Galt FC (Canada)
Founded in 1881
(Although it has been cited that they were founded in 1882 in some places), the
football club Galt FC was based in the Ontario, Canada. Back in the early
1900’s there was no national league that Galt FC competed in so they would go
on tours to play their football matches. There was, however, the Ontario Cup,
which the won on three occasions in their short history. The first success came
in 1901 and was quickly followed up with a second success in the competition
the next year, 1902. In fact, the club won the trophy on three occasions, all
in a row as they picked up their third Ontario cup in 1903. As a result of
their success the club decided to go on a tour of Manitoba. In twenty-five
days, the club managed to win sixteen of the seventeen games they played,
drawing the other one. Remarkably on that tour they only conceded two goals,
scoring 46 in reply.
Again, this success
didn’t go unnoticed, and they club were chosen to represent Canada at the 1904
Olympic games that were being held in St Louis, USA. Only having to play two
games, both against American sides, they won them both comfortably, winning 7-0
against the Christiaan Brothers College and beating St Rose 4-0 respectively.
John Gourlay captained the side that took home the gold medal for Canada. This
success drew even more attention to soccer in Canada and a match against an
English side touring Canada at the time, named The Pilgrims, was set up. The
Pilgrims were an amateur touring football side who would regularly visit Canada
and the US to play football matches. They were led by a man named Fred Milnes,
who came from a wealthy family. This enabled him to sign only amateur forms
when signing for a football club, which enabled him to play for whoever he
liked. He set up The Pilgrims FC and spent most of their time playing in the
US. This game, against Galt FC, had caught the imagination of the public and
was dubbed ‘The Championship of The World’ by the media, after Galt’s success
in the Olympic games. The game itself was played at Dickson Park, in front of
an estimated crod of 3,500 and it ended in an exciting 3-3 draw.
As said before,
there was no official championship in Canada at the time but that didn’t stop
the side from declaring themselves as one when they defeated Montreal Westmount
in two games in 1905. The first game was
held in Montreal on the 13th of June when Galt ran out 2-1 winners.
The second fixture which took place on Galt on the 3rd of July, saw
Galt win 2-1 again. In both games, the same names appeared on the scoresheet
for the Ontario side. Players Fred Steep and Alexander Hall both scored one
goal each in both games.
Unfortunately,
that’s where the story ends with Galt FC, and the club disappeared after 1910.
During my research I found an excellent article written up by Canadian Soccer
History blogger, (Insert Name), with details of all the players that
played for Galt FC throughout the history and even the years they played, with
details on some of the players. Here are some of the selected few, with a few
details to go with them,
Albert Ernest
Linton, born in Scotland, who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in
World War One. George Ducker was an Englishman who played for Galt at
full-back. Somewhat of a traditional old school defender who would not be
afraid to give you a kick. John B. Gourlay, another full-back and captain of
the side that won gold at the Olympic games in St Louis. Albert Johnston played
in a position that was known as half-back, which in modern football would be
seen as a wing-back. I say this because the description of his playing style
was that he was quick and nimble and covered a lot of ground. Robert ‘Bobby’
George Lane was another half-back who seemed like an all-rounder and extremely
fit as he played numerous sports like rugby and lacrosse. Thomas Taylor played
a right wing and was considered to be, by reports back then, the star of the
Galt FC side. Otto Christman was a midfielder, although not much was known
about him. Fred Steep, the man who scored in the two games against Montreal
Westmount. He captained various other clubs in Canada, but most notably was
part of the Galt FC side that won the Olympic gold medal. William Twaits was
another player who seemed to excel at other sports, with hockey being one of
them. He was offered numerous professional contracts from hockey sides but
turned them down to stay at home, where he played with Galt FC. Albert
Henderson was another player who was apart of the Olympic gold medal winning
team. John ‘Jack’ Fraser was a half-back but in reports it is said he could
play in any position making him the original utility man. Finally, Alexander
Hall, the other goalscorer in the games against Montreal Westmount. Another
Scottish national who went on to play for Newcastle United, Sheffield
Wednesday, Dundee and Dunfermline Athletic. He was only a teenager when a part
of the Galt FC side being that won the Olympic gold medal. He went on to manage
Dunfermline as well as winning the Scottish cup with Dundee in the 1909-10
season.
Interviewing Andy
Wilson, creator and editor of the Canadian Soccer History Archives and online
magazine Canadian Soccer Sentinel, he gave me an insight to this old club and
Canadian soccer in general. He is constantly promoting the game over in Canada
and his online magazine is something, that if you have interest in football in
different leagues and countries around the world, then this one is one to read
and follow as Andy knows his stuff. Here is what he had to say.
