On Saturday, Nov. 29, McGill will host the 50th Vanier Cup at Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium, marking the first-ever staging of the Canadian university football championship game in Montreal.
The title game, set for 1 p.m., will pit the University of Montreal Carabins against the McMaster Marauders. It will be the first appearance for the Carabins in a Vanier Cup title game, while across the line of scrimmage McMaster will play in its third title game in four years.
Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium, which officially opened on Oct. 22, 1915, turned 99 years old this fall. The 2014 Vanier Cup will be the first CIS football playoff held at Molson Stadium since the 2002 Mitchell Bowl national semifinal, a 22-0 victory for Saskatchewan over McGill. The 1990 CIS national semifinal, a 30-10 Churchill Bowl victory for Saskatchewan over Bishop’s, was also played there.
Molson Stadium is named after Capt. Percival Molson, a sporting legend at McGill and a war hero who had the distinction of being the youngest player ever to win the Stanley Cup, accomplishing the feat in 1897 at the age of 16. He went on to star in football, hockey and track at McGill, graduating in 1901 with a B.A., then became the University’s first Olympian, competing in track at the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis. He was killed in action in France on July 5, 1917.
Ticket prices vary between $20 and $73 and can be purchased online or by calling 514-787-2525 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.