Hard to believe a carriage manufacturer from Enniskillen could change lacrosse history. Yet Robert McLaughlin set things in motion when he moved his businees to the town of Oshawa. When the horseless carriage was invented McLaughlin immediately transformed his operation. The result: the Motor City was born, thanks to General Motors. How's all this tie into lacrosse? In 1928 Sam McLaughlin decided to sponsor the local team. Overnight Oshawa went from the backwoods to centre stage, the O.L.A. Senior League. Thanks to General Motors, Toots White, Bob Stephenson, Red Spencer, Jack Walsh and Ted Reeve were lured to Oshawa by the promise of various incentives, all courtesy of GM. Toss in such local talent as Kelly Degray, Chuck Davidson and Charlie Barron and the Generals were ready to shake up the circuit.

The earthquake had hit before the season began. Perennial powerhouse Weston were devastated by the loss of five starters. They would fall to a 6-14 record, then drop down to Intermediate for the next season. St.Catharines and Young Torontos returned to Senior. The Athletics would make a good impression on the playoff race, thanks to the work of Vince O'Brien and Bill Pennie. Torontos would win only four games and make next to no impression.

St.Simon's began the season fastest, six straight wins. Two of those were over Brampton. Angus McKinnon scored a hattrick in a 7-6 game. Trios from Max McGregor and Moose Lount won the second encounter 13-4! The Anglicans run stopped on the Dominion Day weekend. A Saturday loss to Young Torontos. Ivan 'Turk' Davis potted the winner in a 3-2 game. After that, the Saints tumbled to second place due mainly to three losses to Oshawa. 13-7 was their record when the regular season concluded.

Brampton took top spot with 15 wins and 5 losses. They lost three games to St.Simon's but won three out of four over the Generals. Not only did the Excelsiors have to manage without their defensive captain Ted Reeve, they were also missing Norm Zimmer. He took the year off. Quite a loss as Zimmer had never finished lower than third in league scoring during his five year career.

Oshawa and St.Catharines battled for the final playoff spot. The Motor City crew started slowly, winning only four times in ten games. That forced them to chase down the Double Blues. They did not catch them until August. The significant match was on the 18th. Athletics fell to Oshawa 9-3. White's four goals had the first year Seniors playoff bound. St.Catharines would settle for fourth palce, with a 9-10 record.

Oshawa's fortunes had actually turned around a month earlier. Tilly Sparks began the year in goal but was replaced after ten games by Pat Shannon. Shannon debuted by beating St.Simon's 5-3. He proceeded to win eight out of ten to get Generals third spot.

In preparation for the Amsterdam Olympics, New Westminster visited Toronto on July 23rd. 5,000 attended the exhibition game at Ulster Stadium. O.L.A. All-Stars prevailed 7-4. Kelly Degray scored the final two goals of the contest to secure the win. Jerry Kendall also had a brace and Bill Davis added a goals and assist. George Feeney topped the losers with a pair. The Salmonbellies went on to have moderate success in Europe. They, the United States and Great Britain would all finish the three team tournament tied.

The semi-final commenced September 15th at Alexandra Park. Both Pat Shannon and Roy Sutherland played superbly and produced first half shutouts. The break of the match came when referee Charles Querrie called the day's only penalty on the St.Simon's netminder. While Sutherland sat on the fence, Jack Walsh scored on a long shot. Six minutes, later Bill Davis tied it 1-1. That was how the contest ended.

At Ulster Stadium the Anglicans had to play without Angus McKinnon, then lost Moose Lount in the second quarter. The fast paced game had Oshawa jump in front on goals by Toots White and Charlie Barron. Rowan replied for the locals. They were soon down 4-1 as Chuck Davidson and Barron added another brace. Gordon Thom counted the Saints last just before halftime. Bob Stephenson and White made the final 6-2.

