From the Year Book of the Ontario Agriculture College and Macdonald Hall
Volume 1, 1914
The history of college athletics dates back to its foundation in 1874. Track and field meets have been held each year from the first, but it was not until 1892 that an Athletic Association was organized. At that time, the regular course last until the end of June, and the meets were held in the spring term. The first organized meet was held in June 1892, and it is worthy of note that the running broad jump record made at that time by S. Curzon still remains unbroken.
The policy of this Association has been and is, to encourage athletic sports, to promote physical culture, to maintain an amateur standing and to provide rational amusement and recreation for its members. At no time has the association fallen short of its objective. It may be that certain branches of sport have received more attention than others, but this has been due to some branches being generally recognized as more popular than others.
The fees of the association have gradually risen from 25 cents at its organization until it now stands at $4.00. Although the fee is voluntary, practically every student becomes a member. It is the loyalty along with the efficient work of many executives, which has put the association in the lead of all college societies. Rugby has always received great attention. Even at the beginning the college had a championship team. In 1888, the O.A.C. team won from Upper Canada College, Trinity, Toronto Seconds and the Guelph Rugby Club, but finally went down to defeat at the hands of Varsity 1st. In 1891, soccer football took the lead, but lost out after six years. Rugby has been played with varying degrees of success ever since. In 1906, the championship fourteen brought the Western College Association Trophy to O.A.C. Six years later, the Junior Intercollegiate Championship was won (1912) and a very close game was played for the Junior Dominion Championship. Thus rugby has been rewarded.
Hockey has always held a prominent place in athletics, but as a covered rink has not been readily available our teams lacked practice. General skating, however, in the years 1911, 12, 13 has been provided for the students by renting one of the town rinks for one night per week and has proved a great success. Hockey and skating will become even more popular now, as the students have cooperatively built a rink that will facilitate matters considerably.
The indoor baseball team each year enters the City League and has performed very creditably.
Intermediate Intercollegiate Basketball is the classic served up by the basketball team. Though no championships have been won, the O.A.C. standard is a fast one. Swimming and water polo have received considerable attention, but since the winning of the championship in 1912, polo has made remarkable strides. The annual Field Day is the gala day of the fall term. The last few years have brought to light many individual athletes and have tended to bring several ordinary athletes to a high state of development and efficiency. The freshmen indoor meet, the athletic concert, boxing and wrestling contests make athletics popular during the winter term.
In the fall of 1911 intercollegiate competition was opened with our sister Agricultural College at St. Anne. In the spring term of the following year, St. Anne teams came to O.A.C. to contest hockey, basketball and baseball and each year since one college has visited the other alternately. The spoils have been won for the greater part by the O.A.C.
Nor must the college gymnasium be forgotten, being an invaluable asset to athletics. The large gym floor is provided with all modern gymnastic apparatus. The swimming pool, showers and boxing rooms are popular resorts with all the boys in attendance. Is it any wonder then that with all the machinery, which the Athletic Association has provided, that college athletics is improving each year?
Inter-year competition seems to create more excitement than any other, but it has been discouraged in rugby because of the number of injuries received by the ofteninexperienced players. In the other sports, the games are closely contested and greater interest is aroused.
The machinery of the whole association is managed by an executive consisting of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Athletic Instructor and two representatives from each year, except the third, which is represented by the Vice-President and the Treasurer. Besides the executive there is a manager for each branch of sport, generally a member of the Junior Faculty. Loyalty, efficient management and executive work are the keynotes to the success of the Athletic Association.
What is a Gryphon?
The Gryphon is a fabulous animal, symbolically significant for its domination of both the earth and the sky; because of its lion's body and eagle's head and wings. It has typological antecedents in ancient Asia, especially in the Assyrian k'rub, which is also the source of the Hebrew cherub. The frequent representations of gryphon-like creatures in Persian art made them symbolize ancient Persia for the Jews. In Greece, the gryphon was a symbol of vigilant strength; Apollo rode one, and gryphons guarded the gold of the Hyperboreans of the far north. The gryphon was also an embodiment of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, and turned her wheel of fortune. In legend the creature was a symbol of superbia (arrogant pride), because Alexander the Great was said to have tried to fly on the backs of gryphons to the edge of the sky. At first it was portrayed as a satanic figure entrapping human souls, the creature later became (from Dante onward) a symbol of the dual nature (divine and human) of Jesus Christ, precisely because of its mastery of earth and sky. The solar associations of both the lion and the eagle favored this positive reading. The gryphon thus, became the adversary of serpents and basilisks, both of which were seen as embodiments of satanic demons. Even Christ's Ascension came to be associated with the gryphon. The creature appeared as frequently in the applied arts (tapestries, the work of goldsmiths) as in heraldry. It is the emblem of the hero. This was partially due to the gryphons' duel nature. As Sir Thomas Browne said "[The Gryphon is] an Emblem of valour and magnanimity, as being compounded of the Eagle and the Lion, the noblest Animals in their kinds... ". In the latter domain, Boeckler (1688) offered the following interpretation: " Gryphons are portrayed with a lion's body, an eagle's head, long ears, and an eagle's claws, to indicate that one must combine intelligence and strength. " The Gryphon also represents speed and majesty.
