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History of the A's |
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1930 - The Last Hurrah For The Field Game |
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St.
Catharines’ last champions of note in the field game of lacrosse came in
the summer of 1930. While the senior Athletics had packed it in the summer
before after more disputes with the O.A.L.A. over the use of alleged
professionals, and the juniors now in a state of some disarray, it was the
successful city juvenile league that produced some crowd-pleasing lacrosse
and an eventual provincial champion. The
four-team city juvenile league had some names that would loom large in the
emerging box game over the next decade. Jack McMahon, Billy Wilson, Carl
Madsen, George Hope, Winston Millar, Joe Cheevers, Bill Whittaker and Roy
Barnard would be a few of the kingpins of some of the great Athletics Mann
Cup teams still well into the future. And Ed Downey, a future Mann Cupper
with Hamilton, Orillia and New Westminster, and son of the
turn-of-the-century A’s great George “Tod” Downey, was playing some
of his
last lacrosse in any kind of a St. Kitt’s uniform. The
season started with the Shamrocks visiting the Alerts at the Connaught
School grounds and the double-blue Athletics at the purple and white
Tecumsehs over at Thomas Street. E. T. Sandell, the past president of the
senior Athletics but now in his role as head of the city juvenile league,
offered some advice to his young athletes. The St. Catharines Standard
would report, “Sandell certainly gave the boys real advice in his short
address at the opening ceremony of the Tecumseh game. He told them to keep
away from professional sport but to get into amateur playing of all
kinds—giving lacrosse the benefit of all decisions. E. T. announced that
he was heart and soul behind the ‘juves’ as lacrosse was his favourite
game.” The
Standard would further add that Sandell “had to work hard against E. C.
Graves, M.P.P., when the two met in the official face off. They both had
trouble arranging their sticks and would not wait for Mayor F. C.
McCordick’s order ‘play.’ The Mayor knows his lacrosse and finally
made the two gutted stick handlers do it right.” By
the end of July, the 10 – 5 – 1 Alerts seemed like the team to beat,
but soon some internal strife began to take hold and the team started to
plummet in the standings. The Standard would report that, “the Alerts
officials should try and get together themselves. One faction of
east-enders always wanted to do one thing while the other moves in the
other direction. Then the parents jump in with their side of the question
and someone throws a wrench into a badly strained machine. The only way
harmony can be reached for this team is for manager, coach, officials and
friends to bury the hatchet somewhere else than in each other’s
heads.” The
Athletics would make a late season surge and carry that momentum into the
city playoffs to capture the city championship. This team then became the
nucleus of the squad that would represent the city in the provincial
showdowns. The
Young Athletics would ultimately cross sticks with the team from Weston
for the coveted juvenile lacrosse title. The Toronto Mail and Empire would
report, “Weston’s juveniles can count themselves in for the hardest
game this afternoon when St. Catharines steps on the field at three
o’clock. The visitors have lost their stage fright and will be right out
there to run up a score. It looks like a busy session for the Weston
defence. The home-town gladiators also intend to get away to an early
start, as total goals on the round decide the issue, as they well know how
the fleet-footed gentry travel back in St. Catharines. This looks like a
tidy little battle for the baby series of the O.A.L.A., starting at three
o’clock, Toronto time.” The
September 13th game at Weston would feature a torrential
downpour just before half-time. The Standard would report that “enough
fell to turn the handy field into a muddy mire…many home men fell just
as they were about to shoot.” It
was also a rough affair as Weston came out early with the heavy
stick-work. By the Standard’s account, the Young Athletics “were
afraid of the out-of-the-ordinary rough stuff exhibited by the Westonites.
However, when period after period saw them working a fast passing game
only to have their play broken up by a rap across the head, shins and
face, the Garden City dozen went at it hammer and tongs and dished up for
Weston the type of lacrosse they asked for. Danny Williams led the locals
in this play. Danny worked hard as usual and layed on the hickory at every
advantage. He took plenty for every time he got the ball it was a Weston
signal to cut him.” This
ugly game, all mud and mayhem, would end in a 5 – 5 tie and the
provincial title would come down to the game in St. Catharines on the
following Saturday. A chance for one last field title for a team from the
Garden City, and the rest is history. ST.
KITTS WIN JUVENILE LACROSSE TITLE OF ONTARIO ATHLETICS
ADMINISTERED
REAL
DEFEAT
TO
WESTON’S
ASPIRANTS FASTEST
LACROSSE
MATCH
EVER
WITNESSED
HERE
SEES
DOUBLE
BLUES
VICTORS SCORE
5 – 2 IN GAME, AND 10 – 7 ON ROUND SPEED
AND
SCORING
PUNCH
OF
ATHLETICS
OFFSET
HEAVY
CHECKING The
St. Catharines Standard Monday
September 22, 1930 Hail
to our young Athletics. Juvenile Champions of Ontario. They
put the Garden City back on the lacrosse map of Canada on Saturday in a
most convincing manner, when they worsted the threat of Weston by 5 to 2. In
accomplishing the trick, they upheld the glorious traditions of St. Kitts
as their fondest supporters hoped for, even though it was at a price of
temporary disability to several of the gallant wearers of the light and
dark blue. OUT
TO WIN After
the first of the dual series, players and management alike appreciated
that the red and white huskies from the west end of Toronto would not give
up without a bitter struggle and just how gruelling that battle was may be
proven by the six or eight hundred fans—of whom over one hundred were
from Weston—any one of whom can aptly testify. Weston, apparently, came
over with the avowed intention of winning by the severest checking means
possible and before the titular event was five minutes gone, their bag of
tricks was unleashed and every one on the calendar was brought into play.
