Brt 03 loss 1

The Athletics had an excellent practice last evening, the turnout being good, and the work was such as to have the best results. Elliott is still suffering from the cut he received during the match with Oshawa on Saturday. The blow came very near having the most disastrous effect on his sight. It is hoped, however, that he will be in thoroughly good shape again by Saturday.

The Brantford Expositor says: “Brantford retains its lead in the C. L. A. senior series, the defeat of the Tecumsehs on Saturday being a timely one. But the St. Catharines team won also, still making the race for the shield an interesting one. It is now up to the two teams to show where they are really at, for St. Kitts plays here on Saturday next, and they are coming up determined to beat the locals on these grounds. That it will be a great contest, followers of the game expect, but the Brantford boys are confident that they can put the kibosh on some hopes. A special train will bring a big bunch of rooters from St. Catharines to encourage their pet sluggers.”

A STARTLING FINISH PUT BRANTFORD AHEAD AND THEY WON OUT THE GREATEST GAME OF LACROSSE EVER SEEN IN BRANTFORD AND PROBABLY ON ANY FIELD

The Daily Standard

Monday July 20, 1903

A great revelation in lacrosse was made by the St. Catharines senior team on Saturday when they played the Brantford Minto Cup chasers a record game on their own grounds in the Telephone City and administered to them a second defeat, although they ultimately allowed the game to go to Brantford’s credit.

A crowd of 500 people, a most representative gathering, accompanied the team, and they were amply repaid for their trip, for, during three-quarters of the time of the match they had all the cheering to do, and they did it nobly, while 6,000 Brantford people were forced to be listeners to it.

St. Catharines with their largely home-brewed team pitted against the Minto Cup hunting aggregation, had the best of the play decidedly, and the Garden City contingent saw hundreds of the Telephone City spectators leave the grounds with the game conceded to St. Catharines. It was in the last quarter, with the score 3 to 1 in favour of the Garden City team, that the fatal accident occurred, the game went to Brantford, but the honour was St. Catharines’.

Through a delay on account of lack of cars on the part of the G.T.R., the St. Kitts excursionists with the team were an hour late in arriving and the game did not start until 4:25 o’clock.

ATHLETICS		BRANTFORD
Chaplin	Goal	Hesse
F. Williams	Point	Dowling
Elliott	Cover Point	Grimes
R. Williams	1st Defence	Hamburg
Cameron	2nd Defence	Finlayson
Downey	3rd Defence	Neeley
Cornett	Centre	Taylor
Kalls	3rd Home	Doyle
Lepard	2nd Home	Dade
Lowe	1st Home	Murphy
Allen	Outside Home	Hendry
Parke	Inside Home	Henry
John M. Cameron	Field Captain	Crowley

Umpires – John Conway (Toronto) St. Catharines: Chas Butterworth, Brantford.

Timekeepers – For the referee, C. Babcock; for St. Catharines, H. O’Loughlin; for Brantford, William Crawford.

A surprise was in store for St. Catharines on their arrival, for instead of McLean and Kelley on the home, they found that Dade and Hendry had been brought back from Montreal, in spite of all the complaints against Hendry over the Minto Cup matches, thus the whole Minto Cup challenging team was against the Garden City team; then the referee who had been objected to, was also there, but the boys went ahead and played without a murmur.

The Athletics got into the game at the start. The day was a dark one; there was no sun for the eyes of either team, so it was lacrosse all through. The face-off went to St. Catharines. The ball went to Lowe, Kalls and Lepard handled it, and Hamburg stole it, relieving the Brantford crowd. Neeley carried it down. The St. Kitts defence was steady and spoiled a hot attack by the Dade-Hendry combination. They had a shot but the effect was spoiled and it went wide. Then another attack by St. Catharines ended in a hot shot by Parke, Hesse stopping. The pace quickened. The fleety red-shirted dozen stretched out, but the St. Kitts defence was always there. Many a pass was pulled in by Elliott and Williams, when the Brantford attack had penetrated to close quarters; Chaplin also had several to stop at short range. St. Kitts showed speed also. It surprised the Brantford spectators. Hesse had just as many to stop from the Athletics’ home.

