It was an chaotic year for Ottawa. They were kicked out of the league in late June for playing Charlie Pringle, a professional. In the end the N.L.U. backed down. They finally admitted that they could not prevent the encroachment of professionalism. After all, every team in the league was paying players in one form or another. With the ruling the floodgates opened for N.L.U. and C.L.A. clubs. The sport was booming and there was money for everyone.

Albert Dade and Tack Hendry made their return to Montreal on the Dominion Day weekend. Their Brantford squad was after the Minto Cup. The C.L.A. champs were without two stars from the previous year. Bert Henry and Pat Murphy. Henry had moved on to Tecumsehs. Having won championships five consecutive years with Shamrocks, Orangeville and Brantford he would put that streak on the line in Toronto. Murphy had returned to Ottawa. Brantford did not sit idlely by as their talent slipped away. John Powers came over from Ottawa, plus John White joined the club after his short stay in Port Hope. This was a team determined to earn national honours. However they were matched against the greatest lacrosse team ever.

Montreal Shamrocks of 1904 were awesome. They won every contest they played and averaged an unheard of 11 goals per game. The Brantford offence was also strong, however they were no equal to the irish. That was proven during the Minto Cup Final. The green shirts won twice, by scores of 8-5 and 9-4. Jack Brennan scored three in both games. For the losers, Hendry was held pointless.

How good were Shamrocks? The three goal win over Brantford was the closest game they played all year. After the Minto Cup series they got better and better. 16-3 over Cornwall on July 16th as Jim Hogan scored five and Paddy Brennan four. On August 6th they crushed the Winged Wheels 14-4. Four more for Hogan, while Paddy added a hattrick. September 17th saw them top Nationals 11-6. Five more for Hogan, with deuces to Joe Hennessy and Jack Brennan. To top everything, a week later they humbled their arch rivals. A shocking 12-0 victory over Ottawa. Four for Hogan, three for both Brennans and a pair to Harry Hoobin. The year concluded with another five goal triumph over the frenchmen. This time 6-1 as Hennessy and Paddy B. both counted a brace.

Capitals were bridemaids again. Had they won that September 24th game they could have made a late charge on the league leaders. Wishful thinking. Pat Murphy finished second to Hogan in the scoring race. Bones Allen and Shiner Eastwood both came over from Cornwall to contribute significantly. With such a talent loss Colts season was a disaster, only one win. But what a sweet win it was. On July 1st they upset Ottawa 5-3. Two goals from John Broderick made the difference. The Triple A's also managed only one victory, 4-1 over Nationals. The frenchmen were more respectable at 3-5. The fact remains, the entire league had been humbled by the mighty Shamrocks.

Fergus returned to Senior lacrosse in the C.L.A. but it was an unsuccessful half season effort. The appearance of Harry 'Sport' Murton was the most noteworthy thing about the Thistles. He scored twice during the 1-5 campaign. Fergus' one victory came over St.Catharines, a 7-2 surprise. It was also an off year for the Athletics. Only 5 wins in 14 tries, a major disappointment. Toronto Chippewas were the circuit's other new club. They place a respectable third with a 6-8 record. They upset Brantford on the August Civic holiday 4-3. Archie Adamson scored two and Mickey Connor had 1 and 1 in the win. Five days later the defending champs blasted them 11-0 as Albert Dade scored a record 8 goals.

Toronto Tecumsehs were back! After several miserable years they had a contender again. Toronto Lacrosse Club was to thank for this developement. The Torontos not only dropped out of the N.L.U. they dropped right out of senior by joining the Queen City League. Charles Querrie had not left his hometown of Markham to end up an Intermediate side. Consequently he moved to the Tecumsehs. A huge turn of events as Querrie would soon be the largest figure in Toronto sports. In a few short years he would be managing the indians as well and eventually their owner. He would also accomplish much in the winter, like winning two Stanley Cups with Toronto St.Pats. The first as manager, the second as owner. Then he would sell the club to Conn Smythe, who renamed the team Maple Leafs.

