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There were three events within the British Empire of world importance in 1953: Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne, Edmund Hillary became the first man to scale Mount Everest, and a group of expatriate Scots got together in Toronto to show the locals how to play rugby.
In fact, there are reports of a side going under the name of the “Toronto Scottish” as far back as the final years of the Victorian era, but it was only in Coronation year, following the formal organization of rugby in the Toronto area, that a club was formed to field sides on a regular basis.
Just as Scottish talent played such a part in building Canada, so the Toronto Scottish were lucky to gain the services of a number of exceptionally gifted transplants, many of whom had played representative rugby back home. Indeed, for a number of seasons, the Scottish were so strong that they effectively dropped out of local competition in Ontario, and played only touring sides.
The team won the Quebec Sevens Trophy outright following three successive victories in the 1956/7/8, and contributed a third of the Eastern Canada squad that played the visiting Barbarians in 1957. The Carling Cup was presented by Carling Breweries Ltd. in 1958 for annual competition between East and West and in 1959 the Eastern Canada Beavers started nine Scottish stars: Ian Nicol (Capt); Norm Lee; A. Whytock; John Allen; Dick Geater, Peter Morris, Kenny Talbot, Iain Greig and Norman Donaldson.
Off the field in the 1950s, Scottish members played a leading role in organizing the Ontario Rugby Union, most notably Canon Guy Marshall and Doug Robertson, who ran the Union for years. The commitment to supporting rugby administration continued through the 1960s and 1970s with John Brown, president of the union for many years, and Ian Hawkins who shepherded the fledgling Toronto Rugby Union through its growing pains.
