Sports Memories of Burlington
From the Winter Olympics to the FIFA World Cup and everything in between, 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year for sports fans. Here in Burlington, sports have long been part of our community story, from neighbourhood leagues and local arenas to athletes and teams competing on national and international stages.
Curious about Burlington’s sporting past? Take a trip through local history with these fascinating archival collections from the Burlington Digital Archive, featuring photographs, newspaper clippings, team records, and more from years gone by.
Explore the Collections
These archival collections highlight the people, organizations, and memorable moments that have shaped Burlington’s rich sporting history over the years.
Aldershot Women’s Institute
These scrapbooks were created as part of the Tweedsmuir History Books project, which encouraged Women’s Institutes across Canada to document and preserve their community’s local history. The books include community stories, family histories and reports on local events—including sports. A look through the Aldershot scrapbooks reveals the history of the Aldershot Aces baseball team, the Aldershot Lawn Bowling Club, Hockey Club, and more.
The Aldershot Women's Institute scrapbooks have been digitized and are available for viewing on the Burlington Digital Archive.
Scheer Family, Aldershot Baseball Club, winners of Inter-County League and Wilson Cup. Burlington Digital Archive
Burlington Braves
The Burlington Braves were a Canadian junior football team founded in 1958. The team played in the Ontario Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League. In the 1980s, the team briefly changed its name to the Burlington Junior Tiger Cats before returning to the Braves in the 1990s. The team folded in February of 2016.
The Burlington Braves Alumni Association fonds includes team photographs, scrapbooks, souvenir programs, memorabilia and more. A selection of digitized material is available on the Burlington Digital Archive, and the physical collection can be viewed in the Burlington History Room.
1958 Burlington Braves Football Club: The First Team. Burlington Digital Archive
Burlington International Games
The Burlington International Games were an ambitious project that ran from 1969 to 2010. The games brought together three Burlington cities from Ontario, Vermont, and Iowa for an annual summer competition. Sports included baseball, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field, skateboarding and many more.
The Burlington International Games fonds includes programmes, pamphlets, memorabilia, photographs and more from the Games’ long history, and the physical collection is housed in the Burlington History Room.
Burlington Runners Club
The Burlington Runners Club (BRC) began in 1967 as an extension of the local YMCA. Membership remained small until 1973, when seven members ran the Boston Marathon, drawing publicity to the club. Since the 1970s, BRC has hosted weekly running events and training sessions and organized several local races. You may recognize events like the Robbie Burns Road Race or the Sulphur Springs Trail Race, Canada’s oldest running Ultra Marathon.
Browse past issues of BRC’s newsletter dating from 1979 to the present in the Burlington Runners Club fonds, along with photographs and other materials. You can also view the physical collection in the Burlington History Room.
Iroquoia Trail Test 2001: Start of Race. Burlington Digital Archive
Burlington Gymnastics Club
Established in 1968, the Burlington Gymnastics Club (BGC) is the oldest and largest gymnastics club in Burlington. What began as an after-school sports program has grown into an organization with thousands of members and two gymnastics centres.
The Burlington Gymnastics Club fonds includes nearly 200 photographs of past teams and athletes.
Interested in More?
You can browse all sports-related photographs, historical records and more on the Burlington Digital Archive. From the top menu, click on the “Browse All” tab. Use the left side menu to filter by "Subject" and select “Sports, recreation, and leisure.” Click “Apply," or scroll through the Subject filter tags to find the specific sport you're interested in.
Preserving Burlington’s Sports History
Are you an athlete, local sports club, or organization?
At Burlington Public Library, we are dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing materials that shed light on the people, culture, history, and development of Burlington—including sports.
If you have materials you think would be a good fit for our archives, please email our Local History & Digital Archive Coordinator. Your contributions help us preserve and showcase Burlington’s story.
