Vancouver Rowing Club

Vancouver Rowing Club is a multi-discipline sports club based in Vancouver, British Columbia with sections dedicated to association football, rugby union, and rowing.

= Football = Vancouver Rowing Club's professional football club was founded in 1888 and presently plays in the British Columbia Football League's Division One. It is one of fifteen clubs never to have been relegated from the BC Football League since its establishment in 1929.

Rivalries
Rowing Club's greatest rivalry in football is with Royal City FC of New Westminster which dates back to the very first formal football match played in BC between the Rowers and members of the Westminster Club, a social club whose football section later became Royal City FC. Known as the Interurban Derby because of the BC Electric Railway's interurban railway line opened between Vancouver and New Westminster in 1891, it is widely regarded as the most historically significant sporting rivalry in BC. It has periodically become violent on and off the pitch; the worst incident of football-related violence in BC took place in 2019 at an Interurban Derby at Brockton Oval.

A close second is the Waterfront Derby between the Rowers and Vancouver City, dating back to the latter's establishment in 1892 as the second football club in Vancouver north of False Creek and the first dedicated to football. Also very important is the Downtown Derby with Vancouver United, dating back to United's establishment in 1901; as the geographically closest to Rowing Club, United initially drew supporters from the same area as the Rowers', leading to the development of the rivalry between them. Also important, if slightly less so, are the False Creek Derby with Kitsilano FC, and the rivalry with Shaughnessy Shamrocks.

* PL = penalty shootout loss; shootout wins are counted in wins column

History
Rowing Club began play in 1888 with the first-ever official football match played in BC with Royal City, and became one of the founding members of the Western Football League in 1895; they played in the WFL until its merger into the Mainland Football League in 1918, and were assigned to Division One of the BC Football League at its formation in 1929.

League competition
Assigned to Division One for the inaugural season of BCFL play, Rowing Club went on to win the first-ever Division One title, finishing five points ahead of runners-up and arch-rivals Royal City, and eighteen points clear of third-placed Dinas Blaenau. Although no championships were forthcoming, the 1930s were one of the most successful periods for the Rowers. They finished third in the second year, only four points behind winners Victoria Athletic and one behind Blaenau in second, followed a fifth-place finish in 1931 - only two points behind runners-up Vancouver United. 1932 and 1933 saw back-to-back finishes as runners-up behind titlists Royal City, seven points behind in 1932 and only two short in 1933. 1936 was an even closer finish, as they were once again runners-up, but only a single point behind champions Cranbrook North Side. After consecutive second-place finishes in 1937 and 1938 and a fifth-place in 1939, the Rowers one their second, and thus far last, League championship in 1940. In 1941, the last season before competition was suspended for the duration of the Pacific War, they finished as runners-up for the fourth time, five points behind Quesnel United. All told, in the thirteen seasons of the pre-war period, the Rowers finished in the top three nine times, and only once finishing outside the top five. During the war years, Rowing Club played in the Lower Mainland Football League. Competition resumed in 1946, in which year Rowing Club matched their worst League performance in finishing eighth, but they returned to their pre-war performances in finishing as runners-up in three consecutive years - in the first two years only three points behind the winners, Quesnel United in 1947 and Kitimat City in 1949, and four behind Kitimat in 1950.

The 1950s were not as successful as the first year of the decade had predicted; in the very next season, Rowers barely avoided relegation, finishing in tenth place a single point ahead of Burnaby Albion. After a somewhat better year in 1952, 1953 saw the Rowers finish last and be relegated from Division One. The finished sixth the next year, but a runner-up finish in 1955 (five points behind - ironically enough - Quesnel United) meant a return to the top level in 1956. The stay in the top was difficult, finishing tenth in both 1956 and 1957 before finishing last again in 1958, to be relegated for a second time after one of the club's worst-ever seasons, winning only five games and conceding 72 goals. The 1959 Division Two season proved particularly tight: only three points separated first and fifth places, with Rowing Club and Courtenay Athletic finished tied for first with 51 points, but the A's had a +20 goal differential compared to the Rowers' +10.

