Galt Football Club

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Galt Football Club was founded in 1880 with players drawn from Galt Collegiate Institute and the town. The catalyst for the rapid growth of soccer (football) in Ontario was teacher and footballer David Forsyth, who began promoting soccer as an organized sport in schools and communities in this region in the mid-1870s. Forsyth founded the Western Football Association, from which Galt F.C. emerged as a top team. Nicknamed the “Porridge Eating Invincibles” for their Scottish roots, they won the first five Ontario Cups from 1901 to 1903. At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, Galt won gold, with 2,500 cheering residents welcoming them home. In 1905, they beat Montreal Westmount and were declared the best in Canada, then tied a British all-star team in a game called the Championship of the World. Galt F.C. gradually disappeared following these victories, but the seeds of excitement for soccer had been planted. Galt F.C. was re-established in 2019 to continue to promote organized sport, education and community from its historic field at Dickson Park. The original Galt F.C. has been inducted into Cambridge, Waterloo, Ontario and Canadian sporting halls of fame for their contribution to the roots of the game in Ontario and stands as one of Canada’s great sports teams.