History of the A's

Athletics Chased By Angry Mob

MOB LAW AT BRANTFORD; ATHLETICS ASSAULTED 

Thousand  Citizens  Rush  Upon  Field  to  Attack  St. Catharines  Players --- Chief  Reads  Riot  Act,  It  Is  Said. 

Referee  Hall  Also  Assaulted --- Crowd  Held  Back  at  Point  of  Revolver --- Game  Awarded  to  Home  Brews  at  Half  Time

The Daily Standard

St. Catharines, Tuesday August 13, 1907

Queer tales are told of what was supposed to have been a championship C. L. A. game at Brantford on Monday. The Athletics left the city about eight o’clock fully expecting to have a hard contest, but equally as determined to add another victory to their already unusually long list. Without incident the trip was made, but upon arriving at Brantford they found the team there strengthened by the importation of three swift players of the N. L. U. Naturally objection was taken, and so strongly too, that the Brantford management was compelled to fall back upon the real team, and the game was started. 

The following dispatch to the Globe headed, “A Disgraceful Row at Brantford,” tells in a manner, something of what happened. 

“The feature of the Civic holiday celebration here today was a C. L. A. game between Brantford and St. Catharines. It proved one of the roughest ever played in this city, culminating in an exhibition of rowdyism of a most disgraceful character. Referee Donald Hall of Oshawa, towards the close of the second quarter, when the score stood 3 to 1 in favor of the visitors, was threatened with assault by spectators rushing on the field. He immediately stopped play and awarded the game to St. Catharines, both being mobbed and struck repeatedly in the face and the body. To the credit of the local players and some spectators, it should be said that they made valiant efforts to protect the visitors, surrounding them and beating back their assailants. Finally they were landed in their dressing rooms. The referee was hurried away, and all the players kept under lock and key. Throughout the game, and at the time of the assaults, there were no police on the field. Later the police arrived, and protected the visitors, although efforts were made to assault them. They were rushed to the station in covered vans. The game itself was brutally rough: players, particularly among the visitors were frequently laid out. Brantford men laid on the hickory in the most approved manner, and decorated the fence for extended periods. The referee was strict, but impartial. Brantford made an attempt to play Ollie Davidson of the Tecumsehs, Laylor of Toronto, and Whitehead of the Tecumsehs, but St. Kitts objected to their playing, even if the match were regarded as an exhibition game, and local men were substituted.

In the first quarter Brantford got one and St. Kitts two, one of which was disallowed. The visitors scored two more up to the call of time in the second period. Many fights occurred among the players. The better element of sportsmen here greatly regret the entire proceeding which seemed to be provoked by old-time rivalry and friction between Brantford and St.Catharines. The crowd was large, numbering 2,000.” 

The World publishes no report of the game, but in the Lacrosse Column it says: “ At Brantford yesterday, in a senior C. L. A. game between the home team and St. Catharines, Referee Donald Hall was assaulted by the Brantford players and when the Toronto contingent left there last night Hall was in bed suffering from the injuries received. It appears just before half-time one of the Brantford players assaulted Hall and he then, the score being 3-1 in favor of St. Kitts, gave the game to the visitors. The other players on hearing this joined in the assault, assisted by a number of spectators, with the above result.” 

The dispatch from Brantford made mention of the fight on the field but did not say the referee was implicated. 

However if the reports are true, the Brantford Club will be expelled from the association. Referees must be protected and in this case, something more than expulsion may be expected. 

¾¾ 

The Athletics, heroic to the last minute, arrived home shortly after eight o’clock, bringing with them various mementoes of their eventful journey to the Dyke, where such unusual scenes occurred. The boys all bore evidence of their trip and Tim & Mac’s was the place where the day’s doings were recounted by the team to a host of attentive listeners, who viewed the boys as real heroes returning from a victorious campaign. Victory comes to St. Catharines, but the boys had to pay for it. On the field they put up a manly game against previously unheard of odds and got the decision from the referee who was brutally attacked and at once stopped the game. 

The end of the game was but the beginning of what the Brantford people had been expecting. From all appearances a lacrosse game had not been anticipated. The Athletics brought home with them a card which is reproduced in The Standard. Copies of this document has been scattered about the Telephone City and together with attempts of the Brantford newspapers had evidently accomplished the desired effect of inciting the populace to a spirit of rowdyism. The mob went down behind the Dyke, not to witness a manly game of lacrosse but to take part in a contemplated slaughter of a dozen sturdy youngsters who had on three previous occasions shown themselves to be superior to any twelve men Brantford could either produce or import. That is the real cause of the attack upon the referee and the team. Jealousy has ever been a wonderful factor in murder and assault it has proved the extinguishing of Brantford’s spark of manliness and whatever might have been said of the few sporty qualities of Dykers must now remain unsaid for truly manliness and sport in Brantford are dead. 

The Globes account of the “game” is very fair, coming as it does from Brantford, but the after details are not supplied. The Brantford team after doing its share to cause the damage, evidently repented and took sides with the Athletics in defending them against the brainless mob. Till the police arrived the boys were locked in the dressing room and it would have been unsafe for them to have ventured out. It was a case of fighting their way into the place and although no police arrived for three quarters of an hour the mob still hovered about the spot clamoring for the blood of the St. Catharines sports. 

When the police arrived the boys were given protection to a bus in waiting for them. The Chief of Police being almost unable to do anything against the mob is said to have read the Riot Act. This has a temporary effect and in the lull the team was hurried to the bus and with the Chief and two constables, a fast run was made to the iron bridge spanning the Grand River. The mob, however, had in the meantime recovered from the effects of the reading of the Act and almost two thousand persons started in pursuit of the team. When the bridge was reached the Chief and his two men jumped from the bus and instantly took up their positions at the approach to the bridge, drawing seven shooters, which stared the mob in the face as they continued in their mad flight. This stopped them and the St. Kitts boys were rushed to the depot where they lost no time in entraining. 

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