The Rifles Heritage

In 1999 when we began our search for a name, we wanted to find one that was related to the history of our city and if possible one related to our military history. Part of our reason for this was that we wanted a name that our community could embrace as its own, "Winnipeg's team." None of us had any familiarity with military history so we did not know if there was something out there that would be a good fit. Much to our surprise, we found a perfect fit. A name that was an intricate part and ran parallel to our cities history and development and one that had a rich military past.

The name; "Winnipeg Rifles," is derived from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Western Canada's oldest infantry regiment. Their history is closely related to that of Winnipeg and Manitoba.

The Regiment was formed in 1883 to provide security in Western Canada. After participating in the relief of General Gordon at Khartoum in the Sudan, its first hostile action was at Fish Creek in 1885, during the North West Rebellion. The Regiment went on to earn battle honours in the South African War and in World Wars I and II.

An early and fascinating tie in to the city was that the Regiment's first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Nassau Kennedy eventually became Winnipeg's second mayor.

An interesting aside too is that in the late 1940's the Winnipeg Light Infantry became a part of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Regiment at the time that they were competing in the Manitoba Junior Football League.

Today the Royal Winnipeg Rifles are an infantry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve.

In honour of the Regiment's rich and proud history in Winnipeg, the sacrifices made by its men and women and its connectedness to Junior football and with the traditions established by Junior football's long history in Winnipeg, our Football Program is humbled and honoured to wear the name and colours of the Regiment.

Note: For a more detailed history of the Regiment you may go to their web site. It can be found through our
"Links Page."