A (maybe not so) brief look at the history of Sport in Quebec

I've been interested in sports for as long as I can remember. I was never a major athlete, by any stretch of the imagination, but one need not be good at something to find it interesting. Most sports fans remember stats of their favorite players or other points of interest, particularly for use in beer-buzzed debates in the local sports bar. So in that way, most fans end up being sport historians. I decided to take this interest a step or two further, thanks in large part to the influence of Dr Kevin Wamsley at UWO. When it came time for me to select a topic for my Introduction to Franco-Canadian and Quebecois Civilization class last summer, the choice became rather obvious: The History of Sport in Quebec.

What follows is a translated and edited version of my research at that time. I've made cuts where necessary, if only because I don't want people's butts to go numb reading through the whole thing. I've also tried to make the language a little less formal so my devoted readers won't get bored. That being said, if you'd like a copy, with references, in the original French, please feel free to e-mail me. Even looking at it now, I know it could use more editing, but whatever.

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When we study a people or civilization, we usually starts with their history, their religion or their literature, however there's one facet that's less researched and often forgotten, but nonetheless important: their sports. Quebec is not an exception to this practise. Despite the fact that the influence of sports can be felt throughout the province, it's often neglected by the academic community. Since I believe that any study of Québécois civilization would be incomplete without examination of Franco-Canadian pastimes, I'll try and reconstruct some of the origins of modern sport in Quebec, using the available materials.

In discussing the birth of sport in la belle province, I ran into one major obstacle: a lack of detailed reports from certain time periods, particularly pre-Confederation. This leaves us to depend on the few accounts that survive. That being said, sport pops up at the end of the 18th century in the form of horse racing. Considering the agricultural bent of the population, this is hardly a surprise. In fact, it was likely more accesible to the average Francophone farmer than the other "gentlemanly sports" of the English since they were already accustomed to raising horses. The governor of the time, Sir James Craig, encouraged the growth of this sport when, in 1808, he created the "Jean-Baptiste Cup"-- a race specifically for horses raised in Canada by Canadians.

"Modern" sports appear in the 19th century, thanks largely to British immigrants. It was during this time that we see the proliferation of sports in Montreal and the formation of clubs, ranging from curling to rowing to snowshoeing, but these were predominantly anglophone. The main exception to this was the Montreal Olympic Athletic Club, founded in 1841 which included several influential French Canadians. This was also the first club to organize a lacrosse match between white and native competitors. The Montreal Swimming Club was another "integrated" club, offering meetings in both French and English since its founding. It seems a bit odd that a city full of francophones would have so few French sporting clubs, doesn't it?

Donald Guay is one of the leading historians as it pertains to sport in Quebec from the French perspective. He suggests that the absence of francophone sports clubs has to do with a difference in ideology. French Canadians were devout Catholics from farming backgrounds. City life represented industrialization and materialism whereas in the country, they were closer to God. Sport was thought of as a manifestation of the English whose presence threatened the very foundations of the French nation. There was also significant resistance from the Catholic Church, who believed that sporting clubs threatened the family unit. Meetings for sport clubs could draw attention away from family duties, and replace time normally spent with parents, friends and children. But it wasn't just the potential disintegration of the family unit that worried the Church--it was the loss of the French language, as well!

The language of sport was almost exclusively English so, at the beginning of the 20th century, La Société du Parler français au Canada, collaborating with l'Université Laval, started a movement to come up with a french vocabulary for sport. Having watched a fair amount of RDS in my day, I'd say they succeeded on that front. It may seem like a minor detail, but in their opinion, the vocabulary of sport plays a role in the national identity. Sport is something instinctive. To succeed in sport requires rapid reactions. These actions and techniques become part of the athlete. One could say that it becomes part of one's sporting identity as an athlete. Communication also becomes instinctive and the bottomline was that the French didn't want their youth reacting "in English" during matches. They were afraid that constant use of English terminology for communication would lead to an anglicizing of the French youth.

Despite the opposition from the Church, the middle class French Canadians tried to form their own athletic organizations, often using the English model. They bought into the idea that personal development could be achieved through sport and wanted their children to have the same sort of advantages as the English. With this in mind, we find the formation of the first francophone sporting club, Le Club de crosse Champlain de Québec, in 1868. Other clubs followed, with varying degrees of success.

For the better part of the 19th century, French Canadians were disinterested in the traditional English sports, like cricket, but for some reason absolutely adored Baseball. In fact, in 1877 it ranked second behind Lacrosse in terms of both popularity and participation. What's equally interesting is that baseball wasn't particularly popular with the anglophones en ville. Perhaps this was some sort of subconscious protest? By ignoring traditional English sports and adopting an American pastime, were they subtlely thumbing their collective noses at the English?

Hockey was a different matter entirely. Though it began with a few anglophone clubs in the 1870s, it went through an exponential increase in popularity by the end of the century. It went from an anglo-protestant pastime to a full-fledged francophone obsession. French Canadians love hockey. It's become a part of their collective soul. We see its influence in their literature, for example «le Chandail» de Roch Carrier, the success of Les Boys movie franchise and in the public reactions to the deaths of long-retired players like Maurice Richard or, most recently, Bernard "Boob Boom" Geoffrion. Just what sparked their interest is anyone's guess, but it's popularity doesn't show any signs of waning. Once they got hooked on it, they took over. Even today, Québécois players dominate the sport.

There's obviously much more to say on the topic, but I think I'll take a break here. I'll likely chat a bit about Sport as it pertains to "National" identity in future entries... til next time!