The 1960s were a crazy decade in history for many reasons; it was no different for Rowing Club. After two ninth-placed finishes they bounced up to a third-placed finish in 1962, only to avoid relegation again in 1963 by finishing a single point ahead of Dinas Blaenau. Then after finishing fifth and fourth respectively, there were third-place honours for the Rowers again in 1966 - once again, tied for second place but losing out on a poorer goal differential, this time to Nanaimo Thistle. This was followed by another goal-differential decision with Courtenay in 1967 - only this time, the winner saved their Division One status and the loser was relegated; once again, it was Rowers who were the worse off. The rebound was immediate, winning the Division Two championship in 1968, and then bouncing further as they took third-place honours in Division One in 1969.

Although supporters were never bored through the 1960s, most did hope for a more stable one to come - ideally at the top. And stability they got: for the next decade and the first part of the 1980s, Rowing Club were Division One makeweights, never really threatening at the top, never really in danger of relegation, until the "idyll" was broken by a last-placed finish in 1984. Again the bounce-back was instant, as they set all-time club season records for most wins (27), fewest losses (2), fewest goals conceded (23), and most points (86) as they took the Division Two championship in 1985, winning the first and second periods of play and finishing fifteen points ahead of runners-up Fort George. Unfortunately, after three seasons of managing to protect their Division One status, in 1989 they were relegated again, finishing in seventeenth place, three points behind Richmond United.

The 1990s began with a success, winning another Division Two championship, nine points clear of runners-up Kelowna Central; this was the fourth straight time that a relegation was followed by an immediate return to the top flight. Then it was back to what some described as "being along for the ride", never challenging, never worrying, until in 2007 there was a remarkably tight battle for the championship, the Rowers finishing third - only two points behind champions Wellington. After that success, however, it was once again back to lower-table finishes. On the first home matchday of the 2011 season, supporters unfurled a large banner reading "1991-2011: Celebrating 20 Years of Mediocrity"; the team's contribution to the questionable anniversary was relegation, finishing seventeenth, two points behind Kelowna Central.

The 2012 season marked the first time since 1954 that Rowing Club failed to achieve promotion from Division Two. After finishing just six points above a relegation play-off spot in 2013 the Rowers rebounded to a third place finish in 2014, qualifying for the promotion play-offs but failing to win promotion from what proved to be a very tight group: Rowers and Trail City finished tied for second with nine points, Rowers having the better goal differential, and group winners Fort George had only ten points, whilst last-placed Ganiks Laxha had seven. The Rowers returned to the Promotion Play-offs after another third-place finish in 2016, this time topping the group to earn promotion, bringing to an end their longest exile from Division One.

With the return to Division One old rivalries were renewed. The twelfth matchday of 2018 was the first Interurban Derby of the season, Royal City hosting Rowing Club at Queen's Park, and in the seventh minute one of the worst scenes of the century-plus of bad blood between the two arch rivals occurred when the Rowers' defender Kevin Quinn punched Hyacks striker Gary Wakefield in the face after a disagreement over a free kick, precipitating a full-blown fight after which both players were sent off; ultimately Royal City prevailed through a single goal scored in the 73rd minute. Both Wakefield and Quinn were subsequently handed six-match suspensions by the FA. Post-match continuation by fans was successfully avoided, as the police and stewards held home fans in their sections of the stands until all Rowing Club supporters had been escorted away from Queen's Park. The incident wasn't forgotten, however. Although football in British Columbia has never been afflicted with the sort of problems of supporter violence found in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, there nevertheless were occasional problems over the years, including brawls between supporters. In the second Interurban Derby match of 2019, Royal City crushed Rowing Club 5:0 at Brockton Oval. After the match, a large brawl involving around a hundred supporters of both sides broke out outside the stadium, which found the police needing the assistance of reservists from the nearby naval station, HMBCS Discovery, to contain. It was the worst incident of fan violence in the history of football in BC, though small in comparison to the Stanley Cup riots of 1994 and 2011. Of the sixty-four arrested, thirty-seven were convicted, each of whom subsequently received lifetime stadium bans.

Season-by-season
This is a complete listing of the club's performances in British Columbia Football League competition.

