Vic 99 walk

On next Saturday afternoon, the event of the season in the Canadian lacrosse series will take place, when the Athletics of St. Catharines meet the Tecumseh-Elms team on the island oval. This match practically settles the championship. The Tecumseh-Elms have played so far without defeat. St. Catharines have now struck their winning gait and should they be able to defeat the Tecumsehs, the championship is likely theirs; but should the Tecumseh-Elm team win, the championship is assured to them. The 19^th Battalion Band will come from St. Catharines, under bandmaster Peel, 40 strong, and play during the match. A full practice of the team will be held this evening. The committee will also meet on the island.

About three thousand people witnessed the C. L. A. championship lacrosse match at the island oval on Saturday afternoon between the Tecumseh-Elms and the Athletics of St. Catharines. Doubtless another thousand would have been present had not a violent windstorm arisen about 3 o’clock which prevented the large ferries from making the wharf on the city side. The visitors brought over a boatload of about 500 excursionists accompanied by the 19^th Battalion Band, to cheer them on to victory and they certainly had plenty of opportunities to cheer for the boys who up to the time they quit the field, were strictly in it.

The result was always in doubt for at no less than five times the teams were on equal footing, namely, at the end of the second, sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth games.

The Tecumsehs at one stage of the match were two games to the good, but the visitors overhauled them in the sixth game when Pringle neatly equalized the score. The game was delayed at the start owing to the non-arrival of Mr. P. C. Knowles, who had been agreed upon as referee, but after twenty minutes delay, Mr. J. D. Bailey was prevailed upon to act in that capacity. A terrific sou’wester was blowing over the grounds and clouds of dust rendered matters unpleasant for those present. The visitors were much heavier than the local twelve and were inclined to rough it. Although the referee was called upon many times to rule men off on both sides, it cannot be said that the match was too rough, as the fouls consisted largely of tricky play.

The first game was much in Tecumseh’s favor, their home fields shooting at least a dozen times at Bowman, who managed to turn them aside. The St. Kitts boys, however scored on a swift shot by McIlwain.

The Tecumsehs rushed matters in the second, third and fourth games and scored in one and a half, one and five minutes respectively. In the third game, Cameron injured his knee and had to retire. O’Connor was laid off to even up the teams.

The fifth game was short, Elliott scoring for St. Kitts in one minute. In the sixth game some rough play was indulged in. Patterson was ruled off for cross-checking Downey. Richardson followed him after having slugged Lennox, Rube Williams and Lennox shortly after mixed it up too lively and were relegated to the side. The play was very even, Davis and Bowman being kept busy clearing their goals. The Indians should have scored several times, many shots narrowly missing the net. Pringle finally saw an opening and sent it past Davis, who was cross-checked by Downey, the inside home player. This and two other goals should have been disallowed, but the referee evidently did not see the fouls committed. In one of the later games Angus, who had been transferred from the field to goal, retaliated upon Mr. Downey, who thereafter kept at longer range.

In the seventh game Davis played magnificently for his team, turning aside shot after shot. He passed the ball to Murphy, who delivered it to Kelly. Nolan next got it and shot goal for his side. Time, 3 ½ minutes.

Grimes and Williams were warned shortly after the eighth opened. Davis and Patterson intercepted many shots and relieved the goal in fine style. Murphy, Soules, Kelly and Lennox worked hard to score, but were blocked. The Downey brothers and Elliott by a pretty piece of combination play succeeded in eluding their opponents and got the ball past Davis, who was again interfered with by the inside player. Tod Downey did the necessary for the Athletics in five minutes. McIlwain scored again in the ninth, putting his side in the lead. Angus, who was laid up with a sore foot, exchanged positions with Davis in the tenth, which fell to the locals in 1½ minutes on a swift shot by Soules.

