History of the A's

1910 Mann Cup Muddle

The very first Mann Cup was presented to the Young Torontos on October 8th, 1910 after their convincing 8-0 win over the Maitlands at the Scarboro’ Beach grounds.  

But who were these teams? Where did they come from? How did they come to play for such a prestigious award? 

The Young Torontos were the runner-ups to St. Catharines Athletics for the Canadian Lacrosse Association championship and as for the Maitlands, well; the Maitlands were the city champions in the Toronto city junior league. 

Welcome to the Mann Cup Muddle of 1910. 

First, lets flash back even two weeks earlier. On Sept. 24^th the Athletics finished off the Young Torontos by a 4 – 3 score at the Scarboro’ Beach grounds and won the two game, home and home C.L.A. final by 14 goals to 6. The Toronto Globe reported on Monday Sept. 26^h, “The Athletics deserve the championship. They beat Young Torontos and Young Tecumsehs in most decisive fashion. They won their rounds by handsome margins and by superior lacrosse.” 

This would make the A’s a natural fit for the Mann Cup play-down, right? Were they not the best amateur team in the best amateur league in the country? Well, hold on. 

The control of the Mann Cup was in the hand of some assigned trustees and very soon they said they would not permit the Athletics to play for the Cup. They wanted proof that they were indeed amateurs. They also announced very early that they would like the Young Torontos to play for the Mann. Never mind that the Torontos’ Joe Heal, Andy Mara, W. Selby and John Heal were connected to some previous professional sporting activity, and even though the Mann Cup mandate stated once a professional (or with some kind of professional connection) always a professional. 

The C.L.A. took up the fight for the St. Catharines Athletics. They said that the Athletics were their champions, that they would vouch for their amateur standing and insisted that the Athletics be the representative. In fact they went so far as to forbid the Young Torontos from challenging for the cup under threat of expulsion from the league. 

Meanwhile, a team from Vancouver had made the long trek from the coast to play for the Mann Cup. They had assumed they would be playing the Athletics since the Mann award had specified that it must go to a champion of a league. The Vancouver team was ready and they were demanding a game for all the trouble and expense that went to get here. The Toronto Globe on Sept 30^th wrote, “The Vancouver visitors are becoming uneasy over the foggy condition of the affairs, and are wondering why they were brought all the way from the Pacific when there was nobody to play against. Mr Findlay, who is in charge of the boys when asked about the situation: -- ‘I don’t know whom our boys are to play, but I suppose the trustees will find some team to give us a match. It would be very unfortunate if it fell through now. We didn’t come all this way to get a cup and go back. We want some games. We have plenty of cups at home, and prize them very highly’.” 

The trustees had a real mess on their hands. Should they let Vancouver play the Athletics or the Young Torontos for the Cup. And now other challengers for the trophy were making their claim. The intermediate champions Eaton’s and the Cornwall Internationals wanted in (no worries about Cornwall being amateur, Joe Lally was on the Mann Cup board and he said they were okay). The Quebec City team expressed an interest, but their league wouldn’t be completed for another month. And even a couple of city junior league champions wanted in, the Maitlands of the Toronto league and the Martins from the St. Catharines league. The Toronto News wrote on Sept 30^th, “Any team, no matter how humble seems to suit the trustees…but the Athletics of St. Catharines, the only team in these parts capable of giving a real argument, despite the fact that they were sponsored by the Canadian Lacrosse Association, were passed over.” Later in the same article, “The whole thing is rapidly assuming the appearance of a joke.” 

So a game was hurriedly arranged between Vancouver and the Young Torontos. Was this going to be for the Mann Cup? Well, no. But maybe it could be used as part of a play-down to whoever finally plays for the cup.  

Young Torontos would beat Vancouver by a score of 8 to 6 in a game not without it’s own controversy. The Toronto Globe would report on October 3rd, “The Vancouver visitors are not saying much, but there is a feeling of decided disappointment among them. They were not opposed by any champions, or series winners, but by the team defeated in finals for the C.L.A. honors. They had to meet the Young Torontos on the latter’s own grounds, with an honorary official of the club as referee, and the Young Torontos scored two goals, their majority in the match, while a Vancouver man was serving a ten-minute penalty.” 

Later, Vancouver’s subsequently protested the Young Torontos for, guess what, professionalism, but would be dismissed by the Mann Cup trustees. And with the trustees’ announcement, the Vancouverites headed for home. The Globe reported on Oct 7^th, “A large crowd of followers of the game assembled at the Union depot last night to say goodbye to the British Columbians. They return to the coast not a little dissatisfied with the outcome of their long trip, and had no hesitation in saying so.” 

