For the rest of the decade there would be a curse on first place teams. Hamilton, Owen Sound and Brampton would all win Regular Season pennants but all would disappoint in the playoffs. The Tigers and Georgians would both be eliminated in the opening round.

Hamilton and St.Catharines tied at the top of the standings with 21-9 records. Hamilton were led by Bill Isaacs, George Masters, Arnold Smith and Merv McKenzie. They had picked up two Gairs, Gordon and Jack, plus added a pair from St.Catharines - Joe Cheevers and Tom Teather. The Athletics still had enormous talent with Stu Scott, Jack McMahon, Bill Nelson and company. Plus they had Doug Favell between the pipes(father of the NHL goaltender Doug Jr.). They made one nice addition as local youngster Blain McDonald donned Double Blue.

In the two game Tie Break Hamilton won at home 8-5 as Isaacs led with four points. St.Catharines took the rematch 7-5, giving the Tigers first place by one goal.

There was also a tie for third place. Both Mimico and Owen Sound won 16 games. The Mountaineers pulled off the biggest pre-season coup by luring Ike Hildebrand away from New Westminster. Owen Sound boosted the new league scoring champion in Doug Gillespie. Their Tie Break series commenced on August 25th. Ray Mortimer held the Georgians to 9 goals and Eddie Sandford potted a hattrick as the Mounties won 13-9. The next evening, they took the second contest 17-14. Jack Williams beat Lloyd 'Moon' Wotton six times to steal the show.

All six clubs made the playoffs and the bottom pair also tied with 8 wins a piece. It was another struggle for Brampton, though the Madgett brothers, Carl and Harvey, emerged as new stars. Weston Yorks were the other bottom club. Bill Brunskill was their chief asset. He fired in 61 goals to finish second for league honours, just three behind Blain McDonald.

The Excelsiors and Yorks did not need to play a tie break because they would meet each other in the Quarter Finals. In the initial match a crowd of 3,500 was treated to quadruple overtime! The 97 minute 28 second contest was the longest in OLA Box history. Each extra period was 10 minutes long. Bob Lagerquist and Red Hartley both went the distance in goal and were brilliant in extending the game. Brampton won it 12-11 as Elmer Taylor finally beat Hartley to decide it. The Excelsiors went on to win the series in four games, with victories of 18-6 and 13-10, plus a third game loss of 11-3. Bill Brunskill played only once in the series. The slack was picked up by Jack Dorney. He scored seven goals and ten points in three games.

After their series with St.Catharines, Hamilton was promptly knocked out of the playoffs in three straight games. The Athletics fared better, only just! Home advantage would save them against Owen Sound. The opener was a frustrating 8-5 win for the Double Blues. The Georgians liked to play ball possession and slowed the contest to a crawl at times. That kept things close, however the northerners could only beat Doug Favell five times. It was Lloyd Wotton's turn in the next game. He held the defending champs to 6 goals. The home team scored 14 times on Bill Whitaker. Russ Slater's three goals were best. With no rest the two teams played their third game in four nights. The A's had Favell back in goal and tripled the Georgians 12-4. The series took a couple of days off for the long weekend. Next came the crucial fourth game up north. Wotton finally got the best of Favell in a thriller. Owen Sound was down much of the night but a third quarter rally saved them. Doug Gillespie scored back to back, then Jack 'Curly' Mason fired in a pair 17 seconds apart. The clubs went to the last quarter even 7-7. Wotton pitched a shutout and Don Campbell scored the winner with 3 1/2 minutes left. The Georgians added two more late for the 10-7 decision. The one day rest before the finale became two days because of a rain out. The game did take place on September 6th. It was the lowest scoring contest of the series. There were no goals in the first quarter. By halftime it was only 2-2. Campbell scored Owen Sound's last goal of the year midway through the third period. St.Catharines made the turn for home up 4-3 and extended that margin for a 6-3 final. Roy Morton's hattrick was key. Morton would go on to score 16 playoff points, putting him over 1,000 career. He was only the second player, after Bill Isaacs, to reach that milestone.

A note on Lloyd Wotton, who becomes a central figure in our story very soon. There is some question regarding the spelling of his name. Officially the CLA has it as Wooton. Newspapers have commonly spelt it Wootton, even Wotton. During one of my trips to Peterborough a few years ago I was picked up by a fellow who used to play poker with Moon(he told me a story about Moon taking his false teeth out and setting them on the table, but we won't get into that!). He also informed me that Lloyd's widow lived in Port Hope. Glancing through the phone book I found her, and the spelling of the name was Wotton. Please don't ask how it's pronounced!

