The tradition of "bowl" games on the first day of the new year had been established decades before in that country south of the border. By the end of the 1940's, many Canadian cities decided that they needed their own grid iron classic to bring in the new year. A fad was started. The first bowl game in Ottawa was played at Brewer's Park in 1949. The "Snow Bowl" pitted the Red Devils against the All Stars of the "Ottawa South League". The Devils won 6-0 that year. As reported in the Ottawa Journal, this was to be "Ottawa's own New Year's Annual" (it lasted until 1956, and was resurrected in later years).

The teams were based on street addresses. Those living north of Springhurst formed Upper Ottawa East and those south of the line were the Lowers. This boundary was later changed to Clegg St. for certain years. There was always a debate about certain player's eligibility but in the end nobody cared. Even the odd "alien" was permitted to play depending on the particular New Year's Eve party he had attended.

The score depended to a large extent on the field conditions. Knee-deep snow usually meant a low score. January thaws meant more running and higher scores but also more bruises and sopping wet clothes. Rules were similar to normal football but with no "white" lines, enforcement was at the pleasure of the referee. "First and ten" was paced off by the ref' and he decided if the necessary yardage was achieved. For those few who argued, they were told to shut up and play - by their own teammates. The game was fun!

In the early days a touchdown was worth five points, a convert one and a "rouge" was one point. Rouge, for those who don't remember, was scored when a player was tackled in his own end zone (I think?). Early articles list "flying wings, middles and outsides" for positions. For a long time the teams were named the Upper and Lower Slobovians or Slobs (Editor's Note: Yes, even grown men can be silly when having fun).

In 1952, Sammy Dibartalo, who operated a local corner store, donated a trophy for the winning team. The "Most Valuable Player" trophy was donated in 1955 by Patsy Guzzo, Ottawa East's most famous athlete of all time. There is more on his story here.

The Frost Bowl was a major event in Ottawa East during the 1950's. Newspaper accounts report crowds of over 400 people lining the hill next to the field. By the 1960's there was less interest and younger brothers or even sons largely replaced the original group of players. The tradition continued and every January 1st, around one o'clock in the afternoon, motley dressed males would be seen trudging their way to St. Pat's field - no matter what the weather.

Lineman Jay Fleming trapped a return kick with 5 minutes to play and was pushed over the line for the only score, no convert. Red Bunyan received the first Patsy Guzzo trophy as the game's most valuable player.
Upper: Dick Bunyan, Roy McAllister, John Hamilton, Bruce Hamilton, Len McAllister, Chucj Presley, Don Peters, Terry Brennan, Roy Phillips, Gerry Lepage, Tome Clark and Jay Fleming.
Lower: Brian Tyrell, tom Beaudry, Aurel Bonnefant, Leo Dagenais, Geryy O'Reilly, roy James, John McDonald, Roy Moore, Chuch Paul, Toem Rodger, Gary Craig, Grant Edmunds, John Aldrich, John Guigues, Bob Leclair, Roger Gravelle and Moe Gravelle.
Officials: none reported