Edmonton Rangers

The Edmonton Football Club was founded in 1910 and was a founding member of the Alberta Football Championship. By 1917, ownership of the team would transfer over to Greg Mackenzie. Mackenzie saw lots of potential for a strong inter-provincial league during his early days of owning the team. He would pave the way for the WFU to be formed with its original 4 teams. While Greg Mackenzie made waves off the field the team was dominant on the field. Edmonton would capture 3 of the first 4 Mackenzie Cups in the WFU. A few years later, the team would be the first to capture 3 Mackenzie Cups in a row between 1932 and 1934. During the second set of championships, the Edmonton Football Club would officially take on the nickname of Rangers. The name comes from the area around the team’s Stadium, located at Forest Heights Park. The building was surrounded by trees and a park, leading to the team being deemed the park’s rangers. The name would catch on and Greg Mackenzie would make it official in 1935. 

After WW2, the Rangers would continue to have success winning 3 more championships in the late 40s-early 50s. In 1952, Greg Mackenzie would fall ill and passed away at 79. His son, and current owner, Norman Mackenzie would take over. Norm admired his father. He was his hero and he would do everything in his power to keep his dad’s legacy intact. Norm’s leadership would keep the Rangers competitive as they would make 6 Mackenzie Cups during the remainder of the 1950s, winning 2. Then the team would rise to power in the 60s, winning 4 more Cups and replicating the Ottawa Royals’ 7 consecutive appearances in the Championship game. While Norm was hesitant about the decision to accept the partnership, he has now shifted focus to the upcoming season and hopes his team can remain competitive in the NAAF.

The Team
The Rangers are still riding the tail end of their 1960s success. They are led by Coach Pat Gilliam, who is a classic rough and tough coach. He believes games are won in the trenches, hence why the team has a very strong O-line and D-line. The stars on the OL are Matthew Miller, Charles Creighton, and Phillip Caron, while James Chambers, Stu Godfrey, and Steven Montgomery, man the D-line. They also have a pair of mean LBs in Frank St. John and Herb Landry. Offensively, expect strong play from their run game behind the O-line. RB Gary Hubbard is hoping to continue his strong run as one of the leading rushers in the WFU over the last 5 years. The team has some key pieces, but age is certainly going to become a concern with many stars hitting their 30s. The biggest concern could be 37-year-old QB Blair Collins. Luckily, Collins’ pocket passing play style isn’t too intense which could mean a couple of years of play still in him. The team does have some youth at WR with 26-year-old, Alex Browne Sr., and 24-year-old Shay Hopkins likely leading the way this season.

The Brand
Going into the NAAF, the Rangers had a pretty dated brand. The team’s logo was a drawn depiction of Eddie the Owl, the team’s mascot. Due to the NAAF’s new rules, the team would need a bit of a change in the logo. It certainly stung for Norman Mackenzie to have to see the logo changed, but Oscar Patterson made sure to work closely with Norman to make sure the brand felt right. Mackenzie appreciated the dedication.

Logos: The new logo features Eddie as he perches on a branch, inside of a roundel. The Roundel features the full name of the team. The team’s colours of Green and cream are primarily featured, but Eddie remains brown as he was in the previous design.

Uniforms: The Rangers uniforms are about as simple as you can get for uniforms. Plain green jersey with just numbers. Cream pants with a single green stripe, and plain green socks. The simple jersey has been a staple for the team for a very long time, so Mackenzie was very stubborn about making any changes. 

Stadium and Field: The team plays at Forest Heights Park, which is both the name of the park and the stadium that is located there. It’s an old and fairly cozy stadium, tucked in amongst the trees. The team has been playing at the building since 1914, but the stadium has seen countless renovations and expansions over the years to the point where it now holds 28,500 people and doesn’t feel too old. There are conversations starting about the city providing a new stadium for the team in a better location, but Norman has not been willing to part ways with the historic building yet. The field is pretty simple with no major designs, just the outline of the new Eddie the Owl logo.