After that Quarter Final scare, the A's were happy to accept a bye to the Final. That left Mimico to extend their playoff winning streak to seven games. They blasted Brampton 18-7 in the first contest. The Mounties had seven multiple goal scorers - Ike Hildebrand, Jack Williams, Don McPhail, Mickey McDonald, Ken Dixon, Eddie Sandford and Tom Love. The next game was an 18-8 rout. Ken Dixon led with four markers. Carl Madgett, in Game One, and Bill Arthurs, in Game Two, were best for the Excelsiors.

The St.Catharines-Mimico rivalry resumed yet again. This would be the last series for a while and the second last ever! It would also be the most disappointing. The Mountaineers hit the rested Athletics hard and fast. The initial match was a 13-5 blitz. Ray Mortimer shutdown the Double Blue snipers, while Doug Favell couldn't cope with the shooting of John Hewitt, Ken Dixon, Tom Love and Sandy Milne. Hildbrand starred with a four assist game. The next contest might have turned things around for the Mann Cup holders but it ended in a narrow 8-7 defeat. Archie Dixon stepped to the forefront with two big goals to down St.Catharines. Seven would be their magic number for the rest of the series because Mortimer would hold them to seven goals in the remaining two games. That wouldn't be nearly enough. Mimico claimed victories of 10-7 and 15-7 to sweep the series. Ken Dixon and Hildebrand were the top scorers for the new champs. They both counted ten points over the four games. Irrepressible Pung Morton was best for the losers with a seven point effort.

The Mounties next opponent was the Cornwall Flyers. They won the two meetings to earn Eastern Canadian honours. The first victory was an uninspiring 14-3 decision. On September 25th they shot the lights out by beating the Flyers 34-11! Hewitt and McDonald had five goals each, plus both Dixons scored four times. Beehey Fillon was best for Cornwall with a hattrick.

Thus Mimico headed west, riding a thirteen game winning streak. Little did they realise it but they had won their last game of the year. The powerful New Westminster Adanacs awaited them. Yet the western A's should have been prime for picking. Their regular goaltender Gordie Pogue missed the Mann Cup Final with a throat injury. His replacement was a runner who was dragged out of retirement and tossed into goal. Garnie Carter had tended goal only once before in his life. The Adanac defence would have to be at its best.

Likewise the A's offence. It ran 17 goals past Mortimer as New Westminster narrowly won the opener 17-14. As if the big western defence wasn't tough enough for Mimico, Carter suddenly started to get the hang at playing goal and began to stone them. What followed for the Mounties was a miserable 13-9 loss. Only nine goals! Worse was to come. The third and final game was over after it had barely began. John Douglas scored 17 seconds into the match. It was 5-0 before the Mountaineers solved Carter. The Adanacs rolled on to an 18-9 triumph.

Bob Lee led the westerners with eight goals and ten points. He also took home the Mike Kelly Trophy as series MVP. Archie Browning was right behind him with seven goals and Jake Proctor fired home six. Ken Dixon's six goal effort was best for the losers. Tom Love chipped in seven points.

The Mann Cup had settled into a disturbing trend. In their last three trips west, the OLA champs had won only one game while losing nine! The ICLL's record was worse. They still had not won the Mann Cup in Ontario!

Tom Teather was actually the first to leave town. After the war he joined the Hamilton Tigers. Next came Joe Cheevers in '47. He also switched to Black and Gold. Neither of those departures compared in any way to what the Athletics lost prior to the 1948 season. Their starting goaltender Doug Favell moved to Tigertown. Also joining the Bengals was Blain McDonald. In his initial season with the Tigers McDonald won the league scoring championship with 64 goals and 97 points. In one of the tightest races ever he edged out Ken Dixon(66 & 94) Don Campbell(63 & 94) and Doug Gillespie(57 & 94). There was a huge gap between the top four and the rest of the league. Noteworthy in the Number Five spot was Orillia native John Hewitt. His 54 assists were third highest in OLA history.

Owen Sound changed their nickname to Crescents and surged to the top of the standings. Their 23-5-1 record was slightly better than 23-7 St.Catharines. Mimico followed(16-11-1) then Hamilton(15-13-2) Brampton(10-19-1) and Weston(8-19-1). Fergus missed the playoffs with only 4 wins.

