The Hamilton Alerts were a Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

-rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team based in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union

Ontario Rugby Football Union

The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...

 from 1911 to 1912. The club won the 4th Grey Cup

4th Grey Cup

The 4th Grey Cup was played on November 30, 1912, before 5,337 fans at A.A.A. Grounds at Hamilton.The Hamilton Alerts defeated the Toronto Argonauts 11 to 4....

 in 1912

1912 in Canadian football

-Canadian Football News in 1912:The Regina Rugby Club adopted the colours of the Canadian contingent in the Spanish-American War – red and black.The Hamilton Alerts were suspended by the ORFU on November 23 for flaunting the authority of the Union. The Toronto Rowing and Athletic Club had protested...

, becoming the first ever team from Hamilton to win the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 and the first team from the ORFU to win the Cup.

History

While the club won the Grey Cup

4th Grey Cup

The 4th Grey Cup was played on November 30, 1912, before 5,337 fans at A.A.A. Grounds at Hamilton.The Hamilton Alerts defeated the Toronto Argonauts 11 to 4....

 in 1912, but not without controversy. The Alerts were suspended by the Ontario Rugby Football Union

Ontario Rugby Football Union

The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...

 on November 23, 1912, one week before the Grey Cup game, after questioning the Union's authority. After the Toronto Rowing and Athletic Club protested a questionable penalty call in a Hamilton Alert's victory, the ORFU ordered the Alerts to replay the game on November 23. The Alerts lost the rematch 39-7, mainly because they used backups while the main squad played the Hamilton Tigers

Hamilton Tigers (football)

The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in...

 in a regularly scheduled match - which the Alerts won 12-8. The Alerts proceeded to defeat the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 in the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 the following week.

The Alerts tried to rejoin the ORFU with a formal request on September 6, 1913, but were denied reinstatement. This, along with the previous season's indiscretion, led many players to join the Hamilton Tigers

Hamilton Tigers (football)

The Hamilton Tigers were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1883 to 1906 and 1948 to 1949 and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1907 to 1947. The club was a founding member of both the ORFU in 1883 and the IRFU in...

 of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in time for the 1913 season. What was left of the Alerts operated separately from any union for several years until they disbanded altogether.

ORFU season-by-season

Season	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs
1911 1911 in Canadian football -Canadian Football News in 1911:Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta Unions formed the Western Canada Rugby Football Union on October 21. The Regina Rugby Club changed its colours to blue and white. Winnipeg realtor Hugo Ross donated the championship trophy bearing his name; he subsequently drowned...	5	5	0	151	25	10	1st, ORFU	Lost East Semi-Final
1912 1912 in Canadian football -Canadian Football News in 1912:The Regina Rugby Club adopted the colours of the Canadian contingent in the Spanish-American War – red and black.The Hamilton Alerts were suspended by the ORFU on November 23 for flaunting the authority of the Union. The Toronto Rowing and Athletic Club had protested...	4	3	1	85	54	6	1st, ORFU	Won 4th Grey Cup 4th Grey Cup The 4th Grey Cup was played on November 30, 1912, before 5,337 fans at A.A.A. Grounds at Hamilton.The Hamilton Alerts defeated the Toronto Argonauts 11 to 4....