In 1888, when the Cumberland mines started into production, they brought hundreds of miners from the football hotbeds of the British Isles. Some of these miners had moved from Nanaimo, where coal mines had been operating for 35 years employing these football loving men. An instant rivalry developed amongst Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Wellington and Cumberland. Over the years this competition grew so intense that a prospective miner was often asked , “Can you play football?”, before he was hired.

The Cumberland United Football Team of the early 1920’s was recognized for reaching the national final for the Connaught Cup, representative of the Canadian Football Championship. The team was sponsored by the Canadian Collieries, employer of the miners in Cumberland. The team had a few semi-professional players including one Scottish International, Dave Wilson. The team took B.C. titles from 1920 to 1922. Only two Cumberland natives played on the team; Dan Bannerman and Tom Conti.

During the 1930’s, the Cumberland Eagles won three consecutive O.B. Allen cups, the top amateur trophy for the province. Some of the locals thought that the Eagles were getting too big for their britches after winning three B.C. championships in a row.

The Rangers followed the Eagles, who were in turn succeeded by the Wanderers. In any and all occasions, the football teams drew large and very loyal groups of Cumberland fans to the games. Train loads of fans would steam out of Cumberland to Union Bay where they would board an E. & N. train to Nanaimo or a ship to Vancouver. Tommy Watson recalled that the fans would sit on the roof of the train if there was no room down below.

These outstanding teams from Cumberland did not develop in isolation. The Bevan, Union Bay, No. 8, Courtenay, and Campbell River teams played in a league that was extremely competitive. But whatever the match, the Sunday games in Cumberland provided the fans with entertainment and gave the players something to look forward to after a long week of hard work in the coal mines.

In the earlier days, a team representing Cumberland had full support from Canadian Collieries. The Company supplied the jobs, the uniforms and the soccer ball. Other teams gained support of Cumberland merchants or raised money to assist with their expenses. The team members representing Cumberland had to make sacrifices of their own spare time in order to be well conditioned athletes. A member of the team, Chuna, stated: “I played with the Eagles, practiced for hours, three-four nights a week faithfully…If we were supposed to play ball in Nanaimo Sunday afternoon, and we were caught downtown Saturday night after 10 o’clock, we didn’t play that game next day, no matter how good we were. We went down there for a final, a Davey Cup; there was Louis Bartoldi, Harold Carter and myself. We were caught in the pool room after 10 o’clock. We were good players; we were scheduled to play that day. Next day come--they never named the team till we got into the dressing room before the game—and they put the list. The three of us never played that day; for the simplest reason that we were out after hours” (Chuna, 150).

As the work in the mines diminished and the young men from the Cumberland area began to move away to find other jobs, a wealth of soccer talent was lost. Many of the men leaving town had gained a good foundation in the skills of soccer during their early years in Cumberland and continued to play the game in their new settings.

One feature of Cumberland’s May 24th celebration is the Old Timers’ Soccer Game. The skills of the old days flash for a moment in the suddenly young legs of men in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. By acting as coaches, referees and examples to the youth of Cumberland, the “Old Timers” have helped keep soccer alive in the area. The legacy of the sport will remain in place for years to come.