A #RemembranceDay football thread: On February 13th, 1944, the first International football game was played on British soil to boost morale in the lead up to D-Day. The Canadian Army “Mustangs” defeated the US Army 16-6 to win the Tea Bowl in front of 30,000 confused British fans

It was a who’s who of early #CFL greats. Hall of Famers Paul Rowe and Huck Welch, young stars like Jeff Nicklin, Andy Bieber, Shanty Mackenzie and Orville Burke all were enlisted and playing in the game organized by Canadian Sports Hall of Famer and team captain Denny Whitaker

Canada’s first TD was a Burke to Whitaker strike. The star Ottawa Rough Rider QB would survive the war and move to Vancouver, becoming head coach of @vcfootball in the early 1950’s and was a key player in the founding of the #BCLions

It was Jeff Nicklin who scored the winning TD. It was the final points in the career of the man who brought the #Bombers their first 2 Grey Cups. He was killed in action jumping into Germany in 1945. The West Division MOP trophy is named in his honour.

In the days before pro football was glamorous, these men broke the tension of war time with a friendly game. They braved the London blitz with a squadron of Spitfires on deck to play the sport they loved, some for the last time.

There would be another game a month later, the Canadians lost 18-0 to NFL Pro Bowl QB Tommy Thompson without Nicklin, Whitaker and others, but that first game marked a unifying moment for Canadian troops.

We forget that these were just boys fighting in a war they couldn’t truly comprehend. They should have been at home tossing the pigskin, instead many bled out on foreign soil. For some, last thoughts drifted to teammates and Grey Cups they would never hoist again. #LestWeForget