This is the fifth article in our Canadian Soccer History Series, and is Part 1 in a 3-part series on David Forsyth. NSXI has extracted and abridged these articles from the delightful book “Soccer: Canada’s National Sport”, written by Les Jones.
One man was singularly responsible for the development of soccer in Canada. Over a twenty-year period, he built the foundation, provided the bricks, mixed the mortar and supervised the construction. Then he took responsibility for the maintenance. He was, quite rightly, the first ‘Builder’ inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame.
The man responsible for harnessing that interest, for establishing the sport and building its popularity, was David Forsyth, B.A., ‘the man with the big moustache.’ Forsyth was a Canadian in every respect except for birth. His family brought him to Ontario from Scotland before his first birthday. The community respected Forsyth as a teacher, administrator and initiator. More than this, however-Forsyth was involved in every aspect of soccer. He not only spearheaded its development, but he himself played at the highest level. Forsyth also coached kids, managed the national team, ran the first league and organized the first out-of-country tours. In addition, he promoted and publicized the sport, and even retailed equipment and accessories. An all-round sportsman, he was also a canoeist, curler, cricketer, lawn bowler and captain of the Berlin Lacrosse Club.
Bringing Soccer to Canada
Forsyth not only initiated every significant soccer happening in the first 20 or so years of soccer’s birth in Canada, he participated in most of the milestone events.
He fell in love with soccer in Toronto where he played ‘university rules’ football for the Varsity. On graduating, the sports-minded principal of Berlin (now Kitchener) High School hired him . The principal encouraged Forsyth to promote sport activity, as an appreciation for the benefits of physical exercise was then coming into vogue. Forsyth added soccer to the list of sports played at Berlin. He initiated training year-round, even on hard-packed snow. This was an innovation for a sport that was usually played of a few weeks each year at most. Other schools followed suit and the whole area took up the sport. This set the stage for Galt’s 1904 Olympic triumph.