FA Cup
Being the largest stadium in BC at the time, Rowing Club's home at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park was chosen as the location of the FA Cup Final prior to the inaugural edition in 1891, but Rowing Club first reached the Final in the competition's second year, defeating Victoria's Royal Oak Hotspur 3:1 before a partisan crowd. They were back in 1893, this time facing arch-rivals Royal City for the first time, playing to a 1:1 draw, and forcing a replay to be played a week later, which the Hyacks won 2:1, leading to several scuffles between supporters after the match; these were quickly dispersed by the police. They were then absent from the Final for a decade, returning in 1903 to defeat Vancouver City 2:0 in front of another passionate crowd at Brockton Oval, clinching their second FA Cup title.

After the 1899 Final, the FA announced that from 1900 on, the venue of the final would alternate, with the match being played in 1900 and subsequent even years at Windsor Park, Victoria's largest stadium at the time and home of Oak Bay Wanderers, whilst in odd-numbered years it would be held at Brockton Oval. Consequently, when the Rowers reached the Final again in 1904, their match against Royal City was held at Windsor Park. Many supporters made the trip to the nation's capital for the match, with both clubs chartering an extra carriage on the Vancouver–Victoria through train that had begun service after the opening of the Fraser River Bridge in New Westminster earlier in the year; Rowers supporters boarded their car, located immediately behind the locomotive, at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, whilst Hyacks supporters boarded their car at New Westminster Station prior to the train's arrival, which was then attached to the rear of the train. The supporters were well behaved on both the train ride and aboard the rail ferry, where they were allowed to disembark and mingle on the passenger deck of the ship. This was the second meeting of the two in a Cup final, and both sides left everything on the pitch, with Rowers ultimately winning by a 3:2 score, avenging their loss to Hyacks in the 1893 final, and becoming the first team to win the FA Cup in two consecutive years. Victoria police and the stadium organisers were well prepared, and managed to keep both sets of supporters separate and calm, thus avoiding incidents like had happened after the 1893 final.

Rowing Club reached the Final again in 1906, losing 0:1 to Port Alberni Athletic, before next returning in 1911 for their third FA Cup Final meeting with Royal City - and being an odd year, the match was held at Brockton Oval. It was another fiercely contested match, with Rowers coming out the winners again with a 2:1 score; like the first final between the two, there were some altercations between supporters after the match, but once again, these were easily contained by the larger-than-usual police presence. They next reached the final in 1918, losing 2:3 to Silver King of Nelson at Windsor Park; this would prove to be Rowers' last appearance in a Cup Final before the restructuring of football in BC prior to the start of the 1929 season.

With the new Cup format introduced for 1929, as a Division One member, Rowing Club entered the competition in the fourth round, dispatching non-league Lake City of Williams Lake with a 3:0 away win. In the fifth round and the quarter-finals they faced and defeated Division Two opposition away, Vavenby Town first with a 3:1 win, followed by Langford Highlanders by a 2:1 score to advance to the semi-finals to meet fellow top-level side Nelson City, winning the first leg 3:0 at home then winning 3:1 away in the second leg, advancing to the Final with an impressive 6:1 aggregate score. Their eighth appearance in the FA Cup Final, held at Brockton Oval, was a familiar opponent: Vancouver City, making the event another Waterfront Derby. City never had a chance as the Rowers controlled the game for the duration, scoring two and conceding none to win their fifth FA Cup title. Through the 1930s, they reached the semi-finals only once. In 1937 and 1938 they were eliminated by Cranbrook City both times, first in the quarter-final replay followed by a fourth round replay, whilst in 1939 they reached the semis only to lose to Royal Oak 2:3 on aggregate; the Rowers won the first leg 2:0 away, with Spurs winning the return leg at Brockton Oval by a 3:0 score. After being eliminated in the fourth round in 1940 by cross-town opponents Kitsilano FC, 1941 proved to be a year of vengeance for Rowing Club as they defeated Cranbrook City 3:2 away in the fourth round and Spurs 2:1 away in the quarters, before beating Quesnel United in both legs to advance from the semis with a 3:0 aggregate score. Rowing Club's ninth Final appearance was the fourth Cup-final Interurban Derby; as ever, it was an all-out affair, the Rowers ending up with a 3:2 victory to lift the Cup for the fifth time whilst improving their Cup Final record against Royal City to three wins and one defeat. This proved to be the last FA Cup played before competition was suspended for the duration of the Pacific War; play resumed in 1946.