Faster and harder Brantford played, until Referee Gillespie put off Grimes for 5 minutes for fouling Lepard. He was shortly followed by Neeley, and Brantford played for a while with two men short. They worked a defence game, waiting for the return of the two, Grimes went back, but before Neeley returned, Lowe got to the goal in time to get a pass and shot it past Hesse in 12 ½ minutes. Lepard had run in on Hesse, whereupon the Brantford goal tender ran out and hit “Spotty” on the head. Referee Gillespie put him off and sent Lepard with him.

A few more strong attacks were made on both sides, but St. Kitts had much the best of play in this quarter. A shot by Parke went wide and the whistle blew with the play about the Brantford goal.

In the second quarter Brantford made a terrific struggle, but the Athletics were with them at every move. Neeley made a burst of speed past his own home, got the pass again and shot. Doyle shot later. Chaplin gathered them all in. Hesse, who was back in goal, had several to stop. While he was off, Hamburg played goal. A hot shot by Parke was followed by a run up field by Finlayson. Elliott and Williams got the fast combination working, down it went right about the Brantford goal it was worked successfully. Kalls seeing an opening, whisked it under Hesse’s stick, making it 2 to 0 in favour of St. Kitts. Time 7 ½ minutes. The train load of visitors has all the cheering to do, while 6,000 Brantford people remained in silence.

St. Kitts now had all the play, the home danced all about the celebrated imported Telephone defence. Hesse’s stops were numerous. One from Lowe hit him on the body. On the other end the light and dark blue defence had the much touted red shirted home in the air. How the St. Kitts delegation yelled when Pat Murphy in desperation threw the ball clear over the flood dyke at the edge of the grounds.

The referee at this point penalized for slight offences. Parke went off for getting his arm around a player’s neck. Taylor went off for hitting Allan. This evened matters, but Downey and Corbett followed later, without knowing for what reason. Murphy decorated later. About this time the redoubtable “Tack” Hendry, whom Brantford declared they would never have again, commenced to do some of his old hard work, and Brantfords cheered him, seeming to forget what had been said about him. The St. Kitts defence was very busy when the quarter ended.

The third quarter opened with a rush on the St. Kitts goal. Elliott saved time and time again, Hendry hit the net, Brantford yelled, but the ball had not entered and the St. Kitts crowd laughed, feeling much relieved. Hamburg spoiled several rushes by the St. Kitts home with his ready stick. Grimes was spotted by the referee in some more dirty work and off he went, being warned if he offended again he would go off for the match. At the same time Hamburg laid Lepard out. Dr. Jessop went on the field to dress the plucky little fielder’s wound, when a big policeman ordered the medical member for Lincoln off the grounds. He was later allowed to reach his patient.

The game in this quarter was played at a terrific pace. Lowe made a clever wiggle through the Brantford defence once and got in front of the goal ready for a pass from Lepard, which Dowling spoiled. Then Lepard was put off. While he was off Brantford scored their first goal, Dade getting a pass from Hendry and driving it in. This happened after 21 ½ minutes of actual play.

The next goal went to St. Catharines in 1 ½ minutes, and was nicely worked. After a Brantford attack, Elliott made a run up the field, back it came, then Downey made a trip. Kalls, Lepard and Lowe did their work and carried it to Parke, who was in a tight place. He hung onto the ball, got behind the goal and threw it to Lowe, who scored, making the score 3 to 1 in St. Catharines favour. Time 4 ½ minutes.

The Brantfords by this time were played off their feet. Their attacks were weaker and fewer and their defence was desperate. Hamburg put Parke into the fence and rested for 5 minutes. Lowe and Taylor were jockeying for positions while the ball was being faced and they were both sent off for this. After a run up the field by Finlayson, at the finish of which he made a wild throw, the quarter ended.

It was 6 o’clock and hundreds of Brantford people, believing their champions were beaten on their own grounds, left the field, at the same time acknowledging that they had seen the biggest amount of lacrosse for their price of admission that ever was.

But the game was not yet over. Brantford freshened with the rest and at the start of the quarter made a rush, found an open goal and scored on one-half minute, Dade making the shot. This seemed to daze the excursionists and their team. In another minute Bert Henry drove in another, tieing the score.

Then the team settled down and a battle royal was waged. Taylor was off, but Brantford kept it out. Allan made a great effort, but nothing was gained. The referee, who in the first part of the match had been acting apparently impartially, did not seem to show that impartiality when the score was a tie. At face-offs in the last quarter he certainly was not fair and why he ruled off Elliott when the score was tied has not yet been explained. Lowe had to go down on the defence in Elliott’s absence and the home of course was unable to score, weakened in this way. Brantford was prevented from scoring until Elliott returned. The St. Kitts goal became exposed and before it could be covered, Brantford had scored their fourth goal to St. Kitts three. Time 9 minutes.

