History of the A's
Veteran Goaltender Scores On A's
The first time the senior St. Catharines Athletics faced goaltender Bill McArthur was when he played for the 1910 Young Torontos. While most of the 1936 Athletics weren't even born when McArthur first played at the old corner lot, they found that the wily veteran was still a hard man to beat at the crease. On this night the 50-year-old warrior showed all of that and even raced down floor to score one on the Athletics goaltender Bill Whittaker.
TERRIERS DEFEAT ATHLETICS TO DEADLOCK GROUP IN SENIOR BOX
BILL McARTHUR IN ORILLIA GOAL ROBS HOMEBREWS OF VICTORY
FINAL TALLY READ 10 - 7 FOR THE NORTH
FOUR MINOR BRAWLS ENLIVEN ACTION IN FINAL LISTED GAME
The St. Catharines Standard
Monday August 24, 1936
With group positions and also reputations at stake, Orillia Terriers proved to be the better "money" team in their appearance here on Saturday night against St. Catharines Athletics and when the fracas was over, the purple-white northerners had taken home the verdict for the second time this summer. The score was 10 - 7 and the Mann Cuppers were about that margin of difference on the homebrew blueshirts. The Garden City chances might have improved had they creased the full number of players throughout, but this game of all others was destined to be one that involved considerable "hometown" feeling and the taste of glory kept Joe Cheevers and Jack McMahon involved with their ex-mates, while the Curran brothers took up where others left off and managed to draw down official ire to the extent that they had a major and match penalty. To keep peace in the family of around 1,500 box patrons who got plenty of action that brought about 17 goals and the minor donnybrooks that cropped up periodically to mar the picture for those who delight in the cleaner pastiming.
Fortunately, in the "fourth-chukker" with rough and tumbles that numbered four, the other rival players did little more than square off occasionally and act as peacemakers and the Leighton-Spencer duo saved the patrons by benching two at a time and thus kept the penalty list at eleven for Orillia to ten for A's. Young Frank Madsen and Ernie Curran did tangle again in the penalty box, but the strong arm of Alex McKenzie intervened and lifted Curran out of action bodily, which promptness quieted any likelihood of Terrier subs mixing in.
One Veteran is "Ace"
Orillians can thank one man - Bill McArthur - for winning the game that tied them up with Mimico Mounts at the head of Group 1 and also dropped Athletics into a similar situation with the HamBur Combines. The veteran goalie made history here on Saturday night. Insofar as the records go and the memory of referees, McArthur is the lone one this season to score a goal on the opposition. It came midway in the second chapter and his quick thinking just naturally made the odd man that raced up centre and drilled a corner shot that evaded Whittaker and earned the dean of senior netminders the biggest hand of the night.
In addition to the hair-raiser goal, McArthur came out time after time to check the ball carrier, played his position cannily and on some of his saves, a gift horseshoe hung. Yet, he skied them brilliantly and his total of 33 saves besides the 7 that escaped him might be said the factor that stood between Athletics and victory. Rarely had a better performance in the nets been given here. Whittaker was every bit as sensational at times, yet he was not accorded a sample of same stone-wall defence tactics that carried Terriers to a 3-goal lead on the night's show. The counters that beat him would possibly have beaten anyone, but on the other hand, the precision of the visitors was better than the homebrews. The A's maneuvered into position well enough but the ones that hit the posts could just have easily have gone in had the sniper been free and not tightly checked at critical moments. That essential, aided and abetted by freer system of passing against individual tactics of the Athletics, as a team on the whole, just made enough advantage for the trio of goals that divided them.
Close First and Third
Athletics were only in the picture at its best in the first and third periods, but their disastrous lapse, or Orillia's tenacious tactics - whichever way 'tis considered - in the second and fourth semesters accomplished the necessary. The opener finished up 2 - 2, but Terriers netted four to two in the second to assume a 6 - 4 lead and the best homebrews could do was to trim that margin back by tallying two to their one in the third at 7 - 6. Three in a row to start the final canto proved the nemesis of the Cahill-Teather squad, whose reply was another single and the teams left the cushion with Terriers jubilant and Athletics crestfallen, while the patrons carried home a load of crushed hopes.
Athletics started their junior line against the Orillia regulars and play was not in action long before the Mann Cuppers strutted to a lead, when McMahon fed Snowdon the spot for a goal in less the 1 1/2 minutes. Terrier tactics varied little during the game, being a six-man up and six-man back and it proved good. Incidentally, the same "Wandy" McMahon was the spearhead of Orillia attacks, while he was the first to scuttle back to defence after losing possession. Chick Turner, who played his first senior game and got in action for 10 minutes, was the best of the A's to follow the back checking idea. Walsh, Kelly and the Curran brothers were the pick of the Terriers, but McArthur stood out like a beacon on a dark night. Beyond Whittaker, there was not a single starring ace on the blues' roster and while they labored like beavers, could not get the "clicking" plays of yore that produced victories with smart passing.
Orillia Terriers - Goal, McArthur; defence, Wilson, Bain; rover, McMahon; centre, Cheevers; wings, Kelly, Snowdon; subs, Munroe, E. Curran, W. Curran, Boettger, Walsh, Botting.
St. Catharines Athletics - Goal, Whittaker; defence, C. Madsen, Barnard; rover, F. Madsen; centre, Urquhart; wings, Teather, Morton; subs, Kalinoski, Fitzgerald, Millar, Turner, Lounsbury, Hope.
Officials - Bruce Leighton and "Red" Spencer, Toronto.
SPORTS DONE BROWNE
by CLAYTON BROWNE
The St. Catharines Standard
Monday August 24, 1936
It was a crushing blow to the hopes of around 1,500 lacrosse lovers when it turned out that the Mann Cuppers proved the smarter club in our midst. That makes the second time to humble the blue A's and fans found it hard to take. Yet gloom to us was joy to others and Jack McMahon's and Joe Cheever's well-wishers derive satisfaction. To the former goes the honor of being Terriers' ace-in-the-hole here and outside of Bill McArthur, the west ender did so much to bring disaster here as no other member of the purple and white national champs.
Candidly, there is no secret to Orillia's win. They played a systematic style of six men coming and going and their legs stood up better than the A's in hustling back into defensive position. Therein lay about the difference, except that Terriers played a bit more combination than the Athletics, at least they managed to get rid of it when stoutly checked to other team mates who assisted to capitalize when goals meant most and those three were too many.
What a struggle that would have been had the Athletics been "on" instead of luke warm? With Bill McArthur turning in a net performance that probably shaded anything seen here this summer, it would have taken a superior squad to ooze out a victory. Seeing that the A's were not at their peak, either failing or being unable to combine at critical moments, they had to fight for every goal.
