Prewar The Imperials first began playing in the
ORFU in 1928, enjoying immediate success, as they finished first in their division that year, only to lose the ORFU final to the
Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers. Their early success was attributed to being sponsored by
Imperial Oil (for which the team was named and logo stylized after) during the
Great Depression. Imperial Oil's involvement and offering of well-paying
petrochemical industry jobs to players meant the team could attract high-quality talent. The team went on to enjoy great success for the next 12 years, missing the postseason only once and winning the ORFU final 10 of those 12 years. Sarnia played in their first
Grey Cup championship game in
1933, which was also the only time the city hosted the Grey Cup game, but they lost a low-scoring affair, falling 4–3 to the
Toronto Argonauts in the lowest-scoring Grey Cup game to date. The team reversed their fortunes the next year, as they returned to the Dominion championship and came out victorious, defeating the
Regina Roughriders 20–12 in the
22nd Grey Cup game. After losing to the
Hamilton Tigers in the Eastern final in
1935, the Imperials returned to the Grey Cup game in
1936. The team secured their second Grey Cup win after their victory over the
Ottawa Rough Riders in the
24th Grey Cup game. To date, they are the last amateur team to win the Grey Cup in peacetime. While they did not return to the Grey Cup game, one of their more memorable
victories came in
1937, when they crushed Montreal 63–0 in a Grey Cup quarterfinal. This came at a time when touchdowns were worth only five points. The Imperials ceased play in the ORFU after the
1939 season due to
World War II.
Postwar After the Second World War, the Imperials were not as dominant as they had been before, but recovered by 1949, finishing with a winning record every year from that year until the end of their existence. In their last 10 years of existence, they won two ORFU titles, in 1951 and 1952; they finished second several times in that span. By this time, however, the ORFU was reckoned as a minor league. In the years after World War II, competing against the
IRFU and the
WIFU, both of which were now fully professional, became increasingly difficult. After the 1954 season, the ORFU dropped out of contention for the Grey Cup, beginning the modern era of professional Canadian football. Overall, the Imperials won their first ORFU title in 1929, then reeled off nine straight Ontario championships from 1931 to 1939. They also won the ORFU crown in 1951 and 1952, giving them a total of 12 championships, in addition to their two Grey Cups. The team played its home matches at Sarnia's Athletic Park (opened in 1928 and also referenced as Davis Field during 1933 Grey Cup), renamed in 1957 as
Norm Perry Park after the former star football player and Sarnia mayor.
Golden Bears 1956-1961 The team ceased operations in 1955. ORFU football in Sarnia returned under the name of the Sarnia Golden Bears for the 1956 ORFU season. The Golden Bears won the 1958 and 1959 ORFU championships. The Golden Bears then joined the
American Football Conference in 1961 and ceased operations along with AFC in 1962. ==Canadian Football Hall of Famers==