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History of the A's |
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1932 - Junior Champion Athletics |
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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.
Catharines—Goal,
Whittaker; defense, Hope and Barnard; rover, Nutt; centre, O’Malley;
forward, Millar and Rowden; alternates, Fitzgerald, VanAlstyne, Williams,
McMahon, Madsen, Cleverly, Manning. Cornwall—Goal,
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. See Team Photo: 1932 Ontario Junior Champions |