Back in Oshawa, a crowd of 2,000 watched the final commence. It was Shannon's day as he shutout the rusty Excelsiors attack. Toots White dominated the opening five minutes and rolled in the first goal, from Mel Whyte. The contest was evenly played after that. Late in the match disaster struck the visitors. Harold 'Mooney' Gibson received a 5 minute penalty for tapping Ernie Shepley on the head. Kelly Degray and Ted Reeve came forward to help the Generals home players score three quick ones. Oshawa would take a 4 goal lead to Roselea.

Over 6,000 fans tightly circled the field for the finale. 1,000 Oshawa rooters made the trip, bringing with them a pipe band and two clowns. After being sidelined for six weeks, Ingram returned to the red and white to shadow Toots White. George Farr also rejoined the club after a short retirement. He scored one of Brampton's four goals. The others went to Stew Beatty, Jim Burton and Claude Jennings. Unfortunately for the home side, the Generals counted three and were never really threatened. Red Spencer and White put them ahead 2-1. Degray made it 3-2 before the late Excelsior rally.

By this time it was well into October and the Mann Cup title had long since been decided. It was the only Final to not feature a team from Southern Ontario or B.C.. Salmonbellies Olympic engagement prevented them from competing. Oshawa was out because the C.L.A. insisted that the series be played in early September. Thus Ottawa Emmets filled the void and took their only national championship by defeating Winnipeg Tigers.

That left the O.L.A. to revive the Clare Levack Trophy. It was an international matchup because Buffalo Bisons had won the Intermediate title. The one game final was held at Brampton, one week after Generals Senior success. 800 shivering fans watched the contest. Bisons had auto trouble and arrived one hour late(those darn horseless carriages!). Worse yet, only 11 men turned up to start. They did have a full roster by the twenty minute mark but it made no difference. Oshawa won 13-1. White led the offence with 4 goals and an assist, followed by Jack Walsh(3-1) Chuck Davidson(2-2) and Charlie Barron(0-3).

From the beginning it was destined to be a Brampton/Oshawa showdown. Young Torontos picked up Ted Reeve and he did wonders for their defence. On offence they had Max McGregor, Fat Gallagher, George Laceby, Angus McKinnon and Frank 'Piper' Bain. Loads of talent, yet Torontos mustered less than three goals per game. One win over St.Catharines to accompany eight losses. Athletics were worse. They had Max Peart and imported Ty Silk along with Gordon Thom, however the season was a total loss. They threw in the towel after four defeats.

Brampton finished on top with a 9-1 record, compared to Generals' 6-3 mark. George Sproule took scoring honours with 17 goals and 21 points. Norm Zimmer returned to the lineup and placed third. The other gunners were Jack Worthy(6th place) Claude Jennings(7th) Jerry Kendall(8th) and Ed Kingdon(9th). Both Kingdons had come over from Weston. On defence Hank Gowdy joined from Hamilton. Oshawa had five former Weston players, Toots White, Bob Stephenson, Red Spencer, Conny Golden and Bill Coulter. They all knew how to win championships. During the regular season only White made an impression. He finished second in scoring with 11 goals and 19 points. It was the third occasion he had been runner up. Toots never would win a scoring title, making him one of the greatest players never to do so. Chuck Davidson placed fourth in the league, followed immediately by Charlie Barron. Kelly Degray grabbed the tenth position. Goaltending was rock solid for both contenders. Bert Large played every minute for Excelsiors. Pat Shannon was again Oshawa's goalkeeper. Walker Wilson replaced him one game and surrendered six goals in a loss to Brampton.

Generals were at their best for the playoffs. All their experience showed in the clutch. The final opened at Alexandra Park. Pat Shannon duplicated his feat of the previous year by shutting out Brampton 4-0. The second game was a 5-3 Oshawa win. Toots White was involved in four goals and Conny Golden notched a pair.

The road to the Mann Cup was a long one. Oshawa was determined to do what no eastern team had done before, win in the west. They began by heading east and routing Ottawa Madisons 15-1. Winnipeg Argos were more of a challenge but they fell 6-4. In Edmonton the score was 14-1.

