On Sunday September 13^th the USask Huskies and University of Alberta Golden Bears will take to the pitch for the 10^th annual Bateman Cup, a tradition that honours the sacrifices of Canadian military service members, past and present.

It also commemorates one man in particular, from whom the game got its name – World War I veteran Reginald John Godfrey Bateman.

Bateman, who arrived in Saskatchewan from Ireland in 1909, was among the first of four original faculty members, the University of Saskatchewan's first ever professor of English and captain of the U of S varsity senior football (soccer) team.

In 1911, two years after his arrival, Bateman and his teammates traveled to Edmonton to compete in the first ever inter-university soccer match between University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta, winning a game that sparked the beginning of a rivalry and served as the inspiration for the Bateman Cup.
  The University of Saskatchewan senior varsity football (soccer) team in 1911. (University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections) 

Original records stated University of Saskatchewan won the game 1-0, however further archival research by Ken Gryschuk, a local author penning a book on the first golden age of Saskatoon soccer called Everywhere, All At Once, determined two Edmonton newspapers reported it as a 3-1 victory for Bateman and his teammates.

Though the score has been debated over the years, the University of Saskatchewan's victory at that first game and subsequent rivalry with University of Alberta has not.

In 1912, Gryschuk's research shows Saskatchewan once again took the victory in a heated re-match, with a 1-0 win in front of a crowd of about 400 spectators.

Interestingly, Gyrschuk's research and discovery have a coincidentally personal tie, as his son Greg Buckley was a goalkeeper for the Huskies and played in the first Bateman Cup, in 2016.

In August 1914, the focus of Bateman's life would shift drastically when just five years after his arrival on the prairies, World War I broke out in Europe.
  Reginald John Godfrey Bateman pictured in his Canadian Expeditionary Forces uniform (left) and at University of Saskatchewan (right) in his role as an English professor. (University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections)

Immediately enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 31-year-old Bateman headed to Belgium and France, where he became a veteran of trench warfare.

After finishing his first term, Bateman would go on to bravely enlist for two more terms, repeatedly returning to the frontlines of war, even after being wounded in 1917.

On September 3, 1918, at just 35 years old, Bateman paid the ultimate sacrifice, when he was killed by a German shell in France during the Hundred Days Offensive, a campaign led by the Allies with the goal of defeating the Germans and ending the war.

Two months after his death that goal was achieved, when on November 11, 1918, the war came to an end.

After his death, his family proposed the idea of creating the Bateman Cup to honour his athletic contributions to the university, but at the time, the idea never came to fruition.

In 2016, 107 years after Bateman arrived at University of Saskatchewan, that request was honoured when the first ever Bateman Cup was played thanks to the generous sponsorship of Huskie Football alumni David Dubé.

Dubé, President and CEO of Concorde Group, a University of Saskatchewan 2011 Alumni Achievement Award winner and overall supporter of the Huskies, also sponsored the commemorative jerseys the team plays in each year.
  Members of the Canadian military at the October 22, 2023 Bateman Cup. (Electric Umbrella for Huskie Athletics)

For Huskie Men's Soccer the tradition of the Bateman Cup goes far beyond the pitch.

Each year, prior to the game, head coach Bryce Chapman and his team head to the Sgt. Hugh Cairns VC DCM memorial in Kinsmen Park, where the names of 75 local soccer players who served and were killed in the war (including Sgt. Cairns and Bateman), are permanently memorialized.

Like Bateman, Sgt. Cairns, a Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal recipient, was also killed in France as part of the Hundred Days Offensive, at just 21 years old.

This year, at their annual memorial visit, Huskies players reflected on the game, carrying on the tradition of competition with the Golden Bears, and the chance to honour the men who paved the way.

"It's important because we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them. They were the first Huskies athletes. The ones that we look up to. It's something we don't think about every day, but it's important to keep in the back of our minds, especially when we have this opportunity to play against U of A again and relive that first game that was played by those athletes," said Huskie Men's Soccer player Aydin Wiebe.
  The USask Huskie Men's Soccer team at the Sgt. Hugh Cairns memorial in Kinsmen Park, Sept, 6, 2026. (courtesy of Huskie Men's Soccer)

"It's a very important piece of soccer history in Saskatchewan, but also in Canada," Wiebe said.

Wiebe's teammate A.J. Calado also reflected on the significance of the game.

"It's a good opportunity for us to learn about where we came from. Where those foundational pieces of the Huskies came from. These were high-performing people and it's our turn to strive to be like them," Calado said.

"Getting to play against U of A this Sunday… it means a lot more knowing the personal connection."

One hundred and twelve years after Reginald John Godfrey Bateman left the University of Saskatchewan to fight in the trenches of World War I, his memory and the memory of so many other brave Saskatchewan soccer players live on through the Bateman Cup and the game they loved.

"For these guys to leave as footballers and go and fight… and lose their lives," said assistant coach Phil Andrews. "It's hard to fathom."

"Their sacrifice should never be forgotten," Calado said. "That's why we're here today."

Join Huskie men's soccer this Sunday September 13^th as the team competes against the University of Alberta Golden Bears for the 10^th annual Bateman Cup, and as we remember, recognize and give thanks to our brave service members, past and present. We will never forget.
  The Bateman Cup at Griffiths Stadium. (Electric Umbrella for Huskie Athletics)