Ravens mark decades of competing

It's been 75 years — through a one-year sabbatical in 1951, another absence from 1999 to 2013 and now a pandemic — but the Carleton Ravens have started rolling out several initiatives to celebrate the anniversary of their football beginnings.

Earlier this month, a 75 years/75 days program was launched, with facts and moments from over the years being thrown into the spotlight. There also are plans to name players and teams of the decade — for each decade — and the wheels are in motion to create a virtual Ravens Football Hall of Fame.

Jeff Morris, a kicker with the Ravens from 1982 to 1986, looks after alumni engagement and is excited about the anniversary.

“We've got an exciting future ahead; this brings the past to the forefront,” said Morris, who started working on this two or three years ago with the school and the Old Crows alumni group. “We're trying to pull everybody back into the program. A lot of the guys were emotionally invested in their teammates and the football program.”

At first glance, it may seem odd. It's not the 75th anniversary. Explained Morris: “It's not the 75th year of football. We've had 60 years of football. We didn't really want to let this opportunity to celebrate a milestone slip away. Everything has been extremely positive. Nobody really dove into our history like this before. It's created a lot of talking points.”

Here are some of the moments that will be celebrated:

Oct. 20, 1945: Carleton's football team posted its first win, beating Macdonald College of Montreal 22-1 at Lansdowne Park, avenging a 15-0 loss in Montreal in the inaugural game the week before. Tackle John Urquhart, a 32-year-old Second World

War veteran and Carleton's oldest player, led Carleton in the trenches in a tough game that left many Macdonald players with broken bones. Urquhart's girlfriend, Phyllis Convery, who had previously been a student at Macdonald, was so furious with him she refused to speak to him for several days. Fortunately, the quarrel was patched up. The two would marry and settle in Brantford.

Oct. 10, 1955: The Carleton Ravens shut down Ottawa U 14-6 to win the first Panda Game. Running back Bob Anderson scored the only touchdown for Carleton on a pass from his old Fisher

Park High School teammate, Gord Johnston. Anderson would not finish the game, though, as he was lost with a broken leg. Quarterback Brian Turner punted for two singles, and kicker Walt Lacosta had two field goals and a convert. After the game, Pedro the Panda was parachuted down from the roof above the Lansdowne Park north side grandstand to Carleton captains Graydon Harrison and Douglas Duclos, who accepted the bear as a trophy.

Sept. 18, 1982: New head coach Ace Powell earned his first win as the Ravens head coach in dramatic fashion, as Carleton knocked off Queen's 34-32 in front of 5,500 fans in Kingston. Rookie Cam Collins made his first start at quarterback and passed for 332 yards. The Ravens had

595 yards of total offence, which established a new team record. “I played against Queen's eight times and lost eight times,” fifthyear linebacker Gary Shaver told the Ottawa Citizen after the game. “It's about time we beat them.” Sept. 1, 2014: It was a day of celebration for the Ravens, as the team posted their first win in 16 years with a convincing 33-14 win over Waterloo at Warrior Field. The Ravens piled up 512 yards of total offence. Jesse

Mills passed for 229 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one score.