The remainder of the 1940s were years of limited success in the FA Cup for the Rowers, losing in the quarter-finals in 1947 and 1948 to Royal Oak before reaching the semi-finals in 1949, where they won the first leg 1:0 away at Port Alberni, only to lose 1:2 at home; with the aggregate 2:2, Port Alberni were deemed the winners on the away goals rule. Thereafter the Rowers didn't advance to the last eight until 1952, when a 1:0 away win over Alberni Town in the quarters advanced them to meet Burnaby Albion in the semi-finals. After a 1:1 away draw to start, the second leg was at Brockton Oval and ended 1:1 after 90 minutes of play; unfortunately, Albion scored in the second half of extra time and won the series with a 3:2 aggregate score to end Rowing Club's Cup aspirations. Rowing Club did not reach the last eight again throughout the remainder of the 1950s.

After the disappointments of the 1950s, in 1960 the Rowers advanced to the fifth round to face Vancouver City for another Cup edition of the Waterfront Derby. After playing to a 2:2 draw at Empire Stadium, they returned to Brockton Oval for the replay, in which they dominated play for much of the game and ran out to a 3:1 victory that rather flattered City's performance. The quarter-final was another all-Vancouver affair, this time a Downtown Derby with Vancouver United; as against City in the previous fixture the Rowers ran riot, soundly defeating the Printers 4:2 at Brockton Oval to move on to the semi-finals. The first leg of the final four was played at home, where the Rowers hosted CP Llangefni. Llangefni were having a poor time in League play, eventually being relegated at the end of the season, but they'd had a fine Cup performance in advancing past Port Alberni and Wellington to reach the semis. After winning the first leg 1:0, Rowers headed to Cymru Newydd for the return leg at Stadiwm Ylesylywêt, where although the Welshmen drew first blood, the Vancouverites controlled the second half to win the match 2:1 and to advance to the Final with a 3:1 aggregate win. Awaiting them in the Final, which since 1955 was being played at Empire Stadium, were Courtenay Athletic, who had eliminated Rowers in the third round replay in the previous year and who had earned promotion to Division One; the match unfolded much like the last one against Llangefni, with the Letticks scoring first before the Rowers bagged a brace in the second half to clinch FA Cup honours for the seventh time. It was their first Cup win since the end of the war; it would be their last for over half a century.

The Rowers' next visit to the semi-finals was in 1963, defeating Cranbrook City 0:1 away in the quarter-final to face Royal City in the semis; after playing to a 1:1 draw at Queen's Park, the Hyacks came back from a two-goal deficit to win the return leg 3:2 and the series 4:2 on aggregate. From then until 1976 Rowing Club's best Cup performances were four visits to the quarter-finals, losing 1:3 away to Vancouver United in 1967, to Burnaby Albion 1:3 away at the new Swangard Stadium in 1970, to Fort George 0:1 away in 1973, and to Dinas Blaenau 0:2 at home in 1974. In the fourth round in 1975 they set a club record for most total goals in a match with eight, in a 6:2 home defeat of Division Two side Atlin, then defeating Van United 3:2 at Empire Stadium in the fifth. A 2:1 home win over Nanaimo Thistle sent the Rowers through to the quarter-finals, where they defeated Quesnel United 4:0 on aggregate; all four goals came in the 4:0 first-leg win at Brockton Oval. The final, played at Centennial Stadium in Victoria, saw another Cup edition of the Waterfront Derby in which City came out on top with a comfortable 3:1 win over the Rowers, who would not reach the finals again for another 25 years.

The next Cup run worthy of mention that the Rowers made came in 1987. After a seven-goal shooting gallery in which they beat Tofino Village 4:3 away in the fourth round and a 3:2 home win against Coquitlam Town in the fifth they head into the quarter-finals to face Van City at home with serious questions about their defence; their League play didn't reassure, either, especially compared with the offensive abilities of City. But on the day the Rowers' defence was perfect as they held City scoreless, but their own offence failed to produce a goal, either, forcing a penalty shootout which the Rowers won 4:3. In the semi-finals they faced Wellington, who were struggling to stay outside of the relegation zone and had an even worse defensive record than Rowing Club, along with an even more anaemic offence, yet it was the Violets who won the first leg by a score of 3:0; although the Rowers did win the return leg at home, the 2:1 scoreline was insufficient, and Wellington advanced with a 3:2 aggregate score.