On the coast the national championship began in earnest. The best of three series started on Labour Day. Some 7,000 shocked spectators saw the easterners tear through the Salmonbelly defence. Generals held quarter leads of 2-1, 4-3 and 6-4 before pulling away to a 9-5 win. Pat Shannon was strong, especially early, but the home players starred. Conny Golden scored three, Chuck Davidson and Kelly Degray two each.

The Wednesday contest was a tight checking encounter, not very pretty. Jack Wood scored first, on a rebound, however referee Charles Querrie disallowed the goal. Toots White later put Oshawa up, scoring with his back to the goal. Haddie Stoddart tied it in the third quarter, after a fast dash. The winner came from Art Doddemeade on a nasty shot from forty yards out. Oshawa 2 New Westminster 1. Past eastern failures had finally been put to rest.

In honour of his recently departed friend, Charles Querrie donated the James Murphy Memorial Trophy to Ontario Lacrosse. The trophy is still with us and awarded annually to the Major Series' Most Valuable Player. That was the intended purpose of the award, yet the meaning of M.V.P. was different in the 1930s. For the first few years of its existence the Murphy Trophy would serve as a lifetime achievement award. In 1930 the player most deserving of that honour was George Sproule. An Excelsior since 1909, Sproule was still going strong. He was twice defending scoring champ and had led the league a record six times(1912, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1928, 1929)! In 1930 he slipped to eighth spot with a modest 10 goals.

Ontario lacrosse was in a crisis by 1930. The number of teams in the OLA had declined from 133 in 1923 to 55 by this season. The largest drop was in Junior, from 26 down to 9 teams. Lacrosse was beginning to look like a dying sport. Consequently, something drastic would have to be done to change things. That something was the introduction of box lacrosse in 1931. A move which was made just in time to counter the negetive influences of the Great Depression.

Not much of a league for Senior Lacrosse, only three teams. Brampton placed first with a 7-3-1 record, followed by Oshawa(7-4-1) then St.Simon's(2-9). A bit misleading because Excelsiors only scored 42 goals while giving up 40. Generals numbers were much better, 72-45. Toots White scored 21 of those goals enroute to the scoring championship. Five of his teammates also made the top ten list: Kelly Degray, Conny Golden, Chuck Davidson, Charlie Barron and Bob Stephenson. Excelsiors filled the rest of the spots, though matters were different for the Brampton crew. Sproule's production had dropped, as had Norm Zimmer's. Number 13 failed to finish in the top three for the first time in his career. Instead he slipped in at the tenth position. Brampton's new snipers were Harold 'Mooney' Gibson and, former Dufferin, Foster Wilson.

The league final was a best of three affair and started on August 9th. A crowd of 4,000 watched the hometown Excelsiors grab a 3-1 first half lead. George Sproule made up for missing the '29 playoffs by dominating. His first goal was disallowed. His second came on a free throw. And his third on a rebound. Oshawa was without injured Bill Coulter but that didn't prevent them from coming back. Degray from Davidson, Barron from White and Ty Silk on a solo effort put them ahead. With two minutes remaining their 4-3 lead still held. Then former Weston junior Pete Ella intercepted a pass and beat Pat Shannon to tie it. In overtime, junior George 'Mush' Thompson and veteran Jerry Kendall gave Brampton a 6-4 win. At Alexandra Park, Toots White scored twice, yet Excelsiors managed three. Teenager Thompson again counted the winner.

Next stop was Montreal where 5,000 cold and wet spectators watched George Sproule singlehandedly beat the local club. In the M.A.A.A, Grounds press box the old reporters marvelled at how the grey-thatched Excelsior captain reminded them of the great Harry Hoobin. Nothing could stop Sproule on the day, not even the driving rain. His three second half goals gave Brampton a comeback 4-1 win over M.A.A.A..