With 9 ½ minutes to play St. Kitts tried hard to tie the score again, but Brantford having gained the lead, killed time by playing rag and the whistle blew with the game in their favour.

It was a case where the best team lost. St. Kitts had the best of the play all through the match: it was that fatal minute and a half in the final quarter that did the damage by a pure accident. Frank Williams played against his physician’s orders with a strained shoulder. Just at the critical time his injury bothered him and he was almost powerless to move; he was unable to get to his position and perform in his customary was. Every man on the St. Catharines team did his duty nobly. It was the best team that was ever sent out of St. Catharines and the best team of the two on the field. It was also the finest game ever seen in Brantford. It was also acknowledged to be a harder match than the Minto Cup matches. This with the fact that this time the Brantfords were on their own grounds should give some idea to those who did not see the match of what article of lacrosse the Athletics put up Saturday.

To single out the players who played the star game would be to mention every man and would mean only a succession of compliments. Yet Chaplin’s many wonderful stops must have a reference. Frank Williams and Elliott’s work in generaling the defence had its effect and their own individual work was magnificent. Reub Williams fitted in well on the defence and was valuably useful in breaking up the Brantford combination. Joe Cameron never played a game in his life equal to that of Saturday, while Tod Downey in front was next to superb.

“Cornett is all there” the crowd would yell, which in itself describes Teddy’s playing. Lepard was useful on the home and with Lowe and Kalls worked faithfully. Kalls did some great ball following and was always where he could do the best work. Lowe’s work was both useful and brilliant. Lepard was unfortunate in getting the greatest amount of punishment, yet he kept up his end and kept it up well.

“Bones” Allan did more field work Saturday than usual. He bothered the defence incessantly and while Hamburg, Finlayson and Dowling were watching him and Parke, Lowe and Kalls were working at the nets. Parke showed up as a sprinter on Saturday. He and Allan were busy every minute in the game.

How such a victory could be won and yet have the score the wrong way is hard to realize; yet it is so, and the old hard luck story has to come to the rescue.

BRANTFORD EXPOSITOR SAYS SATURDAY’S LACROSSE MATCH EXCELLED ANY EVER PLAYED THERE BEFORE

The Brantford Expositor in reporting Saturday’s lacrosse match, says: “Brantford people will live a long time before they see a better exhibition of the game. Since last year it has been their custom to refer to the Brantford–Capital game as the greatest ever, but that event is overshadowed by the great victory on Saturday. The St. Kitts bunch was in superb condition. There was scarcely a man on the team who did not finish strong and for players who have been knocked around for so many decades, they showed surprising strength and speed. They put up the hardest argument, the best lacrosse that any visiting team has ever provided in Brantford, and that is saying a good deal. To say that the showing of the St. Catharines team was a surprise would be to express it mildly. This was their first appearance this year in Brantford and they showed that they are very much in the running for the championship. The defence is big and strong, and there is not a weak man on it. It was a good defence even last season but there was no home to help them out. This year only one of the old-timers figures on the attacking end and that one is Lowe. The new ones are Kalls, a speedy junior, Lepard of Varsity, Parke of Toronto, and Bones Allen of Cornwall. And it makes a home, too. Kalls and Lepard do the fielding and Parke and Allen do the boring in. And they bore in, too, in such a way as to make them very dangerous men. Perhaps if they passed a little more their work would have been more effective, but it was magnificent as it was. On the defence, Elliott was the bright, particular star, and Frank Williams behind him put up a great game. The St. Kitts fielders were full of life and came down fast with the ball, so that the defence men were able to stack the flags to such an extent that it was almost impossible to get the ball past them. And Chaplin in goal was of the gilt-edge order, and he had all the luck that was coming to him. He stopped all that he saw and a whole lot that he did not see. Chaplin played good lacrosse a dozen years ago, but he has forgotten nothing in the meantime. He is a clever player and does not hesitate to field behind the flags every time the ball goes there. He is next to Hesse among the goal tenders that have performed here this year. His work on Saturday could not have been improved upon. The home is strong, and there are men there who will rank with the best of them that are in the game. Parke and Allen are a great pair and they take all kinds of chances. Lepard and Lowe and Kalls do the fielding, and they do it well. Kalls is not particularly fast on his feet, but he is nevertheless on his feet all the time and he is one of the best workers that has been seen here this season. It is a sure thing that the St. Catharines team is playing in great form and they are still very dangerous competitors for the C. L. A. championship. There are a good many games still to be played and if the Brantfords desire to retain the championship, they will have to do some tall work and take no chances with the rest of the games. Saturday’s win can be called nothing more or less than lucky. It was a game that the visitors won if they had been able to keep up the magnificent game they were playing. The team is in a position to give the best in the country the hottest kind of a chase.”