The Athletics seemed to be satisfied to have the score a draw and during the eleventh game acted like a lot of school children by refusing to continue play because one of their players, Richardson, was ruled off for tripping up Nolan. At this time they had an extra man in play as Griffith and Lennox of the Tecumsehs had been sent to the fence, along with Tod Downey. The Athletics captain claimed that Nolan should also be sent off and on the referee’s refusing to do so, took his men off the field while there was still twenty minutes left of playing time. The squabble that resulted caused many of the spectators to retire in disgust.

Half an hour later Pringle and Elliott, with a few Tecumsehs, returned to the field, and after some ludicrous passing of the ball, Elliott secured it and the two men dashed up to Tecumseh’s goal and scored.

With the score six to five in favor of the Athletics, the referee compelled the men to finish out the full playing time, the Tecumsehs scoring three one-minute games and thus winning the game be a score of 8 to 6. They scored one of the games without changing ends, and thereby amused the Athletics’ supporters in the stand. Under the rules this game would count for the St. Kitts twelve, had not the timekeepers noticed that the legitimate time for rest between games was unexpired. The mistake was speedily rectified and the Tecumsehs were declared winners of the match. The St. Catharines players by their action on Saturday did much to injure the game here, which seems to be their sole object. They should be told to hang up their sticks for all time.

TECUMSEHS		ST. CATHARINES
Davis	goal	Bowman
Patterson	point	F. Williams
Griffith	cover point	J. Richardson
Grimes	defence	R. Williams
Angus	defence	Hagan
O'Connor	defence	Harris
Soules	centre	Cameron
Kelly	home	George Downey
Lennox	home	Pringle
Murphy	home	McIlwain
Nolan	outside	Elliott
Greatrix	inside	C. Downey
F. Rose	captain	W. J. Yielding

Summary: 1) St. C McIlwain 2) Tec Murphy 3) Tec Murphy 4) Tec Lennox 5) St. C Elliott 6) St. C Pringle 7) Tec Nolan 8) St. C Downey 9) St. C McIlwain 10) Tec Soules 11) St. C Elliott 12) Tec Nolan 13) Tec Nolan 14) Tec Murphy

Officials: Referee, J. D. Bailey; Umpires, L. York, Toronto and M. J. Curran, Orillia; Timekeepers, Messrs. O'Laughlin, St. Catharines and Taylor, Toronto

The Athletic lacrosse club never went away more confident of victory or more determined than the twelve players did on Saturday, when they crossed the lake to Toronto to play their championship match with the Tecumsehs. About 400 supporters went with them, as well as the 19^th Battalion Band; 250 more were prevented from going by an accident to the Lincoln, which prevented her making her 11:30 trip.

Notwithstanding what effect crossing the lake might have had on the boys, they were in better condition than the home team and outplayed the Indians as they did here, and their home being stronger than at the time the match was played here, they were able to pile up a higher score than the Tecumsehs. Although they won the game it was awarded to the Tecumsehs. The score was 5 – 5 and the Athletics were being chopped severely. Nolan tripped Hagan and jumped on him and referee Bayley, who by the way is a member of the Tecumsehs, ruled Hagan off and allowed Nolan to remain on the field. Upon Mr. Bayley’s failure to right his decision, Capt. Yielding called his team off the field. The referee blew his whistle and just Elliott and Pringle lined up against the whole ten of the Tecumsehs, two being already ruled off. Elliott got the ball at the face off and threw it to Pringle, who returned it a couple of times, then received it again and scored with two men against ten, a feat never before equaled in the history of championship lacrosse in Canada. The exhibition was cheered by nearly the whole 3,000 spectators, Toronto people included. But Capt. Yielding, for sake of principle, refused to play any further and although the score was in the Athletics favor, being 6 to 5.

Notwithstanding the “hog” reputation which Toronto has earned for itself, one paper said that the Athletics got the worst of it on the decision, but regretted that the team left the field saying that the game was the best C. L. A. match seen in Toronto this year. Old lacrosse was horses of Toronto say it was the best lacrosse match ever seen in that city.