Varsity Stadium hosted the best of three Mann Cup Final. Finally B.C. had sent a team east! New Westminster Salmonbellies were given a rude welcome. Norm Zimmer helped beat them 8-1 as he scored or set up half the red shirts goals.

The Fishmen overcame the heat and their opponents to win the next contest 5-4. Sunny Douglas put the westerners up 2-0 early. Bert Burry started Brampton's comeback by intercepting a pass and going end to end. Sproule and Mooney Gibson soon followed as the home side took a 3-2 lead to the halftime break. It was 4-2 in the third quarter as Norm Zimmer set up George Sproule. Unfortunately Sproule injured an already weak ankle. That ended the veteran's season. He would retire after the Mann Cup. New Westminster's year was also about to come to an abrupt end. They responded like champions. Haddie Stoddart scored twice to tie it 4-4. In the last twenty minutes Stoddart also counted the winner with an underhand shot.

The series conclusion began ominously for the easterners. Jack Wood scored 3:30 into the match to put Salmonbellies up. Wood later fired a backhand shot past Bert Large, however referee Charles Querrie ruled that he was in the crease. A simliar fate befell Brampton's first marker. Western Referee Graver disallowed theirs. During halftime the western official was approached by a dozen angry fans. No harm was done. Ten minutes into the third quarter, Elgin 'Oddie' Core drew two defenders to him, then sent Norm Zimmer in alone to tie it. A see-saw battle commenced and lasted into the final period. Eventually Jerry Kendall broke the tie. Three minutes later, Hank Gowdy put Excelsiors up 3-1. With that lead the red shirts began ragging the ball, frustrating the New West checkers at every turn. Finally Ted Reeve, Zimmer and Kendall put together a nice combination with the latter potting goal number four. As the gong sounded, straw hats flew through the air and the celebration began. Brampton Excelsiors had won their first Mann Cup!

A year of transitions before and during the season. The O.L.A. Senior League jumped to six clubs as Hamilton Tigers, Mimico Mountaineers and Toronto Native Sons joined. Native Sons packed their line up with veterans. Bill MacArthur was in goal, backed by Roy Sutherland. In the field they had Buck Johnston, Ed and Ken Kingdon, George Laceby and Ty Silk. The most important signings all came from Oshawa. As quickly as General Motors sponsorship had made Oshawa a powerhouse, it evaporated and just as quickly brought about their downfall. The only notable player the Generals were able to retain was Pat Shannon. In six games he gave up 65 goals! Oshawa defaulted their other four contests as they quit in mid-season. Defecting to Native Sons were: Chuck Davidson, Conny Golden, Bob Stephenson and Toots White. Even Oshawa back up netminder Tilly Stokes signed and made two starts. Small wonder the Toronto squad finished first with 8 wins and 2 losses.

It was a troubled beginning for the defending champions. A new O.L.A. residency rule meant that a player must live and work in the town he played for. This disqualified two Excelsiors, Bert Burry and Red Spencer, from playing for Brampton. They played in the team's opening game anyway and were promptly suspended. Plus Excelsiors were ordered to replay the game. The Burry/Spencer controversy was not settled until professional box lacrosse made its impact on the established league.

The big shake up came four weeks into the schedule. Despite their problem with the O.L.A., Brampton raced off with four consecutive wins, outscoring their opposition 35-14. Then the International Lacrosse League was formed and everything changed overnight. Many players turned professional and jumped to the box league. The major losses were: Bert Burry, Jerry Kendall, Bert Large, Red Spencer, Ted Reeve and Norm Zimmer(Brampton) Frank 'Piper' Bain(St.Simon's) Toots White(Native Sons) and Kelly Degray(Oshawa). Lionel Conacher came out of retirement to lead the new circuit with 76 goals and 102 point in 24 games. Six Nations' Scotty Martin placed second with 41 goals and 59 points. White followed with 58 points, then Kendall(54) and Zimmer(45).