It was a decade until they reached the semi-finals again in 1997, defeating Royal City 1:0 at Queen's Park in the fifth round and Wellington 3:0 at Pleasant Valley in the quarter-finals along the way, once again to face Quesnel. The Rowers won the first leg handily by a 3:1 score at Reynard Street; in the second leg, with Quesnel leading 2:0 after 21 minutes, the Rowers were handed two red cards in the space of eighteen minutes, the latter a penalty that extended the Q's lead to 3:0 going into halftime. Two minutes after the restart Rowing Club scored to equalise the aggregate score at 4:4, forcing extra time in which Quesnel scored on 95' to take the series with a 5:4 aggregate win. The following year, they met fellow D1 side Dinas Blaenau in the fourth round, playing to a 0:0 draw after 120 minutes, forcing a nerve-wracking penalty shootout in which nearly everyone but the goalkeepers took a kick: Rowers won the shootout 10:9! In the fifth round they needed penalties once again, this time winning the shootout 5:4 after a 0:0 draw with Barriere Railway of Division Three, then winning 2:0 in the quarter-final to eliminate D3 Silver King. In the semi-final they faced the other Division One side from Cymru Newydd, Llangefni, who won the first leg with a 1:0 win away at Brockton Oval; the return leg at Stadiwm Ylesylywêt ended in a 1:1 draw.

Since the reform of the FA Cup format in 1974, replay matches take place only in the quarter-finals and the finals; the 2002 FA Cup competition saw Rowing Club take part in both. The first two rounds were straightforward: in the fourth round they faced their oldest rivals Royal City, playing to a 1:1 draw after 120 minutes before winning 6:5 on penalties, whilst in the fifth they won a close-fought match 1:0 away at Nanaimo Thistle. They then played Regatta Club to a 0:0 draw in Vancouver, forcing a replay in Prince Rupert - which needed extra time to decide, but Rowing Club prevailed in a 2:1 win. Moving on to the final four, Rowers faced Spurs in the two clubs' first FA Cup meeting since 1948. The first leg, at Brockton Oval, saw Rowing Club win 2:0, whilst the home side won again in the second leg at Layritz Park, Royal Oak winning 1:0; with a 2:0 aggregate score, Rowing Club advanced to the Final for the first time since 1960. The final match between Rowing Club and Port Alberni at BC Place was a close event, finishing 1:1 to force a replay a week later. The second final was no different, once again ending 120 minutes with a 1:1 draw; national side mainstay striker Carlo Corazzin, in his second year back at home after eight years in England, scored each time for Rowers. As there is no second replay, however, so the decision went to penalties, which Port Alberni won 4:2; this had been the first Cup Final to be decided by penalties since Van City's 7:6 defeat of Regatta Club in 1969.

Rowing Club had several early exits in the following years, including a rather humiliating 2:4 home loss in the fourth round to Royal City in 2008 that resulted in several fights and arrests amongst the supporters outside Brockton Oval after the match. In the following year it was an infrequent derby as Rowers headed across False Creek to face Kitsilano in a Cup tie for the first time since 1940, winning 2:0 on penalties after a scoreless draw, before emphatically defeating Richmond United in the fifth round with a 4:0 win in Stanley Park. They were off to Empire Stadium for the quarter-finals for another Waterfront Derby, winning 1:0 to move on to the semis to face Northern side Ganiks Laxha. Down to ten men through almost all of the second half, Rowers lost the first leg at home 0:2, and though they won the return leg 0:1, they were eliminated with a 1:2 aggregate loss.

Through much of the 2010s the Rowers were in Division Two, meaning that they entered the FA Cup competition in the second round, and thus despite several good runs, they did not reach the quarter-finals until 2019. They returned to Division One in 2017, defeating Shaughnessy 3:1 the fourth round that year but losing in the fifth 0:2 after extra time to Llangefni; a year later, they lost to Llangefni in the fourth round 2:3 on penalties. In 2019 reached the quarter-finals with relative ease, dispatching Fort Nelson (2:1) and Trail City (3:0) along the way to defeating Division Three Similkameen United 3:0 in Princeton. The semi-final saw yet another Waterfront Derby and a 1:1 draw in the first leg at Brockton Oval; in the return leg at Empire Stadium, Rowers prevailed 1:0 to win with a 2:1 aggregate score. Advancing to the Final for the thirteenth time, for the third year running their Cup opponent were Llangefni. Four goals were scored in the first half-hour of play. The Welshmen struck first, scoring from 25 yards on 10' to take the lead, but Rowers replied quickly, equalising four minutes later after nineteen-year-old midfielder Michael Baldisimo received a cross from his older brother Matthew and slipped it beneath Llangefni and national keeper Sean Melvin. Three minutes later the Welshmen were ahead again, and on 26' it was level at two apiece. Into extra time it went, until finally in the 99th minute Rowers midfielder and Bosnian international Admir Salahović, who had just recently celebrated his thirtieth birthday, broke the deadlock to seal the victory and give Rowing Club their eighth FA Cup title.

