History of the A's

 
 

1932 - Junior Champion Athletics

 
 

There was a time when St. Catharines prided itself as an important centre in the game of lacrosse and in the glory days before the Great War, the city produced many fine individual stars and championship teams that fuelled the Garden City’s great passion for the game. But somehow the First World War seemed to change the game, or at least change the public’s perception of the “national pastime”. In many of the sport’s former strongholds, such as St. Catharines, the faithful would complain that the game just wasn’t the same as it once was. Attendance figures dropped, the Athletics on-field performance wouldn’t match that of the “good old days on the old corner lot”, and the unthinkable would happen, the A’s would fail to even field a senior team for several years. 

Was it true? Was lacrosse dead in old St. Kitts? 

Something was needed to revive the game, something dramatic, something forceful. Something like…box lacrosse.  

After the 1931 season, when the C.A.L.A. and the O.A.L.A. endorsed the new seven-man version of the game, St. Catharines didn’t even seem prepared to jump in with both feet. But some people with long memories of the grand game and a burning desire to see its return just wouldn’t let it die. Amongst them was the St. Catharines Standard sports editor Clayton Browne, who in his sports columns would make a case to have a city lacrosse bowl built. Early in 1932 he would write, “Now that nothing but the items of the box game fill the air and daily papers, just why is the Garden City not waking up? The second oldest home of the national summer pastime in the Dominion should not have to take a back seat for any other city!” 

In May of 1932, the city finally approved plans to build a small, outdoor lacrosse bowl at the Thomas Street sports park. It would be too late to support an application for a senior team, but it was not too late to allow the four-team city junior league to operate a box schedule along with its traditional field league. The junior Athletics, Alerts, Tecumsehs and Shamrocks would play their field games on Tuesdays and play a separate box schedule on Fridays. 

Two separate leagues, playing two different versions of the game but with the same teams and largely the same players. The teams would keep their own field grounds, the Tecumsehs at the Thomas Street park, the Athletics on the Collegiate grounds, the Alerts in the east end and the Shamrocks at Western Hill, but all would also play Friday night double-headers of the box game at the new city lacrosse box. 

At season’s end, the blue-shirted Athletics of coach Billy Hope would twice beat their rival red-jerseyed Tecumsehs of coach Art Brown to claim each of the city titles, the field championship on August 19th and the box championship on August 30th

Now it was time to test themselves against the outside world, the O.A.L.A. junior box lacrosse play-downs. The Athletics were bolstered by some of the stars of the other city teams to form what amounted to a city all-star team. Joining the A’s “Red” Millar, 16-year-old George Hope, and goaltender Bill Whittaker would be Roy Barnard, Billy Fitzgerald Jr., and Joe Cheevers from the Tecumsehs, “Wandy” McMahon from the Shamrocks and a very young “Gus” Madsen from the Alerts. All were to be future stars on some of the great Athletics Mann Cup teams in later years. 

After beating out the Niagara Falls juniors, the junior Athletics were, for some reason, allowed to participate in the intermediate (senior “B”) playoffs and played the Oshweken Indians in a two-game, total points series. Oshweken had just beaten out the Port Dalhousie Lakesides to win the Niagara District intermediate league, and this team featured Bill Isaacs who would arguably be the greatest lacrosse player of the 1930’s and 40’s. This would certainly be a difficult challenge for the St. Catharines youngsters, many of which were still young enough to play juvenile. The A’s did surprisingly well against their more experienced opponents, losing by just 8 to 7 in St. Catharines and 7 to 4 at the Burlington Arena with some tremendous goaltending by “Silent Bill” Whittaker keeping it close (I don’t think the colourful Whittaker could keep his nickname of “Silent Bill” for too many more years). The team from Oshweken would then go on to beat Peterborough for the Ontario intermediate title. 

The Athletics would now refocus on the junior playoffs and after losing their first game in St. Kitts against the Fergus juniors, they would rebound to take the series against the Joe Bergin led team from the north. The heavily favoured Fergus team had a number of players who split their time that summer between playing junior, intermediate and senior. 

The A’s would then beat out the Toronto National “Sea Fleas” in a two game, total points semi-final, but not before a rough and tumble affair at Maple Leaf Gardens where “a general melee was only quelled with the arrival of the police.” The Standard would report “the Nats finished the final three minutes with two players on the floor counting the goalie.” 

The St. Catharines Athletics would now meet the Cornwall juniors to determine Ontario’s first-ever junior box lacrosse champion. Perhaps it was fitting to have the exciting new box game showcased in a final between two centres that had such a long and rich tradition in the grand old game. 

So, was lacrosse dead in old St. Kitts? Not with this crop of talented youngsters leading the way. 

After a late fund-raising effort in which several of the local “oldboys” of lacrosse contributed, the A’s travelled in five cars to play the first game in Cornwall and came away with a tight 10 to 9 win on Saturday the 29th of October. The return match would be played the following Saturday, but since St. Catharines lacked an arena and the new city box was ill-suited for this game, the final was played at the arena in Burlington. 