The Globe – “President Lennox of the C. L. A. has been subjected to considerable adverse criticism for his action in appointing Mr. Henry Gillespie, of Orangeville, as referee of the St. Catharines-Brantford game on Saturday. Mr. Lennox is of the opinion that he acted quite within his rights. He says that he was asked on Wednesday by the clubs to appoint an official, as they could not agree. He selected Mr. Gillespie, in whom he has every confidence, and so informed the clubs. An objection was immediately lodged by the Athletics, who threatened if he did not revoke the appointment to resign from the C. L. A. As the appointment had been made, Mr. Lennox told the St. Kitts officials that he could not revoke him from his position, and that they could do as they liked. He considers that as the clubs placed the matter in his hands, he was at perfect liberty to appoint whom he pleased, and that the Athletics had no tangible reason for complaint.”

AthleticsLacrosse.Com: The Athletics concerns about the refereeing stemmed back to Mr. Gillespie's involvement in the legal action against some of the A's players after a rough game in 1899.

“There were nineteen men ruled off in the game on Saturday, the greatest number in any game played here this season. Of those, twelve men were of the Brantford team and the seven others from St. Kitts.” – Expositor. Surely that record does not prove the St. Kitts players are the crowd of brutal sluggers the Brantford papers have been misnaming them.

The Toronto Telegram generally knows the ropes in lacrosse, and the sporting writers on that paper, both “Cully” Robertson, the genial but shrewd son of “John Ross,” and Munro, the alter ego, pretty nearly always manage to forecast correctly. Regarding Saturday’s match in Brantford, the Telegram says: “The Garden City, with a home raised team, need not feel too badly at their defeat for they made Brantford’s importations travel fast indeed to win. It is safe to say that were there a good home player in the Argentine Republic, it would not be long ere he was gracing a Brantford sweater. Saturday’s match proves that but for Brantford’s fortunate victory at Oshawa early in the season, the all-star aggregation would look like second choice for the Globe Shield. They had their whole Minto Cup outfit at work on Saturday and the Old Boys came nearer beating them than any other team in Canada, Shamrocks not excepted, could have done. And the war is not over, neither is the championship decided. St. Kitts have two more games with the champions. They will win in the Garden City to a certainty and the next in Brantford may also fall to their share. If it does, St. Kitts will go a-Minto-Cupping, and even the worst informed eastern journal will not be able to say they are a ‘purely professional’ team. Another thing that may put a crimp in Brantford’s ambitions is the fact that they go on a two-day tour attempt to beat Port Hope one day and Oshawa the next. This is a pretty big contract and by the time Brantford gets through trying to defeat the giant Ontarios on Port Hope ground, they may just fall down before Oshawa the next day. In fact, the champions run a pretty fair chance of losing both these games. St. Kitts on the other hand, have things a good deal easier. That they will have their troubles in Port Hope no one will deny. But instead of having to play a hard game the next day, they go home and rest, and their final game with Oshawa is played off at the Island. It’s a great race for the championship. There are three teams in it – Brantford, St. Kitts and Port Hope, with Oshawa strong enough to be liable to put a crimp in any one of them on Oshawa ground. Every game still counts in the race and not a team can afford to let up for a moment. Brantford are dead sure they can beat the Shamrocks on the Island, but from here it looks as if the championship ever comes to a play off on the island, it will go to St. Kitts.”

