Fans
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Special Trains
Acadia's and Mount Allison's rugby football teams frequently vied each other for intercollegiate championship honours between 1907 and 1914, and these matches generated huge interest among fans. In 1910 and 1911, for example, Mount Allison ‘rooters’ boarded chartered special trains to Truro, Nova Scotia, site of each year’s championship game. Female students at this point were able to attend sporting events on their own and ride on the same special trains, albeit in separate cars. Over 2,000 people watched the championship match on 17 November 1911, and the Saint John Globe newspaper (22 November 1911) reported:
"Excitement on the sidelines ran high and Mount Allison's supporters could hardly contain themselves as they saw the splendid work of their team."
Another championship football match against Acadia was played in Sackville on 14 November 1913, in front of the largest crowd ever seen at Mount Allison to that point. 200 fans from Acadia boarded their own special train to attend the event, and watched Acadia defeat Mount Allison.
Sackville train station and Mount Allison students en route to Truro, 1910
Sackville train station and Mount Allison students, ca. 1911
Sackville train station and Mount Allison students, ca. 1911
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Sackville, New Brunswick
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This project was funded by the Marjorie Young Bell Endowment Fund