The Big Train was not the only player to return to the game. George Sproule's retirement lasted four weeks. The Excelsior coach handed over the reigns to Eddie Powers, grabbed his gutted stick, and ran Brampton's midfield. He could not prevent the defending champs fall. They dropped to a 6-4 record, luckily tying for the third and final playoff position with Hamilton. St.Simon's finished second with 7 wins and 3 losses.

Brampton opened the two game tie break on August 5th. The passing was off colour as the offences wilted under the blazing sun. Tigers were without starting goaltender Pat Gow. Excelsiors scored two in each half and should have added more but the final quarter was scoreless. Down in Hamilton the titleholders followed their 4-1 win with a 5-1 victory. Gow was back. Wilfred 'Bucko' MacDonald greeted him with a high hard one. Brampton won all four quarters.

Excelsiors had been fortunate. Despite the devasting losses to the home position they had signed a kid from Guelph. MacDonald, the future hockey star, finished second in league scoring. The scoring champ was Oddie Core. Another good break for Brampton. In Core's first four years with the team he had scored 14 goals. Yet the moment he moved from the shadow of Norm Zimmer he exploded - 19 goals and another 20 assists!

St.Simon's in the semi-final was not so easy. The Anglicans led the opening game 2-1 as Excelsior netminder Wally Large(Bert's brother) let in two bad ones. Bill Anthony tied it 2-2 with a free throw, early in the last quarter. Ollie Burton then gave Brampton the lead. Ross Gimblett drew the Saints level and Jack Campkin won it with a longshot.

Seven minutes into Game Two Anthony scored the only goal, tying the series. After that both sides played very cautiously. Ivan 'Turk' Davis had a chance to win it for St.Simon's late, however he shot wildly. Oddie Core also missed two opportunities at the other end. With eighty minutes complete the teams left the field. The large Varsity Stadium crowd became angry because they wanted the tie broken in overtime. Commissioner W.J. Blaney went to the Anglicans' dressing room but Saints' manager Fred Whittimore ordered him out.

A four day wait followed before the rubber match. In the final contest St.Simon's led 4-0 midway through the third quarter. Eddie Powers ordered all his players onto attack and Brampton rallied to tie it. Junior Mush Thompson set up the fourth goal by feeding Mooney Gibson from behind the net. The match ended 4-4. This time the extra period was played. As darkness began to cast shadows over the field, Core scored the winner from 35 feet out.

Excelsiors met a well rested Native Sons team in the best of three final. At Ulster Stadium they jumped in front 3-1 only to have the first place finishers roar back. Two goals 90 seconds apart tied it. Bob Stephenson set up both, first to Conny Golden, then George Laceby. Oddie Core replied a minute later. Bucko MacDonald added two more, making the final result 6-3. Playing the second game on one day's rest, Brampton faded late. The Toronto squad trailed 3-2 at half, then scored three unanswered goals to win it. Golden, Laceby and Stephenson did the damage.

The deciding match was played at Weston, again on only one day's rest. Brampton took control early and built a 3-1 lead. Mooney Gibson broke it open in the third quarter with a goal and two assists. Excelsiors romped to a 10-2 victory.

In an era when teams rarely played more than once a week, the champions had repeated by playing eight games in less than a month. Their work was still not done. On August 29th, playing on two days rest, Brampton defeated Montreal A.A.A. 6-2. Core scored two early and Bill Anthony two late. At 9:30pm the squad hopped on a train to Winnipeg. Wins followed over the Wellingtons, 2-0 and 5-3, plus Calgary Rangers 8-4.

The final series with New Westminster commenced September 7th at Queens Park. In Game One the Salmonbellies take too many penalties, 45minutes to Brampton's 5. John Vernon had 20 of them. Excelsiors disappointed the crowd of 5,000 with an 8-4 triumph. Core's hattrick and MacDonald's deuce carried them through. The Fishmen rallied with a 7-3 win. George Feeney and Hattie Stoddart both scored a pair. Stew Beatty also counted two for the losers. New Westminster ragged the ball throughout the final period.

