MONTREAL -- The 1960 McGill University football team celebrated the 60th anniversary of their first national championship, Wednesday evening. The event was held over a Zoom call due to the coronavirus pandemic. The historic title match resulted in a lopsided 46-7 victory over Alberta on Nov. 19, 1960, before 9,200 fans at Percival Molson Stadium.

All-star quarterback Tom Skypeck threw for 323 yards, a pair of touchdowns and generated 551 yards of net offence as a veteran McGill squad overpowered a younger, lighter Golden Bears lineup. McGill gave a good indication of things to come when they scored two TDs in the opening quarter and upped their lead to 26-7 by halftime.

The most electrifying moment occurred late in the second quarter on an 81-yard scoring play when Skypeck threw a 30-yard strike to Taylor, who then lateraled to Moore for an additional 51 yards. It put McGill ahead 14-0 and was a back-breaker for Alberta, which never really threatened again.

Fullback Carl Hansen and halfback Johnny Moore paced the McGill attack with two TDs each.  Also scoring one major apiece was split-end Don Taylor, halfback Willie Lambert and all-star guard Tom Stefl, who pulled out of the line for only one play to tally his first-career TD, at any level.  Place-kicker Harry Haukkala rounded out the scoring with four conversions.

While five of McGill's seven TDs were scored on running plays, the offence was balanced by Skypeck, who completed 15 of 26 pass attempts. McGill racked up 222 yards on the ground and had a 22-12 edge in first downs. The Bears were held to 83 yards rushing by McGill's big defensive line and 159 yards in the air.

The Churchill Bowl conquest capped a fine season for a McGill lineup that featured 10 graduating seniors. The team was inducted to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Sadly, 11 players from the 33-man roster and all of the coaches are no longer alive. 

Coached by Bruce Coulter, the season began with an ominous 0-3 start but McGill bounced back to win their first game in two years en route to reeling off six consecutive contests. They finished with a 6-3 record overall, outscoring opponents by a whopping 255-127 margin. By season's end, they were averaging crowds in excess of 8,000 at Molson Stadium.

McGill ended the regular season with a 4-2 record, tied for first with Queen's after a clutch 15-9 victory in Kingston on the last day of the season to force a rare sudden-death playoff for the Yates Cup league championship in an era where the division-leading team was declared champion. McGill lost a coin toss and was forced to return to Kingston for the playoff matchup. They defeated Queen's 21-0 in front of 8,000 fans to take the Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Athletic Association title, their first Yates Cup in 22 years. McGill then cruised to victory over Alberta for the Churchill Bowl -- a challenge match pitting the eastern and western champions -- to win the Canadian intercollegiate title.

The campus was buzzing with celebrations and the team was given a testimonial dinner in front of some 400 people at the Windsor Hotel. Months later, in the introduction to the University's 1960 annual report to the board of governors, it was noted that the two most discussed topics of conversation on the campus that year was: a) finances and b) the football team's championship!

McGill took six of the top 10 spots in the individual scoring race and had the league MVP in quarterback Tom Skypeck. They placed 10 players on the conference all-star team, including Skypeck, Al Braekevelt, Paul Harasimowicz, Willie Lambert, Al MacKenzie, Johnny Moore, John Roberts, Tom Stefl, Don Taylor and Chuck Wood.

Team captain Carl Hansen won the Forbes Trophy as McGill's male athlete of the year. Other members of the team included Fraser Allen, Wally Barrie, Tony Blair, John Bowler, Rae Brown, John Cleghorn, Harry Haukkala, Pete Hoisak, Bill Holmes, Bob Johnson, Leo Konyk, Stephen Longstaff, Dave Martin, Doug Maule, John McLernon, Bob Milligan, Ian Monteith, Rein Mutso, Gord Navis, Dan Uniat, Doug Pryde and Bob Winsor.

The assistant coaches were Vaughan McVey, Bob MacLellan and John Taylor. The support staff was composed of Dick Nicholson (mgr.), Alan Murdock (asst. mgr.), Jim Adams (trainer), Al Duguid (asst. trainer) and Albert Hunter (asst. trainer).

1960 McGill Schedule and Results
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Sep. 24  Lost 31-38* at Queen's (0-1)
Oct. 1     Lost 26-27 vs Queen's (0-2)
Oct. 8     Lost 13-17 at Western (0-3)
Oct. 15  Won 9-7 at Toronto (1-3)
Oct. 22  Won 37-17 vs Toronto (2-3)
Oct. 29  Won 57-6 vs Western (3-3)
Nov. 5   Won 15-9 at Queen's (4-3)
Nov. 12 Won 21-0** at Queen's (5-3)
Nov. 19 Won 46-7*** vs Alberta (6-3)

* pre-season game
** Yates Cup playoff (Ontario-Quebec league championship)
*** Churchill Bowl (Canadian intercollegiate championship)

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Info Office
McGill Athletics & Recreation
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 398-7012