Led by the scoring heroics of George Hamilton M.A.A.A. fielded their best team in some time. They began with wins over Toronto and Cornwall but concluded June with a 5-2 loss to Shamrocks. Too much Dave Danaher. Cornwall's star had defected to the irish and his hattrick sunk the Winged Wheels. The Triple A's title hopes were dashed in July. The month commenced with a tough 5-3 loss to Ottawa and ended with a crushing 8-0 rout by Shamrocks. Unable to defeat the top pair, M.A.A.A. would finish 4-4.

Three wins more than Toronto or Cornwall! Old news for the Queen City crew but how quickly the mighty Colts had fallen. Player losses such as Danaher and Bill Leacy had taken their toll. Plus outstanding netminder Norm Carpenter played only one game in his final season.

The pennant race again came down to Ottawa or Shamrocks. The irish delivered a knockdown early. On June 23rd the defending champs were beaten 5-4. The actual lacrosse was not the main event. That occurred when an Ottawa spectator called green shirt Bob Wall a nasty name. Wall went towards the crowd, then they came towards him. The result was a 25 minute field invasion. In disgust, Lord Aberdeen left the grounds. Besides angering the Capitals' fans, Wall scored four goals in the contest.

The knockout blow came two months later. The irish were again victorious, topping the titleholders 5-3. John Tucker, Danaher and league scoring champ Wall each scored three points. They clinched the championship a fortnight later with a resounding 8-1 victory over Toronto. Ottawa concluded the year by bouncing M.A.A.A. 5-3 - as youngster John Powers scored his first hattrick - then shutting out Toronto. It was too little too late. The undefeated Shamrocks were #1.

The N.L.U. showed clear superiority over their C.L.A. rivals in inter-league play. Toronto prevailed over St.Catharines 7-1, while Shamrocks beat Brampton 6-1.

The break up of the three time defending C.L.A. Senior champs from Stratford led many of their players up the road to Seaforth. Consequently the Beavers easily won the '95 crown. A 9-1 record with only a sixth games loss to Fergus.

As usual the C.L.A. had its problems. Toronto won only one game but had it taken away after a protest by Tecumsehs. On July 1st Fergus travelled to St.Catharines for a regrettable affair. The Thistles started well and scored the first goal. Unluckily the referee overruled the umpire from Fergus. The enraged Thistles marched off the field and headed for the train station, with the Athletic team chasing after them, attempting to convince them to return. By the time they had reached the station, St.Catharines had agreed to allow the goal to stand. Still Fergus would not be swayed and were soon on their way home. The Double Blues won the game, by default, but had to give the holiday crowd their money back.

It was another grand year for the irish of Montreal. Shamrock A.A. opened their new grounds on July 6th. A full house, 7,000 seated and 1,000 standing, cheered the home side to a 4-3 victory over Ottawa. Joe O'Meara potted all four, while John Powers was involved in all the losers scoring. From there the Montreal squad rolled to another title. With three different players scoring in double figures(O'Meara a league leading 15 goals, followed by Bob Wall, 12 in 5 games, and Dave Danaher with 10) the irish only lost once. Cornwall defeated them on Dominion Day 4-2. Rookie John Broderick's two goals were the difference. Danaher counted a brace for the shorthanded Shamrocks. Wall missed the contest. Broderick was the league's newest sensation as he led the Colts to a 5-3 record.

Capitals had another strong club and stayed with the leaders until September. Their second loss to the irish, by a 6-2 score, ended their pennant hopes. They completed their schedule a week later with a 7-0 rout of Cornwall. It was their second big score against the Colts. Earlier they had won an unfinished match 8-0. Their final tally had come in the third quarter. Deciding they had done enough, the Capital players huddled, gave themselves a cheer, then left the field. The Colts were more than happy to make an early start for home.

