The South rises again at Garbage Bowl
Bombers beat Combines in annual New Year’s Day fundraiser

LYNN MOORE
THE GAZETTE
In the traditional New Year’s Day battle for Garbage Bowl fame, the South regained its glory by icing the North on a frozen football field in Montreal West.
The Southern Bombers racked up 12 points to the Northern Combines’ six in the annual fundraiser played in long johns and pyjamas, as the 44-year-old tradition demands.
“They tell me it was the warmest Garbage Bowl Day in history, but my feet were frozen,” the game’s reigning monarch, Olga Colque, said yesterday.
Her official title — Miss Leftovers - has nothing to do with seasonal turkey carcasses or the garbage pail used to collect contributions from Garbage Bowl fans.
The names of all the Royal West Academy students vying for the title are placed in a hat. The name leftover when the others have been selected - the last one picked - is awarded the honor.
Miss North and Miss South are the almost leftovers.
“It’s a good title, it suits the game,” Colque said.
The first Garbage Bowl game was played in 1950 between two teams of Montreal West residents. Players from south of the CPR tracks dress in green pyjamas, while the team from the north side of the tracks dresses in red long johns.
The South has won 24 times, the North 17 and there have been four ties, said Barry Stevens of the Montreal West Rotary Club, which runs the event in conjunction with the Garbage Bowl Association.
It will be a while before the proceeds from the game and associated events are tallied, association president Colin Telfer said.
Last year, about $19,000 was donated to various charities.

GAZETTE PHOTOS, JOHN KENNEY
A player dives for pass while Kirton Dolphin (right) comes up with a face full of snow during Garbage Bowl action.

Original article