Winners of the Connaught Cup as Dominion (National) Champions of football, or what we now refer to as soccer, the 1924 United Weston Football Club was the fourth Manitoban side to win the Cup. The feat was accomplished under a format that pitted the winners of the East against the winners of the West in Challenge Cup competition. The Football (Soccer) Association of England then donated the Challenge Trophy to be awarded each year to the national champion of Canada in 1926. Since the first team to win the Connaught Cup was Manitoban (the 1913 Norwood Wanderers), it is fitting that our province was the first to claim this new trophy. The 1926 United Weston Football Club matched their 1924 brethren as Senior Soccer Champions of Canada. It would not be until 1955 that each province would send the winners of their own provincial championships to compete for the National Championship of soccer in Canada. The 1954 A.N.A.F. Scottish of Winnipeg (inducted in 1999) were the last to win the Challenge Cup under the old format.
1924 ROSTER: Top Row: C. MacMillan-Exec., D. Hampton-Treas., H.J. Singleton – Sec’y, J. Cowan – Pres., A. McIntosh – Vice-Pres., J. Hampton – Exec., F. Foxon – Exec. 2nd Row: T. Mullock – Exec., W. Matthews – Centre Half, A.D. King (Capt.) – Left Back, D.C. King – Right Back, J. McNeil – Left Half, J. Hardwick – Exec. 3rd Row: W. Houston & W. Russell – Trainers. Bottom Row: W. Lang – Outside Right, J. Derby – Inside Right, A. Sudders – Centre, E. Derby – Goal, J. Foxon – Right Half, D. Clark – Inside Left, G. Grant – Outside Left.
The 1924 & 1926
1926 ROSTER: L-R: Archie McIntosh, H. Rowson, Bill Matthews, George Hutchinson, Eddie Derby, Bobby McIntosh, Don King, Scotty Lang, Art King, Jock McNeil, Johnny Lang, Dunc Watson, Dusty Miller, Alex Slidders, Pat Kane, Jim Kelly-Trainer, Charles MacMillan-President.
