Mann 41

A heady playing crew from St. Catharines, Ont., fought off a last surge of British Columbia’s Richmond Farmers to take an 11 – 9 victory here last night in the final and deciding game of the best-of-five series for the dominion lacrosse title and the Mann Cup. The victory gave the easterners the series three games to two and the Mann Cup for the third time in four years.

St. Kitts won the first and third games 10-9 and 17-9, respectively, but Richmond twice evened the series with 21-10 and 14-11 victories.

St. Catharines best weapon in winning the Canadian championship was experience which they used to perfection. Richmond were ever attempting to increase the pace, but through clever tactics, the Athletics slowed them up and forced the Farmers to play the slower, methodical game of the eastern champions.

Oddity in the series was that St. Catharines won all three of their games on the Vancouver Forum floor, while Richmond were successful on the smaller New Westminster, B.C., floor in their two victories.

Presenting a smooth working machine, St Kitts predominated in the first three quarters last night and were never in serious trouble as they hammered their smaller and lighter opponents at every turn.

Tempers flared and sticks were held high during the final two quarters, but officials held the game under control and no actual fighting broke.

Richmond opened the scoring early in the game, but their lead was shortlived at St. Catharines took a goal edge to end the first quarter 2-1.

St. Kitts came out strong in the second and piled up a halftime lead of 5-1, while holding the Farmers scoreless.

The third period was all St. Catharines and the easterners outscored the British Columbians two to one to a three quarter lead of 7-2

Unable to get their combination play working earlier in the game Richmond moved better in the final quarter and from the starting bell hammered at the defending champions to outscore them 7-4, but they were unable to crash through to equalize the score before the gong ended the 1941 series.

St. Catharines—Goal, Whittaker; defence, Madsen, Wright; rover, McMahon; centre, Cheevers; forwards, Wilson, Fitzgerald. Spares: Hope, Barnard, Coles, Urquhart, Morton, Teather.

Richmond—Goal, Delmonico; defence, Noble, Jenion; rover, D. Ross; centre, Black; forwards, W. Ross, Hamson. Spares: J. Smith, Pruden, Lee, Lang, Lortimer, Ackley.

Roy (Punk) Morton firmly established himself as the leading goal scorer in the ranks of the St. Catharines Athletics, Mann Cup victors and world champions for the 1941 season which ended at Vancouver on Monday night. Morton tops Joe Cheevers by 16 points, while a deadlock exists for fourth place, behind Capt. Gus Madsen, who finished third on the season. the compilated records of the double-blue personnel are shown below, covering games, goals, assists and total points in their four series that constitute the complete 1941 season.

	O. L. A. Schedule				OLA & E.C. Playoffs				Mann Cup				Grand Totals
	O. L. A. Schedule				OLA & E.C. Playoffs				Mann Cup				Grand Totals
	G.	G.	A.	Pt.	G.	G.	A.	Pt.	G.	G.	A.	Pt.	G.	G.	A.	Pt.
Roy Morton	24	51	23	74	12	19	12	31	5	7	0	7	41	77	35	112
Joe Cheevers	24	30	30	60	12	8	14	22	5	11	3	14	41	49	47	96
Carl Madsen	23	26	32	58	12	9	14	23	5	3	3	6	40	38	49	87
Tom Teather	24	31	20	51	12	9	9	18	5	3	2	5	41	43	31	74
Jack McMahon	19	15	13	28	12	16	19	35	5	8	3	11	36	39	35	74
Bill Wilson	17	22	8	30	8	17	8	25	5	6	2	8	30	45	18	63
Billy Fitzgerald	13	21	2	23	8	19	2	21	5	10	4	14	26	50	8	58
George Coles	19	23	11	34	12	17	4	21	5	2	0	2	36	42	15	57
George Urquhart	23	23	15	38	12	8	2	10	5	7	2	9	40	38	19	57
Frank Madsen	23	6	9	15	7	5	6	11	-	-	-	-	30	11	15	26
Sid Wright	24	9	6	15	12	5	3	8	5	1	1	2	41	15	10	25
Roy Barnard	19	9	5	14	11	2	5	7	5	0	0	0	35	11	10	21
Bill Mackie	14	6	5	11	9	1	2	3	-	-	-	-	23	7	7	14
Winston Millar	16	6	6	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	6	6	12
Bill Nelson	16	6	5	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	6	5	11
Doug Garriock	9	4	4	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	4	4	8
George Hope	6	-	-	-	12	1	4	5	5	1	1	2	23	2	5	7
Bill Whittaker							1				1				2

Good old Athletics! They rewrote history of 1935 again last night at the coast, as the first team since that year to win the Mann Cup on the enemy battlefield since Orillia Terriers turned the trick. Coincidental or not, the same silent and cagey Billy Wilson was a member of both teams and the only playing member of either Athletics or Richmond Farmers to be so honoured on Six Mann Cuppers.

So the boys back home here will get out the band along about Friday night and if plans materialize, the same triumphal (or better) procession of 1938 will be seen along the staid thoroughfares of the Garden City to welcome home the champs. Seemingly, the double blues were not fooling in their mail to this city when they said they were going to lift the title for the third time, even though they had to do it the hardest way.

The season ends as most good sportsmen would have it, with honor to the Athletics. It has been a torrid season, what with turmoil existent and one thing or another to hamper, more than help, the national game of Canada. Nine in every ten of Garden City folk are perfectly satisfied now . . . for Athletics are perfectly redeemed. The good, old double-blues survived the most severe gunfire of their careers and came through like the champions they are.

Billy Wilson's record in 1941 was actually 7 Mann Cups, not the 6 that Clayton Browne mentions above. Wilson possessed a deadly accurate shot and was one of the best box lacrosse players to ever come out of St. Catharines. Billy Wilson's Mann Cup teams were: