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History of the A's |
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The Writing On The Wall |
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THROUGH THE SPORTS GATE by Jack Gatecliff The St. Catharines Standard Saturday August 24, 1957 Senior lacrosse came to a close in St. Catharines last night for the 1957 season and it would surprise few in this area if it also marked the end of the senior game for some years, at least as far as this city is concerned. Whether it will stagger though another season in the other centres is of course something which won't be known until next spring. That the Athletics were eliminated is actually beside the point. They could have gone on to win the Ontario championship and there would still have been some doubt as to the future of the game here. At the outside there were probably 10 players who were genuinely interested in playing lacrosse here during the past season. The lack of interest spread to the fans and the direct result was that fewer people (and fewer players) attended the games this year than at any time since senior (boxla) started here in the early thirties. Barring the sudden appearance of a sponsor (which seems to be a vital necessity in these days of play-for-pay sport) and an awakening of interest among more of the players, senior is, to put it bluntly, dead. Taking the pessimistic view, believe us, hurts. Lacrosse we have always contended, is the equal of hockey in thrills and spectator appeal when played at its best. There are still many good players in the game but generally speaking the caliber has gone down rapidly in the past few years. We can't think of any other sport which the same can be said. The Peterboro lacrosse club for instance, which seems destined for another championship, wouldn't have been able to make the playoffs in senior lacrosse 10 years ago. Perhaps it's just one of those "sports cycles" you read about. If so, we sincerely hope that it makes the full turn quickly because we for one will miss senior lacrosse if it is on the shelf in St. Catharines next year. |