Would this strange new game and the young turks that took to it bring the sport back into the hearts and minds of the “lacrossedom” of St. Catharines? 

Well, the rest is history.

ATHLETICS BECOME ONTARIO JUNIOR CHAMPIONS BY CRUSHING CORNWALL NATS 

ST. KITTS SQUAD MARCHES TO FIRST LACROSSE TITLE SINCE 1921 

DECISIVELY TURNED CORNWALL THREAT INTO ONE-SIDED VICTORY 

SCORE WAS 23 – 8 AND 33 – 17 ON ROUND 

EASTERNERS FOLDED UP IN LAST HALF WHEN ATHLETICS RAN WILD 

The St. Catharines Standard 

Monday November 7, 1932 

All hail, the champions – and they are champions in the true sense of the word. Giving one of the greatest displays of offensive lacrosse since they stepped onto the rocky road that led to the title, the Billy Hope—Art Brown St. Catharines Athletics buried the Cornwall Nationals under a 23 – 8 score at Burlington arena on Saturday night to capture the Ontario Amateur Lacrosse junior championship and the Iroquois Cup, symbolic of that great honour. 

Backed with their close 10 – 9 victory in Cornwall on October 29, the famous and classy double-blue team won the round by the immense score of 33 – 17. Following the route, a crowd of over 700 fans gave vent to their feelings as Gene Dopp, secretary of the O.A.L.A. presented the Iroquois Cup to Walter Westwood, president of the St. Catharines Lacrosse Association. And now for the first time since 1921, the historic and battered cup came to rest in the Garden City amid numerous other laurels and trophies that have helped to win for St. Catharines the title of “the home of lacrosse.” This honor was verified in no uncertain style on Saturday night. 

A factor that has been near the breaking-point since the Athletics ousted Niagara Falls, Fergus and Toronto Nationals from further competition in the titanic struggle for the honors smashed forth in all its poignancy on Saturday night when the A’s brought down such a landside of goals upon the Cornwallites, that they were completely bewildered. The Nats afforded the Saints a great battle for the first two periods, but when the latter team applied the pressure in a beautiful combination of passing, shooting, stick-handling, checking and gameness the Lallyites apparently decided that they had enough and “folded up.” 

A standout for the Nats and possibly the star of the game was Ed. Lauzon, lanky and nonchalant Cornwall goalie, who never saw so many shots before. He was bombarded from every conceivable angle and he weathered the storm in marvellous style. For the 22 bullet shots that slide past him, he cannot be blamed as they would have beaten the best of them. He stopped twice as many as went by him and it is likely that the count would have been far greater had it not been for his ability. Bill Whittaker, Athletic goalie, got off to a bad start and two easy goals slid by him. He soon tightened up and took care of everything that came his way, holding the Nats to one counter in the third period. “Shy” Manning, kid goalie, was brought into action for the first time this year late in the final quarter and of the six desperate Cornwall shots flung at him, only one got by. 

Led by “Red” Millar and “Peck” O’ Malley, who accounted for eleven goals and two assists between them with Miller getting six counters and one assist, the Athletics literally burned up the floor with a dazzling display. “Bus” Rowden, “Blondy” Hope, Bob VanAlstyne and “Pilot” McMahon all garnered two counters each and ladled out four assists between them. Walter Nutt, George Cleverly, Bill Fitzgerald and “Bun” Barnard accounted for one tally each and two assists. “Danny” Williams and Gus Madsen did not get into the score column, but this does not remove any glory from their share in the big victory. They were in there fighting all the time and assisted in no small manner. 

It can’t be denied that the Nationals did not throw a scare in the Athletic camp in the first two periods, when after the A’s had built up small leads they tied them. Both teams missed enough goals to win two games and the fault with the visitors was a weird shooting effort, as in the first period they were in on top of Whittaker plenty of times but missed both him and the nets completely. Barnard and Hope worked well on the defense and although the Nats broke through frequently, many of their shots were directed from the centre area. 

Several “tough breaks” and Lauzon in goal upset the Saints’ scoring chances, but it was quite noticeable in the third period that the Athletics passed up a number of chances to score, when they developed a little sympathy for the Cornwallites. 

Goals by O’Malley and Millar sent the St. Catharines squad away to a whirlwind start in the first four minutes of the initial period, but the Nationals came back quick with counters by LaPearle and E. Lalonde to knot the score. O’ Malley and Rowden sent the Saints into a two-point margin that was cut to one by Donihee’s tally just before the quarter whistle. 

The see-saw battle was resumed in the second canto when Ethier tied the score at 4-all with his goal in the first 30 seconds of play. Nutt and Miller increased before E. Lalonde and Menard put the teams on even terms once again. It was at this stage of the game that the tide of battle started to turn and the Nats were held to a pair of goals for the balance of the fixture while the Hope-Brown crew added 17 more. 