Tecumsehs other additions included Bert Henry and George Donaldson. Thus they had plenty of pep when they hit the field in late May. Two early wins were followed by an 1-1 draw with the pennantholders. John White scored for Brantford and Jim Murray answered for the indians. The pair next met in late August. Toronto was in first but that changed dramatically. On the 20th Brantford hammered Tecumsehs 9-2. Dade led the way with 4 goals. One week later the champs won again, a 3-2 nailbiter. John Powers notched the decider. It was an ugly contest which flew out of control in the third quarter. A Toronto mob led by Querrie and his teamate Hugh Lambe attacked the referee. Fortunately the official survived the incident unharmed. Both Querrie and Lambe were fined $20. Now the championship was level and would remain so until the season finale. Bert Henry hoped to win another pennant. He scored once in the match, as did defender Lambe. Brantford kept pace with goals from White and Bob Degan. Powers set up one and he also assisted on the winner. Dade broke the tie. The Telephone City crew had won again.

In May, Montreal A.A.A. announced that they would pay their players, ending the last holdout to professionalism. In both the N.L.U. and C.L.A., Senior amateur lacrosse was no more. The immediate result for the Winged Wheels was their first winning season since 1889. Bringing Frank Nolan out of retirement and attracting Rod Finlayson from Shamrocks boosted their cause. So did a young newcomer named Henry Scott. With 5 wins and 3 losses the Triple A's placed second, two games back of Shamrocks.

The irish still dominated. Their only defeat came in the fourth match, a wild 12-9 loss to Ottawa. Shamrocks were without Paddy Brennan. Capitals took advantage as Ed Murphy and Horace Gaul both scored four. The titleholders other hiccup came a month later. Nationals held them to a 3-3 draw. The green shirts were without Harry Hoobin but it was the goaltending of Happy L'Heureux which saved the frenchmen from defeat. On the positive side, both Jack Brennan and Jim Hogan scored 21 to lead Shamrocks and the league.

A disappointing year in Ottawa. They received plenty of production from their Cornwall players: Shiner Eastwood(12 goals) and Bones Allen(11), however their goaltending was a nightmare. No Bouse Hutton for the second year in a row and it showed. Capitals' 69 goals for were only two behind Shamrocks but they gave up a league high 55! Ed MacDonald and long time defender Bowery Robertson struggled throughout the season. Ottawa settled for a 4-4 record, ending four consecutive winning seasons.

Nationals were losers again with only three wins but Cornwall suffered terribly. Another one win season for Colts. They only had John Broderick for three games, dooming their cause. The one bright spot was rookie netminder Edouard 'Newsy' Lalonde.

Another lively summer of senior lacrosse in Ontario. Toronto returned to the C.L.A. and picked up Bert Henry, Hugh Lambe and John Powers to lead their challenge. It was not a successful challenge as they placed fourth out of five.

There would be a new champion in 1905 as Brantford lacrosse had shot its bolt. Tack Hendry remained but he was the only big name player left. Two early losses to St.Catharines, followed by three more to Toronto, meant a weak third place effort. 5 wins was all the pennantholders could manage, against 9 losses.

Toronto Chippewas owned the basement. Their solo win was a 6-4 victory over Toronto. Mickey Connor led them with a deuce. The season concluded with a record loss of 27-0 to Athletics. That was the final match Chippewas would ever play.

That left the Double Blues and Tecumsehs to fight for the pennant. First blood to the Indians on June 17th. They doubled St.Catharines 6-3. Fergus' Harry Murton led the Toronto side with a pair. The next week it was 11-2, for Athletics. Four from George Kalls and three more from Pete Barnett settled the issue early. Tecumsehs never recovered from that unsettling loss. On July 3rd Brantford upset them 5-2 on the strength of Lawson Whitehead's hattrick. The killer blow fell at the end of the month. Once again St.Catharines romped over the indians. 15-3 was the score as Kalls added five more to his totals. In the end the Double Blues cruised home with a 12-2 record. Tecumsehs at 9-4 were second best.

