Sylvester Patrick "Silver" Quilty (February 8, 1891 – December 2, 1976) was a Canadian football player, referee, coach and sport administrator. As a player, he won the Yates Cup in 1907 with the Ottawa Gee-Gees football team, and was credited as the first man to play the flying wing position. He also played with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and the McGill Redmen football team. After his playing career, he became a football referee and officiated the 10th Grey Cup, and also coached the Ottawa Rough Riders.
Quilty was later involved in building ice hockey in the Ottawa area, then served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1924 to 1926. He sought to implement uniform playing rules across Canada, and helped bridge disagreements between the provincial hockey associations. He was the father of National Hockey League player Johnny Quilty, was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1966, and into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
Early life
Quilty was born February 8, 1891, near Renfrew, Ontario. He detested his birth name Sylvester, and preferred to be known as Silver. He began playing football while attending the Renfrew Collegiate Institute.
Football playing career
At age 16, Quilty enrolled at the University of Ottawa, and joined the Ottawa Gee-Gees football team coached by Father William Stanton. Quilty went on to play with the Gee-Gees football team from 1907 to 1912. In the 1907 season, Quilty played the outside wing position on the team which won the intercollegiate football championship, and the 1907 Yates Cup title. In the 1908 season, Quilty became the first man to play in the flying wing position, when it was created by Father Stanton that season. Quilty was also the team's kicker and main ball carrier for the 1908 and 1909 seasons.
Quilty served as the captain of the Ottawa team for the 1911 season. He graduated from University of Ottawa in 1912 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. On September 12, 1912, it was announced that Quilty would study to become a priest at the Montreal Seminary. On September 23, 1912, Quilty returned to play in Ottawa for the 1912 season, instead of studying at the seminary. Later that month, Queen's University denied a statement that it had offered Quilty free tuition to play for the Queen's Gaels football team.
Quilty played the 1913 season with the Ottawa Rough Riders under his old coach Father Stanton, but his team failed to reach the playoffs. He joined the McGill Redmen football team for the 1914 season, who were the defending intercollegiate champions. Quilty also enrolled at McGill University to study medicine. In the 1914 Yates Cup championship game, Quilty scored two touchdowns. The second touchdown included 109 yards gained in seven consecutive plays from his own one-yard line, but McGill lost the game to the Toronto Varsity Blues football team on a last-minute fumble in its end zone.
In 1912, the Winnipeg Free Press called Quilty "one of the greatest line plungers in the game". In 1930, The Globe and Mail said that. "in his playing days before the war, Quilty was the Lionel Conacher of his time". In a 1966 interview with The Canadian Press, Quilty recalled his playing days by saying, "we often used to make up our plays on the spur moment, right on the field during a game. The coach directed the team in practice and set up some basic plays but he didn't have much to do once a game started". Quilty also felt that modern football was more of a coaches' game, and said "but one thing hasn't changed with the years, to play football well you've got to have your heart in it".
Later football career
Quilty worked as a Canadian football referee for five seasons after his playing days. He officiated football for two seasons with the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU), and then three seasons with the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU). He is credited with officiating one or two Grey Cup games depending on the source. The Canadian Press states that he was the referee in control of the 10th Grey Cup played in 1922, whereas an interview with Bob McKenzie specifically mentions that he refereed two Grey Cup games in the 1920s. Canada's Sports Hall of Fame credits him with occasional refereeing "well into the 1920s", and being requested by various teams.
Quilty also served on the rules committee for the CIAU and the IRFU. He later served as the president of a local Ottawa football organization.