On the downside was the performances of Toronto and M.A.A.A.. The Queen City club went winless and defaulted a game to the Winged Wheels. Toronto had some talent with a youthful Tack Hendry and Brampton's Ed Peaker but they weren't nearly enough. The Triple A's only 2 wins came against the bottom side. They also had a promising new star, Albert Dade. Unfortunately he would not begin to peak until switching to Shamrocks, two years later.

Ottawa won its second title. With a dozen goals from John Powers plus 8 from James Murphy Capitals marched to a 9-1 record. Weakened by the retirement of Joe O'Meara, Shamrocks lost twice to the champs enroute to their runner-up position. There was only one black mark on the Ottawa record and it was a suspicious one. They arrived in Cornwall for the second last game of the year poised to clinch the pennant. Yet the leaders were hammered 6-1! Immediately the press speculated that the contest had been thrown. It was true that the loss revived Shamrocks title hopes, however that was not necessarily bad for Capitals either. The final game was Ottawa at Shamrocks and half the gate would go to the visitors. Capitals denied the accusation and pointed out that Cornwall were not a bad team. Colts had earlier beaten the irish 4-2. Plus they placed third in the circuit with 6 wins. As for the Ottawa players, the dispute regarding their honesty would not be resolved until the following season.

Surprisingly few Ottawa fans travelled to Montreal for the final match. Most expected another loss, meaning the tie break would open in the nation's capital a week later. Curious because the irish had been beaten in the initial encounter 7-1, thanks to Powers' four goals. John Tucker may have led Shamrocks with 15 goals on the year but he came up empty against Ottawa, twice! In the rematch Capitals again showed the green shirts up and won the championship outright. They topped the montrealers 4-1 as Harry Carleton's brace carried them home.

Named after the great shawnee chief who was killed during the War of 1812, Toronto Tecumsehs debuted in the big league. They pleased everyone with their offensive style. To accompany their 5-5 record they scored 44 goals, only one behind Capitals. C.Cross led the league with 18. Tecumsehs had strong out of town support, including: Barney Quinn(Prescott) Larry Hay(Orangeville) Tod Downey(St.Catharines) and the Milners(Brampton).

The other Toronto team went winless again. M.A.A.A. were not much better at 2-7. The bottom pair did not play their last game.

The N.L.U. entered the season minus Montreal A.A.A.. Lack of competitiveness led to the Winged Wheels dropping out. A Victoria Day exhibition contest showed that the Triple A's executive had made the prudent choice. They were hammered 7-1 by Toronto. The other Toronto club also withdrew from the league. Tecumsehs returned to the C.L.A. and won the senior title. They also claimed the Queen City championship by twice defeating Torontos 7-2 and 5-2.

The defending N.L.U. champions started the year fast. Harry Westwick scored 30 seconds into their opening game. They went on to top Shamrocks 4-3, followed by a 6-0 shutout of Cornwall. Yet the Capital Express derailed on Dominion Day. Toronto, with only one league win in the previous three seasons, handed the titleholders a 7-5 loss! Rumours immediately circulated that the game had been thrown. Three days after the defeat, Ottawa shocked its fans by suspending four players: Harry Carleton, Jimmy Devine, James Murphy and Mick Shea. To protest the suspensions John Powers resigned. Much of the press agreed with Jack, that the quartet had been unjustly punished. "Where's the proof?" they all demanded to know. The proof would soon come out.

It was a bewildering July for all lacrosse fans. As word spread about a mysterious Prescott man, a suspiciously large bet on Toronto and bribes to certain players, Ottawa took the field for their next contest without three perennial top ten scorers and two starting defenders.Toronto soon added to the confusion by picking up Shea and playing him in a 4-3 victory over Cornwall. They claimed that Capitals had released him, however the rules clearly stated that a player could not switch teams in mid season. Cornwall protested. Rumours next had all four suspended players joining Toronto. Before that could come about the league supported the Colts, threw out the Toronto win and ordered the match to be replayed on the 31st. Thus the month ended with Cornwall winning the second contest 5-2.

