The Canada Cup

A white t-shirt printed with original artwork promoting the Canada Cup Tournament (Photo by M. Pereira). The heading reads, "Toronto, Canada, July 3-6 - Canada Cup '86". The comicbook-style image features a masked hero answering the summons of a Canadian maple leaf projected in a beacon of light across the night sky. The Statue of Liberty appears in the background symbolizing the North American nature of the tournament. The caption reads, "...across the country, high in the night sky, the signal - a promise of fellowship and competition...".

A green button badge, 5.5 cm in diameter, which reads: “C.G.S.L. Canada Cup, 1980, Toronto” (Photo by M. Pereira).

A pink button badge, 5.5 cm in diameter featuring a baseball player, around which is printed: “Canada Cup’87 PWA/LGYT” (Photo by M. Pereira).

A poster featuring the bust of a baseball player, around which is printed: "True Gritte / Canada Cup '89 / The softball experience".

Photograph of teams on parade at the Canada Cup (Photo by B. Jones). Members hold the Canadian, American and CGSL flags.

Every summer since 1978, the CGSL has organized the Canada Cup tournament, usually in conjunction with the Pride Toronto festival. The leadership sent invitations to parallel sports leagues across Canada and the USA, booking local diamonds, hiring umpires, establishing game schedules, coordinating accommodation for visiting players and organizing celebratory events at bars in the Village. The tournament was often sponsored by local businesses as well as larger corporations. Each year the executive committee also commissioned original artwork to decorate posters, t-shirts and button badges. The themes of gay fellowship and Canadian pride are dominant in that artwork, as seen in the few examples included here. The CGSL fonds includes many records relating to the organization of the Canada Cup, including correspondence, financial documents, promotional films, posters, commemorative programs, photographs, t-shirts, button badges and game results.