Thank you for
directing me in the way of Galt FC and their history. Can I ask, how or when
did you find out about them?
Andy: When I moved over to Canada from England in
2009 I was trying to find out more about Canadian soccer and was astounded to
find that the history was huge and yet it was virtually impossible to find
anything. I started to research it myself and came across them purely by chance
during one of my scattergun searches.
You clearly have a
passion for soccer, but is it hard to maintain that passion in a country where
it is not the dominant sport?
Andy: My passion for football will always be
there. Being born and raised on Merseyside it is ingrained in you. My first
ever match was standing on the Kop at Anfield and my first wage packet bought
my first season ticket to our local club, Tranmere Rovers, so it will always be
my passion. The passion for soccer in Canada is there and is only growing. The
emergence of the Canadian Men’s team and the gold medal for the Women have
helped immeasurably to grow the fan base. Put that with the formation of the
Canadian Premier League and the fa base is growing. Hockey will always be the
number 1 sport but football is huge.
Canadian football is
on the up, with the foundation of the Canadian Premier League in 2019 proving
that. Where do you see the sport going in the next few years and what do you
think can be done to get more people involved in it?
Andy: The immediate hopes for the game is,
obviously, World Cup qualification. We are top of the Octagonal tournament and
unbeaten but there is still a lot of minutes to be played yet. Another big hope
is that the women’s game gets a professional league. It’s such a shame that we
only get to see our top women’s players on TV for the most part. Personally, y hope
is that there becomes solid growth of a pyramid. We have step 1 with the CPL
and MLS but no step 2 and only step 3 leagues in Ontario and Quebec. BC launch
a step 3 league this summer and step 4 and below is massive on a local level.
Canada are
co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, so I can only imagine the excitement that is
building up over there. What can we expect from Canada as a host country and do
you have hopes that the national team can compete at the tournament?
Andy: We are proving that we are more than
capable at CONCACAF level and it would be amazing to see us compete against
others. I firmly believe we could hold our own against a good number of
countries. Canada were the most improved country in the world in 2021 and have
risen to 40th in the FIFA rankings. On an excitement level, there
really isn’t much at present as everyone has their eyes on this World Cup
qualifying campaign. Once Qatar is out the way, we will be more excited.
Galt FC are one of
the oldest clubs to feature in this book, being founded in the late 1800’s and
dissolving in 1910. Do you know why they dissolved and disappeared?
Andy: Unfortunately, after such a short and
storied existence the disappearance of Galt is still quite the mystery. All
that I really know is that they were dissolved in 1910. There is no mention of
how and why that I have found (yet).
Can you ever see
Galt FC appearing again in some shape or form in Canadian soccer? There are
only eight teams now in the Premier League, surely there is going to be expansion?
Andy: Galt
is now known as Cambridge. If the CPL expands there maybe they will use the
name? I don’t know. There is a youth team known as Galt but I’m unsure if they
are eve still around to be honest. For me, the name should be left alone as one
of those glorious teams in history.
Do you have any
interesting fact about Galt FC that you discovered in your research of them?
Andy: One fascinating thing about them was that,
they won the 1904 Olympic gold medal, although there were no medals presented.
Just as fascinating is that there were a few other Canadian teams due to take
part and one of the reasons for teams withdrawing other than money was that
they were always getting beaten by Galt so didn’t see it worth their while to
travel to St Louis. They were pretty much the Invincibles of their time. They
even did a tour of the neighboring province of Manitoba in 1903 and only
conceded 2 goals in 17 matches winning 16 and drawing 1 0-0.
One of the older
clubs that feature in the book, but still one of the most intriguing. Even
without a national league to compete in Galt still made an impression and could
very be known as the pioneers of Canadian soccer. I would imagine their Olympic
win spiked a big interest in soccer over there a d may have had other dominant
sports like hockey looking over their shoulders. Unfortunately, it seems as
though Galt couldn’t capitalise on their success or sustain it and were game in
gone just a quickly as they appeared. The were, however, placed in the Canadian
soccer hall of fame in 2004, a century after bringing home the Olympic gold
medal. While Canadian soccer is on the rise at the moment, with three clubs
from Canada competing in the MLS, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and the Vancouver
Whitecaps, the formation of the Canadian Premier League in 2019 was a huge step
forward for a country looking to host the world cup in 2026. Things can only
progress in the country that is dominated by hockey and basketball. With
currently only eight teams competiting in the Canadian Premier League, maybe
there will be room for Galt FC to make a surprise return and add to that gold
medal triumph that will always make them a part of Canadian soccer history.