The Capitals' situation was what concerned people most. The answers to their questions, the few questions which would be answered, became public in an Ottawa courtroom in October. On trial for fraud were two entrepreneurs(gamblers?) Joseph Troy and Frank Bissonette, a former Capital. The key witnesses were the Prescott man and the four suspended players. How matters appear to have transpired were as follows: George McCrea, from Prescott, bet $3,000 on Toronto on behalf of the accused. McCrea said he had heard that some of the Ottawa players were not expected to be in top form for the match. For his troubles George received $100. As for the bribes, Carleton claimed that he had been offered $50 by Bissonette but had turned it down. Shea admitted to taking $50 but later returning it. With none of the players confessing that they had taken money TO THROW THE GAME the court case went nowhere. Still, in an age when a player's amateur status was life and death, even to be suspected of accepting cash to lose was unacceptable. The four Capitals were tainted. None would play in the N.L.U. again.

As for the Ottawa club, their July 10th match was the second leg of consecutive games with Toronto. The Queen City squad led 3-0 and were up 3-1 when their star Ernie Burns was sidelined for the day. Capitals scored five more unanswered goals to win 6-3. George Carson and Ed Murphy both counted a brace to highlight the rally. For Murphy it was his senior debut. Two weeks later John Powers returned to the team and scored four in a 7-3 victory over Cornwall. The titleholders were far from dead.

Shamrocks were their chief threat. The irish began with only one win in their first three starts, then they lost centreman Dick Kelly with a broken finger. During his three game absence they suffered their third loss. Luckily the league was playing a 12 game schedule so there was time to recover. On August 28th they defeated the champs, handing them their third setback. The game was a thriller. Ottawa had built up a 3-2 edge thanks to Powers' two goals and assist. Bob Wall's third counter, against the run of play, tied it. In overtime Albert Dade scored the winner in 9 1/2 minutes.

In August the experts began to doubt whether Ottawa could overcome the loss of four valuable veterans. The month started as it had ended, with a loss. A large group of Ottawa rooters paid $1.50 train fare for the return trip to the Factory Town. They were disappointed to see Cornwall win 5-4. Colts used four different goalies in the game. Starter James Broderick was not 100% so John White began the contest. The big indian was of greater value on defence so he was replaced by O'Callaghan. He eventually gave way to Bob Degan. Degan completed the first half and lasted through the third quarter. Finally Broderick dragged himself off the bench and, like a baseball fireman, preserved the win. One of only four the third place Colts would manage on the year.

The pennant race went down to the final month. The green shirts got the jump in early September by beating Cornwall 8-3, on the 4th, and Toronto 8-2 a week later. John Tucker scored four against the Colts and Dade had hattricks in both games.

Wall also potted four, against Toronto, giving him 20 on the year. Meanwhile Capitals were preoccupied with two exhibition games against Tecumsehs. They lost in Toronto 5-2, before beating the indians 6-1 at home. Thus they went to Montreal for the big showdown with a 7-3 record, compared to Shamrocks' 8-3 mark. With Ottawa still to play Toronto(only 2 wins on the year) the game on the 18th was for all the marbles.

Capitals played a junior goalie named O'Dougherty in place of Alex 'Bowery' Robertson. Shamrock stopper Stinson had beaten the titleholders a month earlier. History would not repeat itself. Ottawa disappointed the 8,000 irish fans by doubling Montreal 4-2. From the moment Premier Laurier started the match Capitals played like champions. Powers led the offence with a goal and two assists. The victory was a bit of a surprise to the Ottawa fans in attendance. Little money changed hands as few were prepared to bet on the visitors. Upon their return home, the team was greeted by a big crowd, then escorted to Russell House. There Mayor Bingham made a speech.

