History of the A's

Junior Athletics win 3rd title in four years

ATHLETICS CAPITALIZE ON PENALTY TO TALLY TRIO OF GOALS

OVERCOME MIMICO LEAD IN LAST PERIOD TO TAKE OPENING FINAL

FINISH SCORE 10 – 9 FOR SAINTS

ROUGH TILT ALLOWED BY OFFICIALS, CLIMAXED BY TWO MINOR MIX-UPS

by Lou Cahill

The St. Catharines Standard

Monday October 14, 1935

(MIMICO) – Shooting three goals past diminutive Alf Wolfe in the final two minutes of play when Worsencroft, a Mimico defenseman was in the penalty box, Young Athletics defeated the Mountaineers 10 to 9 at Memorial Park here Saturday afternoon to gain a one-goal lead in the Ontario junior lacrosse finals.

The score was 9 – 7 as the helmeted Worsencroft was waved to the sidelines and in a second Morton punched in the Saint’s eight goal on a rush. Gus Madsen whipped a hard shot past Wolfe and then after the face-off the heavily padded Mimico goalie gained possession and staged a final rush that almost resulted in a goal. “Tank” Teather flanked by Morton and Cove broke down the field as Wolfe vainly rushed for his goal that was then protected by E. Hainey and just as the Mountaineer net-minder reached his position, Teather shot in the winning goal.

Play Next Saturday

This goal and all others that the Athletics can pile up in the early stages of the second game when it is played at the St. Catharines park next Saturday will be needed if Mimico repeat their fine brand of lacrosse seen here on Saturday. A crowd of 400 with the usual delegation of St. Catharines followers watched the game.

Nine minutes of play passed in the quarter before Mimico opened the scoring with George Hope penalized and they came out of the quarter with a 3 – 1 lead. The Soper-Teather team outscored the losers in the second session to even the half-time count at 5-all while Mimico went back into the lead 8 – 7 at the three-quarter mark. So close was the checking in the fourth quarter that neither team scored during the first eleven minutes of play.

The game was a rough and tumble affair throughout. A total of 18 penalties, amounted to 52 minutes were meted out and the Athletics served 10 of these rests and 28 of the minutes. At times, the referee apparently took their duties too casually and slashing and charging were predominant.

Fans Interfere

One serious flare-up broke late in the second quarter when Merv Hainey crashed Tom Teather into the boards and then attempted to strike him with his fist. Hainey was given five minutes and Teather two. In the penalty box, both the keyed-up players had words and a fisticuff started. As the penalty box is in front of the bleachers, fans interfered and it was several minutes before order could be restored. Their penalties were increased to seven minutes each. Early in the fourth period, “Shy” Manning and M. Hainey started a brief fight, but were soon stopped and so penalties resulted.

Playing conditions at the dilapidated box here are anything but ideal, though fair for both teams. Behind the nets at each end there is a narrow wire screen, while the sides are not enclosed at all and subsequently the ball is constantly out of play, Sixty minutes of actual playing time took 2:10 including period rests.

Scoring Divided

The scoring was fairly well divided and every one of the Athletic players who saw action put up a good battle. Joe Cheevers with a goal and three assists assembled the most scoring points, while Roy “Pung” Morton scored three goals to lead in that division. Gus Madsen and Tom VanAlstyne each scoring a goal and handed out a pass, while Hugh MacLean assisted on two goals. MacLean, incidentally made a good job of checking Gord Gair in the first half, while Morton covered the speedy Mimico ace in the last half. George Urquhart, Eddie Kalinowski, Doug Cove and Tom Teather each scored a goal.

George Hope did not figure in the scoring but he turned in a bang-up defence game and relieved the pressure many times with long rushes. Harold Manning, stopping 22 shots, played an effective game in goal and particularly in the first quarter when the Mounties drove eight hard, close-in shots at him.

Wolfe blocked 28 St. Catharines shots and starred for his team. M. Hainey scored four goals, Gord Gair notched three and assisted once, while Landale and E. Hainey each scored one and Crowe registered one assist.

The teams:

Young Athletics: Goal, Manning; defence, C. Madsen, G. Hope; rover, Maclean; center, Morton; wings, Teather, Cove; subs, F. Madsen, Hemphill, Kalinowski, Cheevers, Urquhart, VanAlstyne, Kirtland.