Only the Minto Cup remained. On September 16th Shamrocks travelled to the Garden City for the opening encounter. Jim Hogan scored three, as singles were credited to Harry Hoobin and Brennan(don't know which one). The home side answered the irish's five goals with only three of their own. A brace from Forester and one for Barnett. The next week in Montreal it wasn't even close. 8-1 green shirts. Three scored by Jack Brennan, two from Paddy and Hogan, with Hoobin counting the last. Eddie Hagan was the only Athletic to beat Shamrock goalie M.Kenney.

Montreal Shamrocks were Minto Cup champions for the fifth time in succession. Top marks to the men who had played on all five teams: Jack and Paddy Brennan, John Currie, Harry Hoobin, John Howard and Ed Robinson.

The C.L.A. Senior League took a year off as Toronto and Tecumsehs both defected to the N.L.U.. Charles Querrie's indians went with mostly local talent. The one exception was Harry Murton. The former Thistle had led Elora Rocks to provincial junior honours back in 1903. James Murphy had brought Torontos back into Senior lacrosse the previous year and now he made a triumphant return to the eastern circuit. The disgrace of 1897 had been forgotten. Murphy stocked his team with St.Catharines talent, signing Pete Barnett, George Kalls and Charles Lowe. From Brantford he added Bill Hamburg and Bill Taylor. Kalls would tear up the east with a record setting 28 goals.

The mighty Shamrocks would suffer an extraordinary decline from first to last. Their goaltending, which had been weak the previous season, was woeful. They went through four netminders without any success. The rest of the squad remained intact, with one notable exception. Harry Hoobin appeared in only two games. The irish called up promising juniors like Frank Hogan and George Roberts. They could not halt the slide. The key was close losses. Shamrocks lost four 1 goal games, plus another pair by 2 goals. That and the fact that the veterans had become spoiled by success doomed the '06 campaign. Seventh place with a 3-8-1 record.

It was a disappointing summer for all Montreal sides. Montreal A.A.A., Nationals and Shamrocks all finished in the bottom three positions. The Winged Wheels did contend to the end. Albert Dade powered their offence with 24 goals. Henry Scott chipped in 17. The frenchmen struggled to a 4-7-1 record. Oncle Lamoureux had a great year and led the club with 11 goals and 21 points. 'Happy' L'Heureux did not. He played in only half his team's games. An off year for the ironman.

The season could not have finished more dramatically. At the start of September Ottawa and Cornwall led with 6-4 records, followed by: M.A.A.A.(5-4) Toronto(6-5) and Tecumsehs(5-5). On the 1st, Toronto completed its schedule with a 6-5 win over the irish. Both Lowe and Kalls scored two, in response to Jack Brennan's hattrick. Meanwhile the Colts and Triple A's dueled in the game of the year. M.A.A.A. were coming off a 6-3 loss to Capitals and Cornwall had fallen 8-3 to Nationals. Thus it was a must win game for both squads. Fred Degan led Colts with three, however Henry Scott scored his fourth in overtime to give Montreal a 6-5 lead. With 2 minutes remaining, goalkeeper Eduoard 'Newsy' Lalonde raced the length of the field to tally the tying marker. The contest ended 6-6.

On the 8th, Cornwall let down badly and were hammered 11-1 by Tecumsehs. Cover point Fred Graydon was a surprise star scoring a trio, along with Archie Adamson. The win kept the indians slim hopes alive. Up in Montreal, 10,000 fans watched the Winged Wheels grab first place. They routed Capitals 9-1! Albert Dade scored five. Suddenly Ottawa and Cornwall had dropped to five losses. Like Tecumsehs, the best they could do was tie Toronto. At least Colts still controlled their own destiny. They had a replay with M.A.A.A. and could bring them back to five losses. The other three had to pray for the Triple A's to falter.

