The Zorra Tug of War team, from the Village of Embro, began to attract attention in 1881 for their ability to out pull teams that often outweighed them. Because of this a great rivalry began between the Zorra Team and the Dereham Team, with the Dereham Team outweighing them by 20 pounds apiece. In the four years they competed against each other the Zorra team never lost. As their reputation spread the Zorra Team was challenged by teams from around the province, but none were able to beat the Mighty Men of Zorra.
On August 3rd, 1888 the team went to Buffalo to compete and was able to beat teams from Buffalo and Rochester, for which they received a silver tankard and a purse of money.
In 1890, the team received a challenge from the Highland Association of Chicago to compete against a Chicago team. The challenge was accepted and the match took place on August 23rd, with the Zorra team losing following a misinterpretation of the starting rule. As a result a re-match was requested to be held in Embro on October 10th. With over 4,000 in attendance the Zorra team was able to settle the score by beating the Chicago team in a long drawn out battle. These two teams met again at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 where teams from Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, as well as the United States would compete. With fierce competition the “Zorras” once again defeated the Chicago team, in the finals, to become the official World Champions. Following their victory the Hon. Oliver Mowat offered his congratulations.
The team consisted of Alex Clark, Robert McLeod, Ira Hummason, William R. Munro, E.L. Sutherland (Captain) and Robert McIntosh and all were well over 40 years of age when they competed.
The three championship trophies the team won during international competitions were kept by Hon. James Sutherland at his home and later at Altadore, before being kept in the home of Bob McIntosh in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They were presented to the Woodstock Museum in 1976.
In 1939, a cairn was erected at the North Embro cemetery gates in their honor, which reads “Men of Might Who Feared the Lord”