The last contest was on September 12th. Salmonbellies controlled the first half but were frustrated by Wally Large. Still, they did build up a 3-1 lead. In the last forty minutes Brampton's size wore down the smaller Fishmen. A penalty by Mercer, his third of the contest, was the turning point. George Thompson scored. Two minutes later Stew Beatty tied it with a long bouncer. The deciding goal came six minutes later. Bucko MacDonald intercepted a pass, then sent Oddie Core in for the winner. 4-3 Brampton with one quarter to go. The final twenty minutes were scoreless. Excelsiors had won field lacrosse's last MannCup.

PLAYERS

GOALS
George Sproule(212) Toots White(191) Norm Zimmer(175) Conny Golden(124) Bob Stephenson(120) Max McGregor(108) Pete Machell(106) Art Pim(86) Jerry Kendall(81) Earl Stevenson(81) Clyde Gordon(79) Buck Johnston(78) Lionel Conacher(77) Ed Kingdon(68) Bill Davis(64)

ASSISTS
George Sproule(76) Rod Anderson(45) Norm Zimmer(44) Jerry Kendall(38) Max McGregor(37) Bob Stephenson(36) Clyde Gordon(34) Jack Worthy(34) Oddie Core(32) Chuck Davidson(30) Pete Machell(28) Kelly Degray(25) Conny Golden(24) Toots White(24) Ed Kingdon(21) Moose Lount(21) Harry Sproule(21)

POINTS
George Sproule(288) Norm Zimmer(219) Toots White(215) Bob Stephenson(156) Conny Golden(148) Max McGregor(145) Pete Machell(134) Jerry Kendall(119) Clyde Gordon(113) Art Pim(106) Buck Johnston(96) Lionel Conacher(96) Rod Anderson(92) Ed Kingdon(89) Jack Worthy(86)

SCORING AVERAGE
Duchy Davis(2.59) Lionel Conacher(2.18) Norn Zimmer(1.83) Toots White(1.50) George Sproule(1.48) Blythe Brown(1.37) Chuck Davidson(1.24) Art Pim(1.23) Clyde Gordon(1.18) Pete Machell(1.18) Buck Johnston(1.13) Rod Anderson(1.10) Bob Stephenson(1.05) Harry Sproule(1.02) Max McGregor(1.01)

GOALTENDERS

MINUTES PLAYED
Roy Sutherland(10715) Bill MacArthur(9365) John Campbell(8980) Al Coutie(7820) Walker Wilson(6760) Bert Large(6240) Fred Rowntree(6000)Pat Shannon(3920) Pat Gow(2880) Bert Booth(2240)

WINS
John Campbell(78) Bert Large(55) Bill MacArthur(54) Roy Sutherland(53) Al Coutie(52) Fred Rowntree(52) Walker Wilson(50) Pat Shannon(30) Bert Booth(16) Wally Large(16)

WINNING PERCENTAGE(minimum 10 games)
Wally Large(762) Bert Large(724) Fred Rowntree(722) John Campbell(709) Bill Stevens(700) Roy Chandler(682) McBride(667) Pat Shannon(652) BobRohmer(636) Walker Wilson(602)

AVERAGE(minimum 800 minutes)
Wally Large(2.87) Fred Rowntree(3.59) Bert Large(3.91) Pat Shannon(3.92) Roy Chandler(4.12) Walker Wilson(4.19) John Campbell(4.24) Hobson(4.25) McBride(4.33) Al Coutie(4.62)

This concludes the field history. As you can tell the history of lacrosse has evolved into an OLA history. That is where my expertise lies. However my box research has primarily been searching for stats, not stories. Thus the box history is no where near as interesting a read at this moment. Hope to improve on it this summer. LaxHistory will continue post Mann Cup. Thank you for your support and interest.

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