1902 Dominion Championship

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The 1902 Dominion Championship was played on November 15, 1902 at the Ottawa College Grounds in Ottawa, Ontario. The Ottawa Rough Riders, champions of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, faced Ottawa College, the champions of the Quebec Rugby Football Union and the defending national champions. The Rough Riders won 5–0 to capture their third Dominion Championship. It was a rematch of the 1898 final, also won by the Rough Riders on the same grounds. The Rough Riders appeared in the title game for the third time in five years, while Ottawa College made its seventh appearance; the Rough Riders had defeated Ottawa College in each previous meeting.

This was the last national championship played with 15 players per side and the last to use two halves before rule changes moved many unions to other formats. The changes and disagreements among leagues led to the cancellation of future championships until 1905. The Rough Riders were favored to win, about 2-to-1, and won the toss to defend with the wind advantage going north.

Hal Walters opened the scoring by receiving a throw-in and punting it into touch-in-goal, scoring a single point. Later in the first half, Walters caught a pass from Jim McGee and ran in for a touchdown, making the score 5–0 after a failed conversion. In the second half, Ottawa College had the wind but could not score, while the Rough Riders controlled the ball—estimates put their possession around 80% for the game, with Walters handling the ball about 60% of the time. The Rough Riders held on to their lead and won their third Canadian Dominion Championship, with about 6,000 people in attendance.