Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame

For further information on Ottawa sporting legends, be sure to check out the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame on the second level concourse at Scotiabank Place.

Founded in 1966, the Hall is open whenever Scotiabank Place is, and has since inducted more than 200 members, including Cyclone Taylor, Larry Robinson, Denis Potvin, Aurel Joliat, Mark Kosmos, Phil Maloney, Franklin Thomas Ahearn, Francis (Frank) Amyot, Marjorie Blackwood, Donald Booth, Sheryl Boyle, Cyril Joseph (Cy) Denneny, Francois Xavier (Frank) Boucher, and John George (Buck) Boucher.

(Former) Ottawa Football Teams

The (Former) Rough Riders

The Canadian Football League has never included more than a dozen teams at a time. Why is it, then, that for years there were two teams with the same name: the Ottawa Rough Riders and the still functioning Saskatchewan Roughriders? (Note clever use of wordspacing difference to avoid confusion.)

Founded as the Ottawa Football Club in 1876, the Rough Riders folded in 1996, plagued by poor attendance and general mismanagement during its last few years. More nomenclature confusion: the team was briefly known as the Ottawa Senators during the 1920s (after the demise of the original hockey team) before taking the name the Rough Riders.

One story claims the name has its origins in logging. Another says it’s linked to Teddy Roosevelt’s regiment of “Rough Riders” in the Spanish-American War. Yet another story credits the name to a Hamilton sports writer who used the words to describe the conduct of the Ottawa team during a match in 1898 against the Hamilton Tigers.

Regardless, the team’s glory years were during the 1960s and 70s, under the leadership of coach and general manager Frank Clair, who led the team to five Grey Cup titles.

The (Former) Renegades

Formed in 2002, the Ottawa Renegades returned football to Ottawa (briefly). In May 2005, Bernie Glieberman (who owned the Rough Riders) took ownership, naming his son Lonie team president.

Occasionally, Lonie made newspaper headlines by pulling some boneheaded stunt or having some clever idea that never quite worked out, including an infamous Mardi Gras promotion that required women to bare their breasts (at what was ostensibly a family event) in exchange for coloured beads.

A good enough team, the Renegades never got near the playoffs before being mothballed in April 2006. The team roster was divvied up among the remaining eight CFL teams in a draft. The late Renegades played in Frank Clair Stadium, named for the infamous Rough Riders coach and general manager.