Whether for fitness, competition or just plain fun, sports have been, and remain, a significant part of the lives of Ontarians. Many of us remember our own individual moments of triumph and defeat as participants in amateur sports, whether in school gym class, playing on a local team, or participating in tournaments and competitions held at the nearest ice rink, field, pool, court, track, fairway or slopes. Many of us remember heading out to root for the home team, perhaps to support a family member or friend who was playing. Let us take a step into the near and more distant past as we explore what sports were played across Ontario, who participated in them, how they dressed and what equipment they used. Join with the Archives of Ontario in remembering our athletic heritage.

Before Aerobics, there was…

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Picton Collegiate girls’ callisthenics class, [ca. 1910]
Marsden Kemp fonds
Reference Code: C 130-1-0-23-92
Archives of Ontario, I0003909

Marsden Kemp, an amateur photographer who lived in Kingston and Picton, Ontario, created this photograph. Kemp was known to travel Eastern Ontario by bicycle to capture his images.

Many of Kemp’s photographs were reproduced from glass plate negatives, which were salvaged by a Picton antique dealer in the 1960’s.

Sweep, Hurry Hard!!

This photograph along with others was maintained and indexed in a photo library by the Photography Branch of the Department of Travel and Publicity and was used to market, advertise and promote tourism in Ontario.

This branch also acted as the official government photographer for other ministries lacking their own photography operations.

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Curling at the Huntsville Curling Club, 1960
Department of Travel and Publicity,
Publicity Branch
Reference Code: RG 65-35-3, 11764-X4124-1
Archives of Ontario, I0005717

And they're off!

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Hurdle race, with unidentified Penman family
member third from the right, 1929
Penman Family fonds
Reference Code: F 181-6-0-5
Archives of Ontario, I0006658

An unidentified Penman family member (third from the right) flies over the first hurdle of a senior hurdles race.

The Penman family built and operated woollen mills in Ontario during the nineteenth century including the Penman Mill in Paris, Ontario, which grew into a large multi-factory operation.

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Winter scene of a Penman Family Factory
at Paris, Ontario, [between 188-? and 19--?]
Photographer Unknown.
Penman Family fonds
Black and white print
Reference Code: F 181-7-0-2,
Archives of Ontario, I0006655

Locked in Battle

Amateur boxing got its start in Canada during the 1890’s. The sport made a name for itself nationally when six Canadian boxers attended the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium and came away with five medals.

The creator of this photograph, William Hampden Tenner, was a farmer located between the Ontario towns of Emo and Devlin in Rainy River District.

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A boxing match, Fort Frances, Ontario, [ca. 1900] (detail)
William Hampden Tenner fonds
Reference Code: C 311-1-0-4-1
Archives of Ontario, I0002336

Going for the five hole

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Boys from Moose Factory playing hockey in a winter camp. Beaver pelts hanging in background, 1959
John Macfie fonds
Reference Code: C 330-13-0-0-127
Archives of Ontario, I0000454

The Moose Cree First Nation originally inhabited the area now known as Moose Factory. In 1673, The Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post there, which eventually became the administrative centre of their James Bay or southern department. The name of the area is partially derived from its location on the Moose River and it is Ontario’s oldest English settlement.

Although the origins of ice hockey is often debated, many believe that it was derived from a game called ricket played by the Micmac First Nation in Nova Scotia. The first aboriginal player in the National Hockey League was Fred Sasakamoose, who played for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953.

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