There was still some unfinished business regarding the championship. Capitals had to win their final game to clinch the pennant. With 'Bowery' back between the poles they blanked Toronto 7-0. Powers' hattrick allowed him to catch Toronto's Frank Nolan for top goal scoring honours. Both counted a record two dozen.

A bad year for the C.L.A. Senior League. Five clubs battled for the championship, Georgetown, Orangeville, St.Catharines, Seaforth and Tecumseh-Elms. The competition was spoiled when the Toronto team defaulted its final game in Orangeville. This news came as a terrible shock to Seaforth Beavers. They had already clinched the pennant and could not be caught, even by an Orangeville victory. Unfortunately C.L.A. rules stated that if a squad failed to complete its schedule all its games must be thrown out. Thus Seaforth lost two victories while Orangeville was able to shed an earlier loss to Tecumseh-Elms. This created a tie between the two clubs and a one game playoff. The Beavers shock soon turned to dismay as they lost the tie break to Orangeville. It was the last Senior lacrosse game they ever participated in. Orangeville Dufferins were Senior champs but they were not the best team in the province. A further black eye was given to Senior lacrosse when the Intermediate titleholders from Orillia defeated the Dufferins 11-1! In fairness to Orangeville, the Terriers of the 1890s, like the Orillia Kings one hundred years later, should not have been in the B League. With stars like George Armstrong, who scored six against the Dufferins, Jack Curran, Fred Grant and Bob Watson they had dominated Intermediate for most of the decade. Their reason for remaining B was practical. In their zone they faced clubs from Markham, Beaverton and Peterborough. That was a great deal more inviting than regular trips to St.Catharines and Seaforth. They probably could have won several Senior crowns but never did challenge.

As with hockey, Montreal's francophones were slow to take to lacrosse. With the M.A.A.A. out of senior, a void was left to be filled by the frenchmen, Initially there were few french players on the team. The Valois brothers and Cousineau were the only ones on the '98 side. Montreal lacrosse was still dominated by irishmen thus the Nationals wisely filled their line-up with the most talented available. Years later the violet et blanc would truly be a french-canadian team.

It was an off year for Montreal's other squad. Shamrocks had lost Bob Wall and star centreman Dick Kelly to retirement. After an opening win the green shirts lost three straight and never recovered. A losing season of 3 wins and 5 losses followed. They did salvage their pride with a big September win over Ottawa, 5-3.

Middle of the pack for Cornwall Colts again. They split their eight matches even though they had the worst offence in the league. Defence bailed them out, in particular young goalkeeper Corey Hess. Hess backstopped all four Cornwall wins.

Another wooden spoon for Toronto. They were competitive, averaging four goals per game. Frank Nolan's 14 markers were second best in the circuit. Nevertheless last place for the Queen City boys with a 2-6-1 record.

Mighty Ottawa and the new kids from Montreal fought for the pennant. The titleholders won five out of their first six, including an 8-1 rout of Nationals. On the otherhand the frenchmen also lost to and tied Toronto before hitting their stride. The key to their championship run came immediately after the Ottawa loss. They squeaked past Cornwall 2-1 as Shiner White scored both. Then came two narrow victories over Shamrocks. Paddy Brennan fired a pair in the 4-3 win. The next week the violet et blanc prevailed 6-4 in spite of John Tucker's hattrick.

The turning point for Capitals was a three week mid-summer break. When they returned to action on September 10th the defending champs had lost their edge. Shamrocks were without midfield sensation Harry Hoobin yet still upset them. That set up the crucial match a fortnight later against Nationals. Again the titleholders fell 5-3. White scored twice and Walsh helped on three as the frenchmen triumphed. Top league scorer George Donaldson was contained along with the rest of the Ottawa attack. The following Saturday the violet et blanc replayed their Toronto tie and clinched the pennant with a 4-2 win. Brennan's deuce was the difference. Nolan replied with both Toronto goals. The Shamrock/Capital juggernaut had been broken, by a first year team.

Previous          Index          Next