The Stampede Begins, 1920-1945
The interwar period marked a time of great growth for university sports. In the early 1920s, men at Western competitively played football, hockey, track and field and basketball. Women had few options. They were limited to only basketball, and starting in 1922, the annual university track meet. By 1940, women’s sports grew to include tennis, badminton, soccer, swimming, archery, and hockey. Men’s sports expanded to include soccer, swimming, tennis, fencing, wrestling, boxing and badminton.
Facilities were rudimentary for many teams. Although the J.W. Little Football Stadium was built in 1929, other teams competed and practiced at places scattered across the area. Intercollegiate basketball games were held at the Dundas Street Armoury (today the Delta Hotel) and a university owned gym on Oxford Street was used for intramural games and practice. Members of the swim team often trekked to St. Thomas to use the pool at Alma College. A central spot for athletics on campus would have to wait until after World War II.
As Western began to compete at the intercollegiate level it cemented its reputation as a first rate university. In 1926, the name Mustangs was adopted and the cheerleading and marching band groups were formed in the 1930s. In 1937, 210 men and 36 women represented Western in league play, out of a student body of about 560 men and 265 women. The start of World War II brought a suspension of intercollegiate play, but the strong foundation laid in the interwar years would lead to continued success.
J.W. Little Stadium
Before Western could compete with Canada’s finest schools in the senior football league, it needed a proper stadium. The $70,000 ($956,000 today) cost was generously donated by Kate Little, widow of Colonel J.W. Little, former vice-chairman of the board of governors. The 5,000 seat stadium opened October 19, 1929 and improved over the decades. The facilities at Little Stadium were used by the football, track and field, soccer, boxing and wrestling teams. The venue was also the location of Western’s convocation ceremony for over 30 years. The stadium was closely linked to the wider London community and was visited in 1959 by Elizabeth II, during her royal tour of Canada. Little Stadium held its final season in 1999 and was replaced by TD Waterhouse Stadium.
Intercollegiate Play
Western took its first foray into intercollegiate athletics in 1920, when the football team entered the intermediate league. After a disastrous first season in which not a single touchdown was scored, students and faculty alike resolved to improve. Under the guidance of Coach Eric “Buster” Reid, the team began practice two weeks before the start of classes and entered a strict training program. This paid off in 1922 when Western won its first intercollegiate match against Ontario Agricultural College (now part of Guelph University).
The second intercollegiate team formed was men’s intermediate basketball. Their strong showing in the 1923-24 season led to their promotion to the senior level. The 1926-27 team defeated McGill and won Western’s first ever Senior Intercollegiate Title. That same year the women’s basketball team began intercollegiate play and in two years went on to win a championship tournament in Toronto.
The 1930s marked a period of rapid growth for intercollegiate sports. Most teams were part of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union or the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Union, precursors to U-Sports. Men’s soccer and golf joined the intercollegiate ranks in 1932 and men’s tennis in 1933. Women’s badminton began in 1937 and Western hosted the first official game. Men’s and women’s swimming became official in 1938, although swim teams had unofficially competed at an intercollegiate level since at least 1936.
Undefeated Football Season of 1939
By the 1930s, football had become an established part of the university’s culture and played a direct role in promoting Western. A London Free Press editorial stated “The greatest advertising Western ever got was when the university entered senior rugby (football).” Western’s reputation as a great football team was cemented in 1939, when the Mustangs had their first undefeated season. A deep bench of talented players including Joe King, Joe Krol, Al Hurley and Harry Szumlinski combined with expert coaching by Bill Storen and John Metras assured success. The final game of the season was a knuckle-biter against Queens University and was won with less than three and a half minutes remaining.
John P. Metras (1909-1982)
John P. Metras was born in 1909 in Michigan. While attending the University of Detroit he played centre and after graduation tried out for The Lions. In 1933, he and fellow alumni, Bill Storen, were offered coaching positions at St. Michael’s College in Toronto. In 1935, they moved to Western. Metras was hired as assistant coach and commenced a career of nearly half a century. When Storen left Western in 1940, Metras became the head football coach, a position he held until 1969. Under his leadership, the Mustangs racked up 122 wins, 80 losses and 11 ties. The apex of his coaching prowess was 1945 to 1948 when the Mustangs won 26 straight games. Metras also served as basketball coach from 1945 to 1964 and Director of Athletics from 1945 to 1972. Metras was widely admired by those he coached and the athletic community in Canada. He was inducted into the Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
Mary Wong (1912-1999)
Mary Wong’s father immigrated to Canada from China in 1895. In 1903, he opened up a laundry in London, and later a popular cafe. Her father encouraged Mary and her siblings to participate in sports. After graduating high school in London in 1931, she enrolled at Western and joined the basketball team, softball team, soccer team and served on the Women’s Athletic Committee. Wong was best known for her skill on the basketball court. She served as captain of the basketball team her final two years at Western and led the team to win two championships. During the 1937 championship game, she scored 20 points and the Western Gazette remarked “Mary has played with the Senior girls’ team for years and has always been the star forward and the most reliable shot on the squad.” She graduated in 1937 as a gold medalist of the medical school and became the first female Canadian-Chinese physician. Wong was inducted into the Western Mustangs Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
World War II
In 1940, the CIAU and WIAU suspended all activities for the duration of the war and a travel ban was placed on university sports. Despite this, athletic competition continued on some Canadian campuses, albeit in a limited fashion. Students at Western played intramurals, other teams in London and local high schools. John P. Metras found opponents for the football team through the Canadian Officer Training Corps., Canadian military teams, and even American universities. In 1946, intercollegiate play resumed and athletics at Western embarked on a new era.
