint Mary's in the 1973 Canadian College Bowl.24 November 1973
Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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The next time in which SMU won another championship was during the 1987 season in which they captured their eighth Jewett Trophy when they once again defeated Acadia 30-23, but lost to McGill in that season's Atlantic Bowl. The next season in 1988, SMU won their second straight Jewett Trophy as they once again defated Acadia. In this season's Atlantic Bowl, SMU won that game 44-10 when they defeated Bishop's University and with that win, the Huskies went on to their second straight Vanier Cup against the Calgary Dinos, and unfortunately for SMU, Calgary won that game 52-23.10
Game Program for the 1988 Vanier Cup.19 November 1988
Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Game action of the 1988 Vanier Cup.19 November 1988
Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Lewko Hryhorijiw
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Game action of the 1988 Vanier Cup.19 November 1988
Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Credits:Lewko Hryhorijiw
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The Huskies won their third straight Jewett Trophy championship when they once again defeated Acadia 46-3, and went on to play in their third straight Atlantic Bowl in which SMU lost to the Western Mustangs 38-33. The next season (1990), the Huskies went on to win another Jewett Trophy (their 11th in school history), when they defeated the Mount Allison Mounties 43-8 and went to another Atlantic Bowl where they had a rematch against Western. In this championship game, SMU got their revenge when they beat Western 31-30 and went to another Vanier Cup where they played the Saskatchewan Huskies, and unfortunately for SMU they lost another Vanier Cup by the score of 24-21.14
Roster for the 1990 Vanier Cup.24 November 1990
Skydome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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