TELEPHONE TOWN PAPERS ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW ST. KITTS WHIPPED THEIR TEAM – INTERESTING COMMENTS

Brantford folk have not yet awakened from the trance into which the St. Kitts team sent them last Saturday and they are still trying to figure out how it happened. The Expositor says: “Have you figured out how you would have felt in the last quarter, if with the score 3 – 1 in the favour, St. Kitts had commenced to play an effective game of “rag.” It’s a safe wager that had such a programme been carried out, a good many enthusiasts would have been so disgusted that they would yearn for baseball where there is no “rag.” And yet it is worthwhile speculating on this, for it is exactly what St. Catharines had planned to do. They practically had the game won and if they had been able to secure possession of the ball, they would very probably have been able to hold it long enough to prevent Brantford from winning out. That is one exhibition of rag that Brantford people were most fortunate in not seeing.”

Referring to The Star’s report of the Brantford–Athletic match, the Expositor says: “One St. Catharines paper, in speaking of the objection raised to Gillespie as the referee, was careful to note that when that gentleman appeared on the field he was cheered. The paper seeks apparently to convey the impression that Gillespie was applauded simply because Brantford people knew that he intended to give the home team the best of the argument. Now, is it fair to deprive Gillespie of the satisfaction of knowing that his work generally pleased many supporters of the game, or to deprive the Brantford spectators of the credit of being able to express its appreciation? The referee has a hard row to hoe at the best and in no game is his work particularly easy. Usually he is roundly hissed every time he sends one of the home players to the fence or when he fails to detect some fancied roughness on the part of the visiting players. The St. Catharines paper could not have paid a better tribute to fairness of Brantford spectators than when it stated that the referee was cheered. More cheering for the referees would help the referees and help lacrosse.”

But it must be borne in mind that it was before the match began that Gillespie was cheered so warmly by the Brantford people. He had not then been called upon to make a decision. Of what, then, were the Brantford enthusiasts expressing their appreciation? There were the people who cheered Gillespie and they did it to create a partiality in his mind for the home team, not knowing perhaps, that he had already shown that he has no use for the Athletics.

“Brantford are said to have become enamored of Bones Allan of St. Kitts and to have already approached him with a proposition to play in Brantford next season. It is to be hoped for the good of the game this is not true. Brantford by such practices has already put Orangeville out of business and surely she will not keep them up till all the other old standbys go too.” – Telegram.

It’s true all the same, “Bones” was approached, but he didn’t bite. And, by-the-way, spell his name A-l-l-e-n.

Said an old follower of the game after the Brantford-St. Catharines match on Saturday: “I do not know much about the men who figured in it, but I can tell you what I think. When St. Catharines stole the fourth game, making the score 3 – 1 in their favor, one man threw his stick in the air. He was a St. Kitts player, of course, and I don’t know which one, but I miss my guess if he was not the only simon-pure on the field. The professionals are not so demonstrative. While there is certainly some satisfaction in it for them to be making the points, it is mostly business with them, and they do not bubble over with enthusiasm.

The man referred to was Kalls, the St. Kitts junior. The “old follower” knows nothing – absolutely nothing – of the St. Kitts team, when he claims that there is only one amateur in its ranks. He makes a huge mistake in gauging the Athletics by the measure that fits Brantford.

The Telegram must have had a man on the Brantford grounds last Saturday, judging from the correctness of his explanation of how the match was lost then won, which follows: “It may be, as the Brantford papers would have you believe, that underestimating St. Kitts led to the closeness of the score, but according to those who saw the match it was luck that led to Brantford having the long end of that same score at the finish. One of the lost goals was one of Bert Henry’s long shots from away out, while the game that made the majority of one was purely an accident. Frank Williams had the ball on his stick to relieve and Chapman ran out of the goal to take the pass, when Williams slipped and fell. Dade picked up the ball and as there was no one in the net, the rest was easy.”

“The great work done by the St. Catharines lacrosse team is liable to set lacrosse enthusiasts in this part of the country thinking seriously. In fact, the entire match that was played between Brantford and St. Catharines on Saturday last gives considerable food for thought. In the first place, it ought to make the Shamrocks and their friends a little anxious about their trip to California, if they do not want to lose the Minto Cup by default; and on the other hand, with the St. Catharines so close to the C. L. A. championship, it increases the danger of having again all our best lacrosse players stolen away from us next season. It is more than likely that St. Catharines will, if necessary, spend a few thousand more than Brantford is said to have spent this year to get the championship and a chance at the Minto Cup next season. The above is from the Montreal Star. It does not know that there are only three importations on the St. Kitts team. But it has none the less to fear on that account.” – Telegram.