On the 15th, the new leaders did exactly that. They stumbled against Nationals, losing 3-2. Joe Cattarinich set up two of the frenchmen's goals. The smallest man on the field Dare Devil Gauthier also has two assists. He sparked the winning score with a fearless charge through the midfield. Ottawa did not falter. They got goals from five different players as they humbled Shamrocks 5-1. That tied Capitals with Toronto, both at 7-5. The Winged Wheels loss guaranteed the pair a tie for the pennant. But would it be a three way or four way tie?

The final Saturday had three contenders, all 6-5, desperate for a win. Tecumsehs earned their place by beating Nationals 8-5. Murton led with four goals and Graydon produced another hattrick. That gave him eight goals on the year. An unheard of total for a cover point. The other match was a replay of the Cornwall-M.A.A.A. tie. In the rain in front of a small crowd, Fred Degan scored a last minute goal to give Colts a 5-4 victory.

A four way tie! Their records were modest but these were four of the strongest clubs in the country. Ottawa had the best defensive team. The return of Bouse Hutton helped greatly. He tended goal every single minute throughout the entire year. Newsy Lalonde saw action in all but 20 minutes for Cornwall. The Colts statistics were not so hot. They scored 62 goals but surrendered 75. Reddy McMillan led their offence with 16 markers. Tecumsehs had the premier offence. Playmakers Charles Querrie and Neil Felker led the way. Querrie was scoring champion while Felker led the league with 21 assists. The goalscorers were Lawson Whitehead(with 21) Harry Murton(17) and Archie Adamson(16). Bun Clarke starred in goal, never missing a game. Perfect attendance record for Toronto's Cox Regan as well. On offence George Kalls carried the Queen City boys with better than a third of their goals.

A pair of two game semi-finals would be followed by a two game final. Total goals would decide each series. The match-ups were determined by geography as the Toronto sides met and the two eastern Ontario squads went head to head. At stake was not just the N.L.U. Pennant. With the Shamrocks' demise their crown, the Minto Cup, would also go to the champion.

The playoffs were anti climatic. In the first round, Ottawa and Tecumsehs each built up insurmountable first game leads. Bouse Hutton shutout Cornwall 7-0. Horace Gaul, John Powers and Billy Starrs all counted a brace. At Rosedale Field, the indians topped Toronto 6-1. Felker scored three points. The next week Colts won 2-1, not nearly enough to save themselves. Toronto threw everything they had at Tecumsehs and managed a 6-6 draw. Don Cameron's three points gave them hope. Whitehead's hattrick took it away. Once again it was too little, too late.

The final was no more suspenceful. Ottawa disappointed 8,000 Tecumseh fans by winning 4-1 at Rosedale. Bones Allen's deuce helped them to the comfortable win. Powers also contributed two points. Heading home with a three goal lead the pennant appeared to be in the bag. It was. At Lansdowne Park, in front of 5,000, Capitals ran wild. Gaul's five goal effort was supported by Powers' hattrick and Starrs' pair. Adamson and Harry Pickering replied in the indians 10-2 loss. The only real fight they showed was during the third quarter brawl.

The C.L.A. Senior League returned and went international. Buffalo Bisons joined Brantford, Hamilton and St.Catharines. It was a bad idea. Even with veteran Athletic Tod Downey leading them the Bisons only won two games. Hamilton and Brantford also had losing records. St.Catharines was a perfect 12-0. There were several low points in the poor season. On June 8th, a brawl at the Hamilton-Brantford game sent Isaacs, Henhawk, George Walsh and Ed Campbell to court. All were found guilty of disturbing the peace and fined $2 each. The August 5th Brantford-Hamilton match was postponed because Brantford forget its equipment. A week later a Brantford mob attacked referee Hall, from Oshawa, after he had allowed a St.Catharines goal to count. Could any lacrosse fan honestly say they had missed the senior league in 1906?

The N.L.U. defending champions struggled to a 3-8 record. The team had hardly changed from the previous season but everyone was a year older. Ottawa had six starters who had been in the league since the last century. Experience was fine, however lacrosse was a young man's game. For too long Capitals had relied on importing talent, mainly from Cornwall. The time had come to pay the price.