Season-by-season
This is a listing of the club's performances in FA Cup competition since 1929.

Season-by-season
This is a listing of the club's performances in British Columbia Super Cup competition since 1991.

Honours and records

 * Super Cup
 * Runners-up: 2020


 * FA Cup
 * Winners: 1892, 1903, 1904, 1911, 1929, 1941, 1960, 2019
 * Runners-up: 1893, 1906, 1918, 1977, 2002


 * Division One
 * Winners: 1929, 1940
 * Runners-up: 1932, 1933, 1936, 1941, 1948, 1949, 1950
 * Third placed: 1930, 1937, 1938, 1962, 1966, 1969, 2007


 * Division Two
 * Winners: 1968, 1985, 1990
 * Runners-up: 1955, 1959
 * Third placed : 2014, 2016


 * Highest league position: 1st
 * D1 (1929, 1940)


 * Lowest league position: 15th
 * D2 (2013)


 * Most points in a season: 86
 * D2, 1985


 * Fewest points in a season: 22
 * D1, 1958


 * Most goals scored in a season: 73
 * D1, 1978


 * Fewest goals scored in a season: 24
 * D1, 1998


 * Most goals conceded in a season: 72
 * D1, 1958


 * Fewest goals conceded in a season: 23
 * D2, 1985


 * Most wins in a season: 27
 * D2, 1985


 * Fewest wins in a season: 5
 * D1, 1958
 * D1, 2010


 * Most draws in a season: 17
 * D1, 2019


 * Fewest draws in a season: 2
 * D1, 1929


 * Most losses in a season: 23
 * D1, 1991


 * Fewest losses in a season: 2
 * D2, 1985


 * Most games won in a row (to 2001): 8
 * D2, 1985


 * Most games lost in a row (to 2001): 7
 * D1, 1988


 * Most games without losing (to 2001): 16
 * D2, 1985


 * Most games without winning (to 2001): 15
 * D1, 1989


 * Biggest win: 5 goals
 * 5:0 v Vancouver City, D1, 1929
 * 5:0 v Regatta Club, D1, 1931
 * 5:0 v Victoria Athletic, D1, 1950
 * 6:1 v Kitimat & Kemano Utd, D1, 1979
 * 5:0 v Victoria Athletic, D2, 1985
 * 5:0 v Quesnel Utd, D1, 1996


 * Biggest league win (to 2001): 5 goals
 * 5:0 v Vancouver City, D1, 1929
 * 5:0 v Regatta Club, D1, 1931
 * 5:0 v Victoria Athletic, D1, 1950
 * 6:1 v Kitimat & Kemano Utd, D1, 1979
 * 5:0 v Victoria Athletic, D2, 1985
 * 5:0 v Quesnel Utd, D1, 1996


 * Biggest defeat: 5 goals
 * 0:5 v Alberni Town, D1, 1981


 * Highest scoring game: 9 goals
 * 5:4 v Victoria Utd, D2, 1968
 * 4:5 v Victoria Athletic, D1, 1971
 * 4:5 v Royal City, D1, 1976


 * Highest scoring league game (to 2001): 9 goals
 * 5:4 v Victoria Utd, D2, 1968
 * 4:5 v Victoria Athletic, D1, 1971
 * 4:5 v Royal City, D1, 1976


 * Deepest cup run: Final - 1892 (winner), 1893, 1903 (winner), 1904 (winner), 1906, 1911 (winner), 1918, 1929 (winner), 1941 (winner), 1960 (winner), 1977, 2002, 2019 (winner)