Elsewhere, the Cornwall seniors would play against the Toronto city league champions Maitlands and be surprised by the youngsters. That put the Internationals clearly out of the running. Then the Eaton’s team (yes, sponsored by the big store) dropped out because of some illnesses to some of their players. 

So where were the St. Catharines Athletics while all this was going on? On Sept 30^th the St. Catharines Daily Standard reported that in a letter from Fred Killer, the chairman of the trustees had wrote to the Athletics, “The trustees would be glad if you would specify the players, if any, who have ever played for clubs in any professional series. The conditions which govern the trustees in their acceptance of challenges for the D.D. Mann Gold Cup compel them to ask satisfactory evidence as to the genuine amateurism of any player.” Later in the same letter, Mr Killer wrote, “The trustees will be glad to have your suggestion as to the date on which the Athletics would prefer to meet the team that survive the early stages of the Mann Cup contest.” 

With the C.L.A. strongly supporting the Athletics bid, the Standard reported Athletics Secretary Joseph Timmons wrote back to the trustees, “I beg to inform you that our club placed the challenge for the Mann Cup in the hands of the C.L.A. along with the declaration of players’ amateur standing, and as the C.L.A. has the declarations and vouchers for genuine amateurism of our team, we will leave everything in the hands of W.H. Hall, secretary of the C.L.A., who will give you all and any information as to our amateur standing. I am informing Mr. Hall that in the event of play being arranged, October 8^th will be acceptable to our team.” 

Things seemed a little promising for the Athletics until the reply came back from the trustees that was printed in the Daily Standard on Oct 6^th, “The trustees of the Mann Gold Cup regret that the Athletic Lacrosse Club is unable to furnish the trustees with evidence as to the amateurism of all its players.” Though the letter mentioned the trustees are writing to the C.L.A. for the “evidence you mentioned”, they also indicated that they wished the Athletics would get their players certified as amateurs under the rules of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Athletics Union (a track and field organization). That is to get “Secretary Hewitt of the O.H.A. to certify that your players could play hockey as amateurs under the O.H.A. rules and secure a certificate from Mr Nelson, Governor of the C.A.A.U. to the effect that your players would be able to take part as amateurs in track athletics under the jurisdiction of the C.A.A.U.” 

The Daily Standard report felt this was ridiculous. “This makes the situation more comical than ever. From the letter it may be gathered that the Athletics have a chance to play for the cup, although the Young Torontos have already played a game. It would be foolish for the Athletics, vouched for by the C.L.A., to go to an athletic or a hockey organization for a guarantee of their standing. They have been prevented from playing for the cup and the natural consequence has been that the whole series of games has developed into a farce.” 

So the Mann Cup game was held between the Young Toronto and the Maitlands. Of the championship game the Toronto Globe would report on Oct 10^th, “Maitlands were totally unable to make an impression on the Young Torontos defence, while at the other end of the field the Maitlands defence was peaches and cream for the Beachers.” The Young Torontos became the first winners of the Mann Cup. 

The Canadian Lacrosse Association lived up to their promise and expelled the Young Torontos the following year. The Daily Standard reported on May 19^th, 1911, “Mr. Forsythe (C.L.A. President) says ‘As the Young Torontos Lacrosse Club was expelled from the Canadian Lacrosse Association, all clubs and players are notified that players who take part in any games with or against the Young Torontos are thereby disqualified from competing with or against any C.L.A. team in this or future seasons’.” 

In 1911, the Young Torontos were a team without a league and the St. Catharines went undefeated in the C.L.A. to win another Globe Shield championship. As defending champions, the Young Torontos hosted Vancouver for the 1911 Mann Cup championship. Vancouver won by 7 to 2 and took the cup with them back to B.C. where it stayed until 1926. Of that sparsely attended game, the Toronto Mail and Empire would write on Oct 2^nd, 1911, “it was good lacrosse, but not of the best, and St. Catharines, the logical defenders of a senior amateur trophy, could have walked away with either team. Neither Vancouver nor Toronto showed the snap that has for years marked St. Catharines as an A1 lacrosse team, and, it is a pity that the Garden City boys will have no chance to demonstrate their right to the Mann Cup.” 

So were the St. Catharines Athletics, or even the Young Torontos for that matter, tainted with professionals (past or present) in their lineups. No individuals were actually identified in the reports from 1910, but George Parke or Frank Dixon could have been the objectionable players to the Mann trustees. Parke had played in an earlier year with the Torontos of the N.L.U. and Dixon went about getting his amateur status reinstated in 1911 when the possibility of a trip to the 1912 Olympics first presented itself. Maybe justice was served. But one thing this interested observer can say. The St. Catharines Athletics Lacrosse Club of 1910 were one great lacrosse team, a team that was denied the chance to play for the Mann Cup.

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