Mimico: Goal, Wolfe; defence, Crowe, Worsencroft; rover, E. Hainey; center, G. Gair; wings, M. Hainey, L. Gair; subs, L. Hope, Landale, Addie, Murphy, Aymer, Eaton.  

 JUNIOR ONTARIO TITLE IN REACH OF ATHLETICS HERE TOMORROW

MIMICO MEET SAINTS – THUMBNAIL SKETCHES OF CITY ROSTER

The St. Catharines Standard

Friday October 18, 1935

The Young Athletics will carry this city’s sole remaining hope for a minor provincial lacrosse championship into the deciding game of the O. A. L. A. junior finals at the city park Saturday afternoon at 3:30 when they play the strong Mimico Mountaineer club.

The A’s have a one-goal lead from their hard earned 10 – 9 victory in the opening match and tomorrow when the two well matched teams meet they may have difficulty in defending it.

Mimico with the midget and juvenile titles virtually cinched are expected to make their strongest showing to win the junior laurels.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the boys who will carry the famous double blue into the critical game along with an unbeaten three-year record.

HAROLD “SHY” MANNING, 20, association secretary-teasurer. Started with Tecumsehs, 1929. Played with junior champs 1932 and 1934; juvenile winners 1933. Finished first year senior. Steady, likes to play under lights rather than daytime.

GEORGE HOPE, 20, started with Alerts, 1929. Played with junior champions 1932 and 1934, juvenile 1933, also in senior company in  1933, 34 and 35. Husky, good-natured and improving each year.

CARL “GUS” MADSEN, 20, started with Alerts 1929. Played with junior champs 1932 and 1934, juvenile 1933. Played senior this year. Jovial, but dependable in the pinches. Combines great variety foodstuffs as a lunch.

CHARLES “CHUCK” HEMPHILL, 20, started with Tecumsehs 1932. Played with juvenile champs 1933 and junior 1934. Played one senior game this year. A good checker.

HAMILTON “HAMMIE” JOHNSTON, 20, started with Tecumsehs 1932. Played with juvenile champions 1933 and junior 1934. Playing his best lacrosse this year.

HUGH “DOC” MacLEAN, 19, started with Athletics 1933. Played with juvenile champs 1933 and junior 1934, and seven senior games this year. Quiet but rugged checker and starts many plays.

ROY “PUNG” MORTON, 19, started as a goalkeeper with the Athletics in 1933. Played with the juvenile winners 1933 and junior 1934 and two years senior. Clever around the nets and a continual threat.

TOM “TANK” TEATHER, 19, started with Shamrocks 1932. Played with juvenile champions 1933 and junior 1934 and two years senior. A great playmaker and a scoring threat.

DOUG COVE, 17, started with Athletics 1933. Played with junior champions 1934 and two games senior this year. A serious, hard-working forward.

JOE CHEEVERS, 20, started with Tecumsehs 1929. Played with juvenile winners 1933 and junior champs 1934. Clever at centre, almost certain to get the draw. Eats eight hamburgs as a midnight snack.

EDDIE KALINOWSKI, 18, started with Tecumsehs 1933. First year in junior playoffs and getting his one or two goals a game.

GEORGE URQUHART, 20, started with Athletics 1933. Played with the juvenile winners 1933 and junior 1934. Has curbed his fiery tendencies and is turning in a bang-up game.

TOM VANALSTYNE, 20, started with Athletics 1932. Played with juvenile champs 1933 and junior 1934. Not flashy, but steady and rugged back-checker.

IVOR KIRTLAND, 19, started as defenseman with Tecumsehs 1934. Branched into a promising goalie this year.

FRANK MADSEN, 16, started with Tecumsehs 1934. Played one game senior and holds promise of becoming an outstanding offensive-defence player.

MEL SOPER, coach, played with Shamrocks 1929-30-31, with intermediate Athletics 1932. Coached the Athletics in city league in 1933 and 1934, and junior and juvenile teams in provincial play-downs those years. A real champion of his players and has done a good job with the Young Athletics this year.

TOM “TIP” TEATHER, manager, played with famous double blue teams a quarter of a century ago. President of the Athletic city league club this year, coached Shamrocks in 1932 and has been one of the real boosters of the city league the past three years.  