Butt-ending, some deliberate slashing, tripping, cross-checking that was
plenty high and outright interference with players not in possession of
the ball, were included and if there was anything else available, it found
a place in the picture. RETALIATION
NECESSARY Even
the meekest players in the world cannot be expected to submit to a
continual “combing,” such as was handed out to the lighter but
speedier homesters, while the fact that the officials permitted the
infractions to get away in the early stages, tended to increase their
responsibilities as the game progressed with the result that the penalties
were far too numerous for the lovers of good lacrosse. Weston, although
more spectacular in their systems of attack and defence, showed evidence
of senior coaching and Art Banning has a team that are prepared to lay on
the “gad,” when the occasion warrants it and more often, when not. COLORFUL
ACTION Old
timers, who saw the Mann cup series and other senior affairs of the
O.A.L.A., both of this hot-bed of lacrosse and the visiting town, doffed
their hats to the juveniles on Saturday, when the game devolved into the
speediest and most brilliant game, from a stiff checking standpoint, that
would be witnessed. For the entire eighty minutes of play, there was no
let-up for a minute and the players ran themselves into exhaustion, no
thought of substitution, until physical injury forced their retirement. It
was just a case of hammer-and-tongs from whistle to whistle, with no
suggestion of surrender, during this merry battle of give and take.
Backed-up defences functioned like veritable stone walls when the opposing
home threatened and the latter took scoring chances that were worthy of
champs. THE
SCORING BREAKS The
Athletics won strictly on their merits, as the twelve that possessed the
ability to turn their opportunities into goals and with the exception of
one tally, earned every goal that constituted their total. Against them,
one of Weston’s was a gift from the gods, being scored on a long drive
from centre that possibly the sender expected would be a pass and be
intercepted midway, yet it evaded the eye of the defence field and also of
Bowie, as it slithered fifty yards into the goal. The other angle is that
the red-white defence might have played deeper instead of closer, to
better advantage, as their packing tendencies mitigated against the best
efforts of Rice in their nets, although he rose gallantly to the threat on
numerous occasions. Bowie was given better protection and the thrusts of
the Westonites were generally smothered by the fine work of Martin, Nutt,
Cleverly and Co., which the tireless speed of Williams and Rowden and the
boring-in tactics of Baker, added the necessary punch that decided the
superiority. FRAYED
NERVES At
the extremely high tension of play, it was not expected that the
youngsters could enter into a “parlor-tea” affair and minor feuds
caused the banishment of players in pairs more often than singly, while at
various times, the teams were playing anywhere from two to four men short,
but carrying the battle right to enemy uprights. When the slight rain fell
and made treacherous footing, the game deteriorated and play was halted on
two occasions, over miniature break-outs, but finally adjusted itself and
the finish saw the rivals battling as bitterly as at the commencement of
hostilities. It was a splendid victory and one that is a gay feather in
the caps of Billy Hope and Andy Mackan, who handled the “juves”
through the playoff series. St. Kitts has a wonderful team of boys, who
went into the game with a grim determination of being returned victors and
in so doing, brought the first juvenile championship of Ontario to St.
Kitts for some years. THE
PLAY St.
Catharines made a bid for the honors of the game right at the start when
Danny Williams took the draw and started a Rowden, Millar, Barrett combine
which invaded the Weston defence with a bang. Barrett shot but the ball
stopped short when it struck the leg of a Westonite. Weston evened the
play with rushes and the game began to get rough. Carr of Weston
contributed the first eye-sore to the fixture when he deliberately knocked
Danny Williams down for the count. The officials and crowd were against
Carr for this breach of etiquette and some went as far as to warn him that
a duplicate of that action might mean him being put out of lacrosse for
some time. Hall had Weston’s first real chance at the net but he let it
go wild. Cleverly came in and passed to Barrett who drove to have the shot
hit on the outside of the goal post. Rowden opened the scoring when
“Red” Millar and he played around in the open field until Buster saw
an opening. He went in and Rice could not grasp the sphere. Nutt and Hales
were put off for fighting just as Barrett picked up a loose ball from
behind the net, passed to Baker, who registered number two. SECOND
PERIOD It
took just two and a half minutes of play for St. Kitts to break in on the
scoring again. Barrett and Baker combined in their same old manner for the
counter and then the game became dirty. Baker, Keys, Carr, Rowden, Millar
and Lithgow all were benched for looking daggers at one another while the
game became more fierce. Williams hit Hall and off he went. This left only
eight St. Kitts players on the field but they battled in on Weston anyway.
