Windsor Royals (football)

(Redirected from Windsor Rockets)

The Windsor Royals were a football team from Windsor, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League and contested for the Grey Cup until the team folded after the 1952 season.[1]

Windsor Royals
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945)
Folded1952; 72 years ago (1952)
Based inWindsor, Ontario, Canada
Home fieldWindsor Stadium
Head coachJack Alexander (1952)
LeagueOntario Rugby Football Union
ColoursUnknown

History

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The Windsor football club first began as the Windsor Rockets in 1945 as a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union where they primarily played their home games out of Jackson Park.[2] They finished the 1945 season winless, and their fortunes would not improve by much over the course of their eight-year history. The club never finished above .500, never finished higher than 3rd place, and never qualified for the post-season. The team was known as the Rockets until 1950, when they were renamed the Windsor Royals.

On October 21, 1952, it was announced that the Windsor Royals had withdrawn from the ORFU, meaning that their three remaining games would be cancelled. The Royals had lost all nine games that season and had not won a game since 1950. As a result, attendance at games was dwindling, causing problems with funding and being able to pay players.[3] While there were plans to come back in 1953, those plans never came to fruition, and the Windsor football club folded after the 1952 season.

Seasons

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Season W L T PF PA Pts Finish Playoffs
1945 0 7 0 20 126 0 5th, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1946 3 7 0 61 138 6 5th, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1947 4 6 0 86 138 8 5th, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1948 0 8 1 40 245 1 4th, ORFU Missed playoffs
1949 5 7 0 142 108 10 3rd, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1950 2 6 0 52 176 4 3rd, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1951 0 10 0 27 286 0 4th, ORFU Missed Playoffs
1952 0 9 0 60 274 0 4th, ORFU Folded after nine games
  • The Windsor Royals were scheduled to play 12 games in 1952,[2] but the last three were canceled after the club withdrew from play. The Royals stopped competing in the ORFU after this season.

References

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  1. ^ "1952 Windsor Royals (ORFU)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Fathers, Ken (July 26, 1952). "Sports Chatter". The Windsor Daily Star. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Windsor Royals Withdraw from ORFU". The Montreal Gazette. October 22, 1952. Retrieved October 3, 2019.