Team : Tug of War
International Champions
Year Inducted : Legacy

Eight years before the unique sport of tug of war entered the Summer Olympics and was part of the Games’ program from 1900 to 1920, the strongman sport was a key part of Ottawa’s sporting history.

Tug of war, a popular contest at local exhibitions and fairs as well as church, community and family socials, may have reached its apex in Ottawa in January, 1892, when a national competition was held in the Drill Hall at Cartier Square, which opened only three years earlier.

The four-day, six-team tussle received great publicity before and during the event. The Eastern Canadian team was comprised of seven of Ottawa’s strongest men—captain A.H.H. Powell, R. Kenny, R. Miller, A. Holtby, H. Woodburn, W. Mills and J. Crawford.

Their opponents were the French Canadian team and English, German, Irish and Scottish immigrant sides. A national society sponsored each of the six teams. For example, the English sponsor was the Sons of England.

Each team pulled every night and every match had a 15-minute time limit. On the night of the final, The Ottawa Evening Journal reported 700 spectators crammed into the Drill Hall to hear the 43rd Battalion band perform and watch the Eastern Canadian team go head-to-head with the group of German immigrants.

The Ottawa team claimed victory in the Big Tug, when it scored a gallant victory over the lighter German squad.

An oak-framed photo of the Ottawa team with its pit bull mascot is in the Gloucester Museum.