History of the A's

A's Push Crescents To The Limit

A’S FORCE 7TH FINAL 

ATHLETICS DRUB SOUND 13 – 4 TO FORCE SEVENTH GAME FOR TITLE AT FERGUS ARENA FRIDAY NIGHT 

The St. Catharines Standard 

Thursday October 5, 1950 

“Next whistle stop is Fergus,” said the lacrosse moguls and Friday it is the St. Catharines Athletics and Owen Sound Crescents in the seventh affair of this E. C. boxla finals. Saints made sure there would be the seventh game, at Haig Bowl here last night, when over 2,000 chilled-to-the-bone fans were warmed up as the A’s again decisively decisioned C’s by 13 – 4. For the north, it was more or less a vain hope, for the south a dead certainty. 

For you city fans who weren’t there, opinion is that Crescents beat themselves—by their own system. They elected to play defensive lacrosse from the start, kept possession for three minutes, but just hovering, at that, trying for openings. Joe Cheevers ordered A’s to play tight defence and such it was. They had tall Harry Wipper on and he, Cars Myers, Bill Nelson, Tank Teather, Steve Oneschuk and even Tony D’Amico ranged back and forth covering checks. Then Coach Doug Gillespie tried to drag A’s down to the slow motion idea, but Ref Peart called play for stalling and faced it off. Next time, he gave the ball to A’s and that was that for the night, much to the disgust of the golden crew and their officials and press who boiled in wrath. 

Opened Up Later 

A’s had 3 shots on Moon Wootton when they got the ball and so it went for four alternative turns of two minutes. Then, on C’s first shot at Big Bill Whittaker after 9:25 of play, Arn Smith beat him for the opener and it took A’s nearly 4 minutes to even it, D’Amico from Smith, after McMahon had thrown three shots away, Croft two and had three shots intercepted. That made it 1 – 1 for the gong and patrons maybe wondered if it was worthwhile to watch a game of that calibre. 

Fortunately, A’s took the bit in their teeth in the second period. Smith, then Nelson on a daring cut, in from Myers. A’s gave up a cheap one when Nelson slept on Allum’s open road, then stoned for it when he rounded the big puck pro. Slater walked past Croft at 4 – 3 and then was aided off for the rest of the heat. McMahon went around Foote, then Myers dodged 3 C’s and it was 6 – 3 for the half. Myers was cooled on the next play and that was the only rest of the entire first half. Crescents had it then and they knew only too well. 

Saints Take Over 

Came the third and after A’s blew two tagged goals on over-passes, and Bill Whittaker stopped Doug Gillespie and Allum on two riflers from 25 feet out, the north curled up. Teatro rolled around Foote, Croft pulling Wootton out of the door and beating him cold, and the score was trebled at 9 – 3. Tank Teather drew a rest in the first minute of play, but C’s failed to press and elected to play it back to defence and wait for a six-man attack that petered out. On that rest, Kazarian faked Murphy as the crack was on his stick and not the leg, but Max Peart didn’t change it. 

Came the fourth chapter and Oneschuk set Jim McNulty up, then McNulty flipped a running pass to Teather to close in and Wootton got jittery at 11 – 3. He floundered around his net, fell down twice behind it on loose rubber and got worse when Pat Smith slipped in on a pass from Frick and beat him at a crease edge. Myers hooked Arn Smith at 8:19 and Wipper ragged the ball for a full minute on narrow escapes when he skidded variously, but he and other A’s killed off the penalty without a shot on Whittaker, who was the heart-breaker to the golden northerners. 

Scoreless for 33:46 

Oneschuk drove a long pass, almost a sleeper to Frick, who made it 13 – 3 with 3:44 to go and eventually Crescents bagged one as Foote, their best man of the game and whole series, went around McMahon at 11:36 for their fourth and final tally. But therein, A’s had held them scoreless for 7:10 of the second, the whole 15 of the third and 11:36 of the fourth, totalling 33:46 time and that stung Sound prestige to the core. For the rest of the time, A’s took it cosily, ragging the ball, taking he odd pot-shot that was off-color and looking the worst they had all night. But the game was in the bag then. None of the north got more than one tally, while Nelson, Teatro and Smith each netted two for the Cheevers crew, the other seven being well split up. 

Owen Sound Crescents—Goal, Wootton; defence, McWhirter, Woods; rover, Kazarian; centre, G. Gillespie; forwards, Foote, Campbell; alts, D. Gillespie, A. Smith, F. Smith, Allum, Mason, Slater, Burlington. 

St. Kitts Athletics—Goal, Whittaker; defence, Teather, Oneschuk; rover, McMahon; centre, Smith; forwards, D’Amico, Jim McNulty; alts, Myers, Nelson, Wipper, Frick, Teatro, Croft, Bradshaw. 

Referees—Max Peart and Joe Murphy.

Summary:

1st Quarter

No penalties

2nd Quarter

Penalty: Myers 

3rd Quarter

Penalty: Teather

4th Quarter

Penalty: Myers

Related Reading: Early Season Photo of the 1950 St. Catharines Athletics

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