History of the Montreal-West Garbage Bowl Montréal-Ouest

Annual Garbage Bowl ends in tie JOHN KENNEY,GAZETTE, A Northern Combines player tries to tackle a Southern Bombers opponent in the 46th annual Garbage Bowl game at Royal West Academy yesterday. The game, a Montreal West New Year’s tradition that pits residents against each other, ended in a 0-0 tie. No gloating as Garbage Bowl ends 0-0 Weather just wasn’t rotten enough for true devotees, fan says
JOHN KENNEY, GAZETTE Kickoff lady Gail Griffith, sporting the Miss Leftovers crown, started the game with what she termed a bad punt.	LYNN MOORE THE GAZETTE Come hangover, hail or Arctic winds, the New Year’s Day Garbage Bowl football game is a Montreal West tradition supported by hundreds of enthusiasts. Yesterday’s 46th annual encounter between the Southern Bombers and the Northern Combines — which ended in a 0-0 tie — was no exception. But game regulars suggested the almost balmy temperatures and light dusting of snow took the edge off the day and kept the hardiest of fans home. “When it’s really, really, really cold, they seem to come out more,” said Sally Lamton, scanning the 300 to 350 people and the dozen or so canines watching the game played at Royal West Academy. Huge, square-shouldered men in green or red underwear ran hither and yon, chasing a pigskin over a snow-covered ice patch. Pileups were plentiful, and the fellow on the bottom usually emerged shaking snow out of his helmet. A parody of the U.S. college bowl games, the Garbage Bowl was first played without goal posts. Converts were made by tossing the football into garbage cans positioned at the ends of the field, hence the name.
It was — and still is — a game that pits Montreal West residents who live south of the CPR tracks, the Southern Bombers, against their northern neighbors, the Northern Combines. More often than not, the North wins. esterday’s tie game means a year without razzing the southerners, Marylea Telfer said. “We usually gloat like mad. Now we’ll have to be nice to them,” said Telfer, one of the volunteers who organize a host of game-related events. The venture is a fundraiser for the Montreal Westward Rotary Club. About $13,000 to $15,000 a year is generated through various events, Teller said. By all accounts, the players take the game very seriously, no matter how hard or long they partied the night before. The Garbage Bowl’s historical notes include a 1951 entry describing how a key player arrived moments before the kickoff still in party mode and tuxedo. But he was clutching his longjohns and was able to pull on his uniform in time to start the game and score a 102-yard touchdown. The players practise for months, said Laura Tanguay, whose son, Eric, played his third game yesterday. Peter Poupart travelled all the way from Howick to be part of the Southern Bombers’ roster. “I work with a guy who has been playing for 13 years and have finally finagled my way on to the team,” he said. As tradition demands, Miss Leftovers — this year, Gail Griffith — kicked off the ball to start the game. “It rolled on is side like a sucker ball,” she said. The title comes from the way in which Miss Leftovers is selected. The names of all Royal West Academy students vying for the title are placed in a hat. The one left over after the others have been picked out gets the title and the honors. Other Garbage Bowl titles are more work, though. Most Valuable Player awards yesterday went to Bret Myles, from the Combines, and Kenny Dillon from the Bombers.
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