Montreal, city of sports? | What was Montreal’s golden age?

Comparing eras is a perilous exercise. Knowing this, it is with full knowledge of the facts that we throw ourselves headfirst into the trap. What was the golden age of sport in Montreal? The Press surveyed luminaries in the history of sport in Quebec.

Before the First World War: the birth of a sport

The first “official” hockey tournament took place in 1883 during a winter carnival in Montreal, while the National Hockey League (NHL) was founded in the Quebec metropolis in 1917. This is why Michel Vigneault, lecturer at UQAM in the science of physical activity department and sports historian, targets the turn of the XX^e century as the golden age of sport in Montreal.

“Montreal was the center of Canadian sport. This is where all the sports started, recalls Mr. Vigneault. Canadian football, lacrosse, hockey… Everything is organized by the Anglophone bourgeois elite and it’s amateurish. We play for fun. »

It is also at this time that we observe a transformation in the presence of sport in society.

Since the sport was not as organized at the time, it is difficult to rely on data such as crowds or championships to quantify the popularity of the sport in Montreal. For what it’s worth, however, note that the Canadian won the first of his 24 Stanley Cups in 1916.

Post-WWII: The Rocket and the Royals

The definition of “the golden age” is unique to each. For those who see it as the time when Montreal was a pole of influence, like Michel Vigneault about the 19^e century, the years following the Second World War were another pivotal period.

This is argued by Christian Trudeau, professor of economics at the University of Windsor and editor of the Canadian Baseball Review.

“I don’t know if you can call it a ‘hub’, but Montreal was briefly very important for black baseball,” said Mr. Trudeau, in an email to The Press. Sure, Jackie Robinson put Montreal in America’s eye in 1946, but the Royals continued to host some of the best black players. Several veterans of the Negro Leagues also found themselves in Quebec. »

“Jackie Robinson arrived, the Royals were good, and it was the debut of Maurice Richard and the Punch Line. And Léo Dandurand founded the Alouettes. It was like an embryo of a golden age,” adds Patrick Carpentier, sports history buff and member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

This period coincides with a renaissance of the Canadiens. In 1944, the CH put an end to an 11-year drought without a Stanley Cup, the longest lethargy in its history before the current one since 1993. The Habs also won in 1946, the year the Alouettes were founded, who lifted their first Cup. Gray three years later.

It was the Royals who enjoyed the most success, however, winning five International League championships between 1946 and 1953.

Not to mention professional wrestling. Yvon Robert is then one of the sports headliners in Montreal. Wrestlers like Lou Thesz and Gorgeous George, great American stars, regularly arrive in town.

This period ends with a technological breakthrough. “The media are always linked to strong moments, insists Paul-André Linteau. Another strong moment occurs when the televising of the matches begins, in 1952. It creates a new accessibility, because it was not everyone who could go to the Forum. Before, people had access to sport through the newspaper. There, it was by television. »

End of 1970: the explosion

Talk to a sports fan in his fifties, or wiser, and he’ll tell you about the exciting period that began with the 1976 Summer Games.

In summary :

– The Canadian wins four Stanley Cups in a row, carried by Guy Lafleur, the most spectacular player of his time;

– The Expos play for over .500 for the first time in their history in 1979, and will make the playoffs for the first and only time in 1981;

– The Alouettes won the Gray Cup in 1977 and reached the final in 1978 and 1979;

– Montreal hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1978, a race won by Gilles Villeneuve;

– In 1980, the Olympic Stadium hosted its first and only boxing gala, marked by a final between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard;

– The Montreal Marathon was organized for the first time in 1979;

– The Montreal Manic has been attracting soccer fans to the Olympic Stadium since 1981.

“In my opinion, there was an effervescence, a fever of sport, remembers Alain Usereau, analyst of baseball games at RDS. The events were very popular. But we tend to idealize our memories of adolescence and I am perfectly aware of it. I’m probably going to die thinking that Ellis Valentine is one of the finest talents on Earth! »

The Olympic Stadium acts as a link between many of these events, but that’s not all. “It is the development of Montreal Journalwhich devoted half of its pages to sport, which commercializes interest in sport,” argues historian Paul-André Linteau.

But from Villeneuve to the Canadiens, via the Expos and the Alouettes, everyone is enjoying success at the same time. “Montréal is a city of winners. If the team doesn’t win, people don’t come,” recalls Michel Vigneault.

This era was as fruitful as it was short.

However, Michel Vigneault recalls a legacy from this period: the diversification of participatory sport. “With the Olympic Games, we discovered a package of sports. All the little girls wanted to become Nadia Comaneci. The clubs were overwhelmed. It introduced handball, volleyball, cycling. »

And now ?

Sporting Montreal today is obviously dominated by the Canadiens, even if the results on the ice make one wonder where this hegemony can come from.

The Alouettes, CF Montreal and the Carabins share the summer and part of the fall. In terms of championships, the Alouettes (three times) and the Impact (three times) have won trophies since the Stanley Cup in 1993, but nothing since the Gray Cup in 2010, with the exception of the Carabins, winners in the Vanier Cup in 2014.

Added to this are the short-lived events such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the National Bank Open and the Grand Prix Cycliste, as well as preparatory games for the Blue Jays and the Raptors that drew crowds.

“Montreal is not a small city. But we have built a cultural environment, unlike other cities, observes Alain Usereau. In Cincinnati, there is not much to do. Montreal still has its appeal, but may be a victim of the expansion of activities. It also has its flaws, but that’s true for all other cities. I was in Chicago during the 2016 World Series, and there were as many gun deaths in one weekend as in a full year in Montreal! »