Ollie Barrett was awarded a free throw and he drove for the goal. It went
in beautifully to make the score 4 – 0. Hope and Nutt relieved as the
battle continued. Halliday subbed for Baker. Hope was penalized soon
after. Hoare and Cleverly tried to mix it up and were ushered off fast.
Lithgow went right in on Bowie but dropped the ball. McLean tried a shot
but Bowie saved nicely. St. Kitts tried but Rice made his first save. The
period ended 4 – 0 for the Garden City. THIRD
PERIOD Hilton
scored Weston’s first when the ball flew out of a mix-up and seemed to
have come from a St. Catharines stick. It looked for all the world as if
Martin scored the goal while attempting to intercept a ground pass. This
made it 4 – 1. Penalties again made their appearance when Hall was put
off using the hickory on Nutt. Sunderland followed him to the bench as
Wilkes went down under a blow. Both teams were playing a more than rough
game with Weston getting the best of the play. Barrett broke into the
scoring again when he picked a loose ball, dropped it and recovered to
shoot past Rice. Rice seemed unable to cope with the fast drives of Ollie
Barrett. Cleverly and Carr wandered to the bench. An O’Malley-Rowden
play looked good but Rice was there. Hall shot only to have it bounce over
Bowie’s shoulders and out into the open air. Danny Williams went down as
somebody sneaked in a head-breaker. Lithgow was ushered off as McLean made
a long pass from centre field which developed into Weston’s second goal
as it slid right through the defence and into Bowie’s net. Bowie never
expected this either. Yeoman hit Young and received a rest. FINAL
PERIOD This
period saw rain, extremely dirty lacrosse, but no scoring. The rain came
down in a light patter but it was not heavy enough to outweigh the
popularity of the game and force the fans to seek refuge in cars. Cleverly
and McLean were put off in a pair penalty. St. Kitts went in hard but
could not score. Baker went off with a leg injury and O’Malley went back
into the game. Weston took two tries but both were wild. Barrett tried to
go around a Weston man and went down hard with the Westonite on top. Ollie
was hurt badly and had to be taken out of the game. He came off the field
holding his neck amid roaring applause from the fans. Halliday went in for
Barrett just as O’Malley and Hall were sent to the bench for attempting
to get one another’s goat. Nutt and Lithgow followed and tried to stage
a miniature free-for-all. The game wandered in a see-saw manner until the
last few minutes saw each player getting a rap at the man he had been
waiting for. However, the damage had been done and the battle came to a
close with the announcement of a 5 – 2 score. THE
TEAMS Weston—Goal,
Rice; point, McLean; cover, Keys; defence, Lithgow, Hatton, Hilton; centre,
Wilkes; home, Yeoman, Hall, Harrison; outside, Shantz; inside, Carr;
subs., Hales, Franks, Hoare. St.
Kitts—Goal, Bowie; point, Martin; cover, Sunderland; defence,
Roberts, Nutt, Cleverly; centre, Williams; home, Rowden, Baker, Barrett;
outside, Millar; inside, Young; subs., Hope, Halliday, O’Malley; goalie
Gilchrist. Referee—F.
Whitmore, Toronto; judge, H. D. Wallace, Kitchener. THE
FIRST IN 19 YEARS By
CLAYTON E. BROWNE The
St. Catharines Standard Monday September
22, 1930 Once again, gray matter triumphed over brawn and the juvenile Athletics were returned as worthy champions of the O.A.L.A. for the season of 1930. Weston were vanquished but they did not relinquish their hold on the game until the final toot of the referee’s whistle. It was a sore blow to the westerners, as their supporters could see nothing but the title looming in the distance. One might readily state that they beat themselves, when they got into the bad graces of the officials by their tendency to utilize every means at their disposal as vain efforts toward victory. The St. Kitts youngsters hit back, to repay old scores earned on the Weston field and counteract the extra heavy checking of sticks and bodies that the suburban exponents of the game are laden with. Rules permit more or less freedom in that respect, which is slightly foreign to the ethics of the fine old national pastime as practiced by St. Catharines in years gone by and stricter supervision of alleged rough tendencies might well be nipped in the bud if the arbiters are to be in command of the situation at all times. Faced with such contention as existed in the final game here, it necessitated the best efforts of the two officials and summary banishment early in the hostilities would have eliminated later flagrant infractions, which are not for the betterment of the game. Not since 1911 has the Garden City boasted a juvenile championship and it fell upon worthy shoulders in the return to this home of lacrosse, while the irony of the defeat is that Barrett, who was one of the prime factors in Weston’s fall, is a native of that town. St. Kitts is justifiably proud that the old standards of the game, demonstrated by the short, snappy combination of famous teams of old, withstood valiantly the superior height and severest checking of the invaders and brought a well-deserved victory to their native city. By so doing, they have placed the “old corner-lot town” back on the lacrosse map of Ontario and given it a decided impetus for the years to come. All honour to the coaches and the gamest set of youngsters that could possibly be found. See Related Story: The Greatest Banquet Ever |