The Hugo Ross Trophy was named after a Winnipeg real estate broker, , who donated the championship trophy to the Western Canada Rugby Football Union (WCRFU). Hugo Ross died a year earlier in April 1912, as he was one of many who drowned in the sinking of RMS Titanic. When the WCRFU joined with the Canadian Rugby Union in 1921, the Hugo Ross Trophy champion were able to play for the Grey Cup against teams outside Western Canada. In 1935, the Winnipeg Pegs became the only team to win the Grey Cup.