Buff Tribute

Aside from being one of the best box lacrosse goalies to have ever played the game, "Buff" was also one of the most colourful. Bob McCready played for the A's from 1961 to 1966 and for the St. Catharines Golden Hawks of the EPLA in 1969. Bob's style of play was in a word, thrilling. Any opponent who dared to set up shop behind his net or drifted too far under a long, down-floor pass were often greeted by one of Buff's patented body-checks. Never one to sit idly by, Bob would often jump from his crease after any loose ball and then himself lead a high-speed counter-attack deep into the opposition's end.

Sports columnist Jack Gatecliff would once write… “It’s really something to see when McCready takes off and points in the direction of enemy territory. His shin-pads flap, his chest protector bounces and his facemask is usually hanging precariously over one ear. Despite carrying 20 pounds or more of extra equipment there aren’t too many in the pro league that can catch him.” On another occasion, Gatecliff wrote… “McCready is listed as the goaltender but treats that position as strictly a part-time occupation. On one of his many dashes down the floor, he took Ted Howe’s pass late in the first period, moved to within 15 feet of the Kitchener net and fired a high, hard shot past goaltender George Stephens. McCready also assisted on three St. Catharines goals, picked up a penalty for slashing, handed out a half dozen crushing checks, intercepted several Kitchener passes and had himself a thoroughly enjoyable night. And when not engaged otherwise, he came up with 47 stops on the 59 Kitchener shots.”

With 15 goals and 608 assists in his brilliant senior/pro goaltending career, it's little wonder that McCready was a fan favourite wherever he played. Bob, who anchored the 1971 Mann Cup champion Brantford Warriors, is the father of present-day N. L. L. star Pat McCready and the grandfather of Joel McCready of the Junior Athletics. Bob was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997.

St. Catharines Golden Hawks' goaltender Bob McCready doesn't confine his activities in the Eastern Professional Lacrosse Association to stopping shots. Last night at Garden City Arena McCready faced 55 Kitchener shots, incurred a minor penalty for slashing, a major penalty for fighting, assisted on two goals and even scored once himself. His scoring play is shown here as he gets drive away despite being almost strangled by a Kitchener defenceman. The Hawks won 22 - 13.

Original photos & byline from the St. Catharines Standard, 1969

Bob McCready is one athlete whose actions, of necessity, must speak louder than words. After playing junior lacrosse with Oshawa and St. Catharines teams, McCready returned to his home town in 1961 as goaltender with the senior Athletics. In the fifth game of the season the Athletics were playing Niagara Falls at Haig Bowl and Ivan Thomas of the Flyers fired a rising underhand shot from about 20 feet.

“I’ve heard boxers say that when they got hit it seemed like the lights went out,” said McCready before the Sunday night game here with Toronto Maple Leafs. “Well I can tell you that I honestly thought there had been a power failure because all of a sudden everything went black.” Later that night in 1961 Bob’s teammates finally convinced him that no one had pulled the switch but rather that Thomas had pulled the string on a tremendous drive which hit him squarely in the Adam’s apple. McCready went down as if he had been caught by a haymaker from Rocky Marciano and when he was brought around a half hour later he had lost his voice.

His speech returned gradually but Bob still talks in a whisper, a souvenir of that drive by Ivan Thomas. The unfortunate injury has failed to dampen his enthusiasm for the sport, in fact but for the robust Robert, there would almost certainly be no pro team in St. Catharines.

When Montreal Canadiens quit the professional lacrosse league earlier this year it was McCready, who played in the nets for them last season, who lined up sponsorship and to a large degree, the playing personnel for the Golden Hawks. As well as being responsible for locating the team here the 29-year-old should also guarantee its financial success strictly because of his unusual approach to goaltending.

Goalies as a rule, whether they’re in hockey or lacrosse, concentrate strictly on one thing – keeping the puck or ball out of the net. This for most men is enough and they don’t particularly worry about how many goals their team scores, just as long as they keep their small area respectively clear. McCready, though, is a rarity among those of his trade. He is plain and simply an offensive-minded goaltender.

A week ago at Garden City Arena, McCready faced 50 shots as the Golden Hawks defeated Kitchener Nationals 19 – 12. A pretty busy evening by any standards. But McCready did more than that. He scored one goal, assisted on three others and picked up a penalty. Only one player on the Kitchener team accumulated as many scoring points as the Hawk goalie and only three St. Catharines players had more than his four points. Sunday night the Hawks, as a unit, couldn’t get untracked and had their two-game winning streak halted by Toronto Maple Leafs. But McCready played his usual unorthodox game, assisted on three goals and those three points were more than any Hawk forward or defenceman managed to accumulate.

McCready does so many things during each hour of lacrosse that you sometimes get the feeling that the entire game is built around him. As well as playing in the nets he often acts as a third defenceman or a fourth forward, retrieves loose balls within a radius of 20 yards, intercepts passes and hands out more stiff checks (and takes his lumps too) than any two of his teammates. He didn’t score a goal Sunday but had two direct shots, both from the edge of the Toronto crease, which were blocked by Roger Williams.

The most electrifying part of his play however is the head-long dashes down the floor which produced the most exciting moments at Garden City Arena since Bob Sheehan slipped and skidded his way around junior A defencemen last winter with the Black Hawks. It’s really something to see when McCready takes off and points in the direction of enemy territory. His shin-pads flap, his chest protector bounces and his facemask is usually hanging precariously over one ear. Despite carrying 20 pounds or more of extra equipment there aren’t too many in the pro league that can catch him.

The wide goal sticks are built for catching rather than throwing but here again McCready refused to believe this is a handicap. Not only does he throw accurate forehand passes and shoots well, but often flips a pass over his shoulder to one of his own players, a technique first used by Frank Madsen away back when.

Sum it up and Bob is a pretty vital part of the St. Catharines lacrosse team. He stops shots, he assists on scoring plays, he checks, he scores the odd goal and picks up a few penalties.

One other thing.

Bob McCready also sells tickets and, as the Golden Hawk backers must agree, this ability is as important as all others combined.