Ottawa barely avoided the basement. The dishonour of last place went to Montreal A.A.A.. They only won two contests. Early against Cornwall the Winged Wheels prevailed 9-4 as Albert Dade scored 5. Two months later they slipped past Capitals 5-4.

Things were only marginally better for Nationals and Toronto. Both won four but in different fashion. The frenchmen were very competitive. They scored 72 goals and gave up 73. A 1-5 start doomed their cause. The turnaround game came on July 27th versus Toronto. 20-5 was the score! Dare Devil Gauthier and Didier Pitre humiliated the Queen City boys. Dare Devil scored seven with one assist.Pitre was three and five. The normally competitive N.L.U. suffered a number of lopsided results. The chief culprit was Toronto. James Murphy's side took some terrific beatings. Besides the Nationals' game, Shamrocks routed them 14-1. Even worse was Tecumsehs record score, 21-7!

The indians had an offensive powerhouse. They scored a record 116 goals in 12 games and placed five players among the top ten scorers. Harry Murton was scoring champ with 29 goals, another record. Right behind him was Charles Querrie with 15 goals and 28 points, Neil Felker scored 13 along with 14 assists, Archie Adamson fired home 23 markers and Dolly Durkin scored 14.

Offence alone does not win championships. That was something the Toronto side discovered in late summer. The irish were back, from last place to first as they reclaimed the Minto Cup. It did not come easily though. They were challenged, not just by Tecumsehs, but also by opportunistic Cornwall.

On August 31st Colts handed Shamrocks their second loss. In the 6-3 win Bob Degan counted a trio while John White helped out with three points. The green shirts had entered the day hoping to clinch the pennant. They needed help from Nationals, which they got. The frenchmen shocked Tecumsehs 11-3. Yet Shamrocks failed to take advantage due to Cornwall. At the end of the day they were even with Colts at two losses each, plus the indians were still lurking nearby with an 8-3 record. Though mathematically alive, Tecumsehs hopes had realistically been smashed. Cornwall they could take care of because they were scheduled to meet on Labour Day, however they needed the irish to lose their finale to Ottawa. Indeed the indians did take care of Colts - 14-0! Now both clubs had to wait and hope Shamrocks faltered.

Unlike Ottawa, the irish were continually bringing young talent onto the team. The old warriors were still on hand, Jack and Paddy Brennan, Ed Robinson, Jim Hogan, Shaun O'Reilly, Jim Kavanaugh and Spike Hennessy, however it was the new blood which allowed them to surge back to the top. Playmaker Jimmy Munday picked up 21 points in his debut season, George Roberts scored 9 goals in four games and Frank Tierney ended their goaltending concerns. A fine combination. Good enough for a 10-2 record.

Shamrocks did defeat Ottawa to clinch the title. 8-2 was the score as Jack Brennan scored three and Munday added a pair, plus three helpers. Seven championships in nine years for the Montreal squad. Yet this was to be the green shirts last great moment. The next time they would take the pennant the N.L.U. would be a much different league. The golden era was slowly winding down and this was Shamrocks last time at the top.

The N.L.U. line up remained unchanged as Quebec City was refused admission into the league. What did change was that the Minto Cup went west.

New Westminster Salmonbellies came east for the cup and went home with the prize. It was the biggest upset in lacrosse history. The N.L.U. champ was King of the strongest lacrosse league in the world, whereas New Westminster had only needed to defeat Vancouver to win the west. Further proof of eastern superiority came before the final commenced. In an exhibition game Archie Adamson scored 4 times as Tecumsehs hammered Salmonbellies 10-4. That would be the only loss of their tour.

The championship series commenced with a shocking 6-5 win for the westerners. Back in New Westminster, hundreds of fans gathered outside the telegraph office to hear the latest game score. The cheering was loud indeed. Even louder two days later when the Fishmen completed their coup. A convincing 6-2 win over the beaten irishmen. A huge celebration began in the Royal City, involving thousands, practically the entire town. By nightfall there were torchlight parades and monster bonfires. Back in Montreal only a stunned silence remained.