As the Toronto World states, the spectators who attended certainly got their money’s worth, as far as good lacrosse is concerned, the playing up to the tenth game being the fastest and cleanest seen in a match in Toronto this season.

The Athletics started in with a rush. After 5 ½ minutes play, McIlwain secured the ball and sent it into the nets. How those 400 from St. Catharines rooted and they were not alone for there was a large contingent of members and supporters of the Toronto lacrosse club on the grounds and they took the St. Kitts side. The 19^th band played and everything looked lovely for St. Kitts.

The Athletics were not playing on their own grounds and were also up against a collection of expert players that can be well called professionals, and it was no surprise to their friends to see the next three goals go to the Tecumsehs.

The band played a stirring selection, the Athletics got together and after 1 minutes’ play, Elliott scored.

In the next game Patterson struck Richardson a blow when he was nowhere near the ball and Patterson went to the fence, Richradson also being sent to keep him company. The referee saw something strange going on between Lennox and R. Williams and sent them off. Both sides were even and Pringle scored in nine minutes.

The score was now three all and excitement was furious. Nolan scored in 3 ½ minutes, when the Tecumsehs sticks went up and excitement again grew high.

Downey sent the ball through with the assistance of the defence and again made a tie score. The St. Kitts spectators never heard the band play so well as it did after that game and when McIlwain made the next successful shot, sending the score up to five to four in the Athletics favor, it was bedlam out loose.

Up to this time Referee Bayley’s decisions had been quite fair, but he is a member of the Tecumseh-Elms and there is something about blood being thicker than water, and it may have been this something that made a strange ending to the game. As long as the Tecumsehs were ahead in the score the Athletics received his every attention, but when the Tecumsehs needed a goal, he was not so wide-awake to the visitors interests and fair play in a few instances were eliminated. One Toronto paper acknowledges that the visitors got the worst of it from the referee. Griffiths let his bad blood have its way and nailed into Downey. The World says that Downey was the first to suffer. He was knocked out by Griffiths for a few minutes and Griffiths went to the fence. Then it was that Nolan tripped Hagan while Hagan was running for the ball, and then he jumped on him. Of course Hagan had no business to allow this to occur and to the fence he went, and it would not do to have two Tecumseh players off at once for rough play and be at a disadvantage, so Mr. Bayley refused to rule off Nolan. Capt. Yielding called his men off, all going except Elliott and Pringle who made that remarkable play, scoring a goal against ten men. Such an act was never before heard of in lacrosse circles.

There was just 18 minutes more to play and the score was in the Athletics favor as well as the playing, they were in better form than the Tecumsehs, but for the sake of principle, Capt. Yielding decided not to put his team on the field again.

When the Athletics were leaving the grounds, the Dowling trick was played on McIlwain by Griffiths, only even worse. Griffiths approached McIlwain, who is the smallest player on the Athletics, and with a growl of spiteful anger, struck him with his stick, slapped his face and then deliberately kicked him, knocking him on the wooden floor of the bicycle track. Frank bore up nobly however and soon revived. Downey, who was also knocked insensible by Griffiths, attempted to take McIlwain’s part, but was prevented by friends who were standing about. There will be no charges of assault to do bodily harm laid against Griffiths, to whom Richardson evidently cannot hold a candle as a rough player. Beyond Griffiths and Nolan, the work of all the players was as clean as possible in a fast game, but the Athletics are not complaining for there were St. Catharines people there who saw the match and the evidence speaks for itself.

While all regret that the game was given to the Tecumsehs, although the score was against them, many express the opinion that under the circumstances, Capt. Yielding did the proper act when he withdrew his men from the field.

At the close of the game the referee acknowledged that he had made a mistake, and that his erratic judgement had been caused by the excitement of the moment. All bets are declared off.

That the Tecumsehs should object to either of the two Orillia men who were present to act as referee, is a matter which of course simply smacks of selfishness, for they must have their own referee. Had the Athletics refused to play under a Toronto referee, they would have been justified in so doing, but it might have been possible that the Tecumsehs themselves would have left the field.