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Looking Back On The Ontario Cup - Small Town, Big Results

By OSA News, 06/23/15, 2:00PM EDT

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The Ontario Cup has entered its 100th year of competition. To mark the occassion, the Ontario Soccer Association is running stories throughout the summer of interesting clubs, teams and events that have happened throughout the Ontario Cup's colourful history.

The third installment looks at the Seaforth Hurons. 

Even though they hailed from the small township of Seaforth in Western Ontario (with a current population of only 2,500), the Hurons were amongst the top teams in the 1890's and early 1900's. They played as part of the Western Football Association (WFA), an enormous body started in 1880 with David Forsyth - affectionately known by many as the father of Canadian Soccer.

The WFA, according to their constitution, was composed of: "All Clubs west of Toronto, playing Association Rule and composed exclusively of Amateurs, shall be eligible for membership."

Playing in this Association, the Hurons would regularly come up against the might of Galt FC, but they held their own, winning five WFA Challenge Cups between 1891 and 1906.

But it was 1905 that would be considered a particularly good year for the Hurons, as not only did they capture the WFA Challenge Cup, they won the Spring Ontario Cup, beating Parkdale Albions over two legs, 5-1 in the home game, and 4-2 in the away. This double victory stands right next to their 1891 season, where a capture of the Spring W.F.A. Challenge Cup was partnered with a Canadian Championship where they beat Toronto Scots in both legs of the final.