The season was a total disaster for Shamrocks. On top of those two Minto Cup losses, they dropped to the basement in league play again. Only four wins in twelve tries.

The year was not much better for Toronto. James Murphy's crew also won only four matches, plus they got their ears boxed in an exhibition game against St.Catharines, losing 8-2. They did get to host the Prince of Wales. The future George V attended the July 25th Toronto/Nationals game accompanied by Earl Grey. The home side won 6-1.

The other two Montreal clubs ran hot and cold all summer. Montreal A.A.A. boasted the top offence in the league but it translated into only five victories. Albert Dade took home scoring honours with 28 goals. Frank Hogan was secong best with 21 markers and Henry Scott was not far back with 16. The Winged Wheels opened well by beating the irish 4-3, but then lost four straight. By that time the pennant was out of reach. Nationals split their 12 contests. They were 5-3 in early August, thanks to a remarkable 13-2 win over Ottawa. Georges Dussault scored four, followed by trios from Didier Pitre and Oncle Lamoureux. The next week they dropped from the title chase. Tecumsehs felled them 11-6.

The Ottawa veterans took one last run at the pennant. Two newcomers aided the rejuvenated Capitals. Tom Gorman had three hattricks on the year and Fred Taylor scored 16 goals. Taylor made bigger headlines with his temper. He lost it during a game with Toronto and punched referee Tom Carlind. Such behavior might have been condoned in wild hockey towns, like Renfrew, but not in the Queen City. Cyclone Taylor not only received a game misconduct. He was arrested!

Along with Ottawa, Cornwall and Tecumsehs battled for the championship. Capitals' hopes faded with an 11-4 loss to M.A.A.A. on September 5th. That fifth defeat meant a 7-5 record, not nearly good enough. Starting in August, Colts put together a five game winning streak to gallop into contention. An unusual 1-0 shutout was included in this stretch. Newsy Lalonde outdueled Happy L'Heureux. Win number five came over Shamrocks on Labour Day. Bob and Charlie Degan both counted a pair in the 5-4 victory. That gave Cornwall a 7-4 record. Alas they had left their charge too late. Tecumsehs had lost their opener to Nationals, then run off five consecutive wins. They were front runners the rest of the way. The indians swept both Ottawa and Cornwall to prove their superiority. Archie Adamson murdered Capitals with six goals in two games. Bob Gilbert came up with a big hattrick in one of the wins. Gilbert also had five points in a win over Colts. The other victory over Cornwall was a narrow 5-4 contest. Neil Felker notched the decider. An August 29th loss to the irish kept things interesting. Charles Querrie set up Adamson for both goals in the feeble 8-2 loss. Tecumsehs won their ninth game on Labour Day to clinch the title. They defeated Toronto 6-5. A brace for Harry Murton and three points from Querrie carried the day. Dolly Durkin scored the winner. A championship for Toronto but no Minto Cup. Tecumsehs would tend to that matter the following summer.

Another St.Catharines C.L.A, title was a foregone conclusion. They averaged over 10 goals a game and won all six of their matches. Hamilton finished 3-3, while Brantford lost all its games. It was no surprise. Two games into the season the Brantford players quit because they had not been paid their salary. Hastily the Royal Canadian Indians, a Six Nations squad, were called in to replace them. Eventually some of the original players returned, however the Indians completed the schedule.

Athletics were perhaps the best team to come out of the Garden City. Eddie Hagan was one of their stars, as usual. George Kalls played in three games, moonlighting on Toronto. He scored 7 goals and 10 points. Best of all was Bill Fitzgerald. He started his rise to prominence witha five point effort in an 8-6 win over Hamilton. The Double Blues also proved they could play with the big boys. Along with a exhibition win over Toronto, they split two games with the champion Tecumsehs.

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