Battle of Alberta - Football

Football

The rivalry between the cities' professional Canadian football teams is equally intense, and even predates the hockey rivalries, as the first football games in Alberta history took place in the 1890s. A team from Edmonton made history as they played in the first football game in Alberta, playing to a scoreless tie against Clover Bar. The first game played between teams from Edmonton and Calgary took place in 1891 when Edmonton beat Calgary 6-5 in a total point challenge series.

The rivalry had been diminished for a number of years until the Calgary City Rugby Foot-ball Club and the Edmonton Rugby Foot-ball Club were formed in 1906 and 1907 respectively where the two teams competed in the Alberta Rugby Football Union. In 1908, the teams were re-organized as the Calgary Tigers and Edmonton Esquimaux where the Esquimaux won the ARFU title that year. From then on, the two cities had multiple teams represent them in the Alberta Union, but instability led to a lack of consistent rivalry battle between the two. Teams named the Calgary Canucks, Calgary 50th Battalion, Calgary-Altomah Tigers, Edmonton Elks, Edmonton Eskimos, and Edmonton Boosters all took turns playing in the ARFU. It wasn't until the creation of the Western Interprovincial Football Union that a truly sustained rivalry could take place between two teams representing the two cities.