Possibly the cause that allowed Cornwall to stay with the St. Catharines team in the first two periods was the latter team’s penalties. Most of the Nationals’ goal came with the champions short-handed when they developed seven penalties in the first two periods, all at precarious times. They settled down, backed with their experience and received but three rests for the balance of the game. 

“Red” Millar and “Peck” O’Malley were the outstanding offensive stars for St. Catharines, while Lavigne, Ethier and E. Lalonde carried the Cornwall honors. 

Shots on goal:

Cornwall            4             6               4               7            - (21)

Athletics            12            11            15            12            - (50)

Penalties:

 

First period—Lavigne 2, Lemire, Miller, VanAlstyne, O’Malley, Hope.

Second period—Lavigne, Collins (major), Lapearle, Fitzgerald, VanAlstyne, Hope.

Third period—Lemire, Cleverly, Hope.

Fourth period—G. Lalonde, Samson, Barnard.

Score by Periods:

Cornwall…………….3,  3, 1, 1—(8)

Athletics…………….4, 5, 7, 7—(23)

 

The teams:

St. CatharinesGoal, Whittaker; defense, Hope and Barnard; rover, Nutt; centre, O’Malley; forward, Millar and Rowden; alternates, Fitzgerald, VanAlstyne, Williams, McMahon, Madsen, Cleverly, Manning. 

CornwallGoal, Lauzon; defense, Lemire and Pearl; rover, E. Lalonde; centre, Lavigne; forwards, Donihee and Menard; alternates, M. Collins, H. Collins, Ethier, G. Lalonde, A. Lalonde, Samson. 

Referee—G. Collins, Cornwall;  judge of play, “Hank” Goudie, Toronto;  penalty timer, Gene Dopp, Toronto; timers, Ed. England and A. Sauve. 

HOW THE TITLE WAS CAPTURED 

First Quarter

St. C.O’Malley (Rowden)

St. C.Millar

Corn.Lavigne

Corn.E. Lalonde (Donihee)

St. C.O’Malley

St. C.Rowden

Corn.Donihee 

Second Quarter

Corn.Ethier

St. C.Nutt

St. C.Millar

Corn.E. Lalonde

Corn.Menard

St. C.Millar

St. C.O’Malley

St. C.O’Malley (Hope) 

Third Quarter

St. C.Hope

St. C.Rowden

St. C.Hope

St. C.VanAlstyne (Fitz)

St. C.Cleverly (Millar)

Corn.Menard

St. C.Millar

St. C.Fitzgerald (Hope) 

Fourth Quarter

St. C.O’Malley

St. C.Millar (O’Malley)

St. C.VanAlstyne (Cleverly)

St. C.Barnard

St. C.McMahon (Fitz)

St. C.McMahon

Corn.Ethier 

The Triumphal Entry 

Many a light sparkled in the eyes of grey and bent lacrosse veterans whom their memory recalled similar events of yore as St. Catharines and its suburbs turned out in large numbers on Saturday night or Sunday morning to pay due respects to a team that had lived true to its famous double blue colours. 

Greeted by a parade of over 200 motor cars and as many marchers that were headed by a band, the champion St. Catharines Athletics, holders of the Iroquois Cup, emblematic of the junior lacrosse championship were fittingly received by their native city on their return from Burlington where they had given a remarkable display of lacrosse to annex the honours. 

It was a “red letter night’ in the history of St. Catharines and its welcoming demonstrations. The procession formed at the western entrance to the Garden City where the initial reception was tendered by the Shamrock Lacrosse Club and its supporters amidst the discharge of numerous firecrackers. From here the parade moved down town to be further greeted by the populace at large, who occupied points of vantage along the parade route. 

During the trip Coaches Billy Hope and Art Brown and the executive of the lacrosse club proudly displaying the Iroquois Cup marched, while the team was perched on all points of vantage on autos. Following the parade the party adjourned to Alex Christopher’s rendezvous when they were feted. 

Not only was it a gala night with the return of the team, but led by a brass band, approximately 600 St. Catharines supporters made merry at the Burlington arena when it was easy to discern that the championship was headed for St. Catharines. Noisemakers were in evidence, but most of the fans resorted to their vocal cords and led by the famous group of “Hog-Callers” they literally lifted the roof of the arena. 

The presentation of the Iroquois Cup by Gene Dopp, genial secretary of the O.A.L.A. to President Walter Westwood was the signal for a terrific outbreak of cheering and applause. Mr. Dopp in presenting the cup stated: “I take great pleasure in presenting this cup to Mr. Westwood in the interest of a great team. Early in the season your team was not conceived a chance of coming near the great honour you have just now achieved, but you certainly have made a gallant stand to come through under the most disheartening odds and you are worthy possessors of this cup.”

See Team Photo: 1932 Ontario Junior Champions

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