ATHLETICS RETAIN ONTARIO JUNIOR TITLE FOR SECOND YEAR

STARRY SAINTS ROUT MIMICO IN RETURN GAME BY 25 TO 7

TAKE ROUND AND CROWN BY 35 – 16

CHAMPIONS DIVIDE SCORING HONORS BY STELLAR UNSELFISH PLAY

The St. Catharines Standard

Monday October 31, 1935

Register another brilliant achievement for the young band of clever lacrosse players who have brought three consecutive provincial minor lacrosse championships to this city with an unbeaten record.

Saturday afternoon at the city park they tumbled the Mimico Mountaineers from their confident position with a stinging 25 to 7 victory to win the Ontario junior lacrosse championship by a 36 – 16 series score and retain the Iroquois Cup for a second straight year.

The title was the first for Coach Mel Soper who took the juniors through to the semi-finals in 1933 and the juveniles to the finals last year.

It was unfortunate that the deciding game had to assume such lop-sided proportions and the crowd of 400 spectators had little to enthuse over after the first quarter in the way of keen competition. However, they went home pleased with the decisive manner in which the blue-shirts had sent the Mounties down to defeat, bringing another great lacrosse season to an appropriate ending.

Early minutes of play presaged a stirring match when E. Hainey, who netted four of his team’s seven goals blotted out the Athletic’s one-goal margin from their 10 – 9 victory in the first game.

Junior Careers Ended

Following the initial Mimico tally, the Soper-Teather team shot in eight straight goals and then in the second quarter added another eight while the visitors scored once for a 16 – 2 halftime lead. St. Catharines scored two and Mimico one in a quiet third quarter, while the homesters came back strong in the final period scoring seven counters to four by the Mounties.

A scene in contrast to the jubilation that reigned in the Athletic camp came in the final two minutes of play when Coach Soper fielded six of the seven players of the team who finished their junior careers Saturday. The six were: “Chuck” Hemphill, Gus Madsen, Hugh Maclean, Tom VanAlstyne, George Urquhart and Joe Cheevers, while the seventh who will be over-age next year, Harold “Shy” Manning retired at the end of the third quarter in favour of young Ivor Kirtland.

When the final gong sounded another championship for the Garden City, the Mimico players badly beaten but game, were the first to congratulate their conquerors.

Diminutive Alf Wolfe, Mimico goalie, saw more of the white ball Saturday than for some time and he played a starry game blocking 29 shots besides the 25 that whizzed past him. Manning, playing the first three quarters, limited the Mounties to one goal each period and stopped 15 shots. Kirtland, when the defence eased up in the last, was the victim of four goals, but he stopped five shots.

Box Bigger Here

The contrast in the score of the two championship games resulted mainly from the difference in the size of the two playing areas. Mimico checked the Athletics closer in the narrow Mimico box, while in the roomy cushion at the city park, the blue-shirts spread out and their passing plays functioned more effectively when the Mounties were unable to keep close to their checks. Too, the St. Catharines rearguard and forwards checked well.

Roy Morton, who bulged five times and supplied two passes and Tom Teather, with three goals and four assists, were tied for the scoring points. Joe Cheevers played an effective game scoring three and handing out a trio of passes, while Eddie Kalinowski uncorked a wide variety of shots to net five goals and collected one assist. George Urquhart scored three tallies and made one play for a counter, George Hope staged three long rushes for goals and Gus Madsen tallied twice and contributed one assist and both these defensemen turned in steady games on the rearguard.

Frank Madsen scored one goal, Doug Cove, Tom VanAlstyne and Hugh MacLean each handed out passes. Hemphill, the only player not to figure in the scoring, played well on defence.

Besides E. Hainey with four goals, Gord Gair, Mimico scoring ace that was checked by Hope and F. Madsen, M. Hainey and Aymer each scored one. L. Gair handed out one pass.

The teams:

Athletics – Goal, Manning and Kirtland; defence, C. Madsen, G. Hope; rover, MacLean; centre, Morton; wings, Teather, Cove; subs, F. VanAlsytne, Cheevers, Kalinowski, Urquhart.

Mimico – Goal, Wolfe; defence, Crowe, Worsencroft; rover, E. Hainey; centre, G. Gair; wings, M. Hainey, L. Gair; subs, Landale, J. Hope, Addie, Aymer, Murphy, Eaton.

Officials – “Piper” Bain and Bruce Leighton, Toronto.

Mimico photos courtesy of Robert Grainger

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