One nightmarish week in early September ended Owen Sound's fine run. Mimico ambushed them to begin their series by winning 21-12. Don McPhail scored six points, as Jim McKay and John Hewitt both had five. Next came a 13-10 win for the Mountaineers. The Crescents led 9-6 late in the third quarter. Sandy Milne scored then set up Ken Dixon 8 seconds later and Hewitt 31 seconds after that. McKay put the Mounties ahead for good 14 seconds into the fourth period. After a couple of days off, the Pennant Winners got back into the series with a 12-8 victory. Norm Shortridge led their balanced attack with four points. The next evening Owen Sound won the first half 6-4, only to be felled by ten consecutive Mimico goals starting in the third quarter. The final score was 14-7. Jack Williams beat Lloyd Wotton six times. The third game in three nights once again saw the league's leading offence fade late. Owen Sound were ahead 7-6 in the third but Mimico ended the period with three goals in the last 75 seconds. They began the last quarter with two more. Ray Mortimer contained the Crescents' offence after that as the Mountaineers took the contest 12-9 and the series in five games.

Meanwhile Hamilton put their mediocre regular season behind them to upset St.Catharines. The A's had the league's best defence as Bill Whitaker was back full time. That didn't matter in the opener as the Tigers won 11-10. Balanced scoring all around but Bill Isaacs had a notable goal and assist. Isaacs had started his season the week before and scored nine goals in two games. No one did much scoring in the second match, a 5-2 Bengal win. George Masters did count a pair. The Double Blues came back with a solid 15-7 victory. Jerry Fitzgerald led the renaissance with six points. Yet another one goal game went Hamilton's way putting them up 3 games to 1. Merv McKenzie potted a hattrick in the 11-10 win. St.Catharines responded with a second home blow out. 17-4 was the final and Jack McMahon was tops with 4 goals. At the Cannon Bowl the Double Blues forced a seventh game. The Tigers led 3-1 early and 5-4 by halftime. St.Catharines tied it with the only goal of the third quarter. They were soon in front, however Doug Davidson knotted it 8-8 with 2 1/2 minutes left. The winner was scored by Vern Whitely as he took advantage of a two man break. A turnaway crowd of 4,000 witnessed the deciding match. Hamilton again led at the half, 5-3. The A's tied it in the third only to have the Black and Gold jump ahead 7-5. A three goal spurt by St.Catharines gave them the advantage. Still the contest went to the wire once again deadlocked 8-8. Off a three man fast break Jack Gair beat Whitaker with just 31 seconds remaining.

The senior Excelsiors had not done much to excite their fans that summer. They had lost nearly twice as many as they had won despite scoring 321 goals and giving up only 288. The Juniors had made more news by routing Dundas 50-3! Seven different players had scored four goals or more that night. Interestingly, none of the seven would ever play Senior Lacrosse. That would explain why Brampton had to drop out of the league in the mid fifties.

Brampton goaltending had been a lottery much of the season as Bob Lagerquist, Fred Cuthbert and Sam Arthurs split the duty. They eventually settled upon Arthurs. Fortunately Weston had the league's worst offence. Bill Brunskill had retired and Gordon Gair only played intermittently, which left Jack Dorney to carry the load. Brampton swept them aside four straight. The only easy win was the 15-7 opener. After that came a 7-6 victory, followed by scores of 17-14 and 12-9. Nick Ferri was the Excelsior star scoring at least two goals in every game. Carl Madgett missed the middle two matches but scored four goals in Games One and Four. For Weston, Gair appeared for the latter two contests and chipped in three goals Dorney was contained most of the series. He only broke loose for a third game hattrick.

Mimico chose to play Brampton in the best of three Semi Final, leaving Hamilton the direct route to the Final. The defending champs took the opening game 14-10. John Hewitt's four goals were the difference. Ken Dixon had four points, as did Cam Sheppard for the losers. The second contest was played on September 19th. The first half featured stellar netminding from Sam Arthurs. He held the Mountaineers to two goals while the Excelsiors scored four. The third quarter was played in a light drizzle. Brampton's Mann Cup aspirations also fell as the Mounties outscored them 6-1 and took control. Later four big lights blew out, showering fans with fine glass. Excelsior lights were soon turned out as Mimico held on for an 11-10 win.

The OLA Final commenced at Drummond Street Bowl. Brilliant goaltending from both Favell and Mortimer in the opener. Hamilton never trailed in the contest and held a 6-5 lead throughout the last fifteen minutes. The next match was a convincing 10-4 win for the Tigers. Doug Davidson, Al Doyle and Blain McDonald each counted duces. With the way Favell was playing, the last thing the Mountaineers could afford to do was to fall behind. In Game Three they were down 2-0 in the first minute of the contest. Jack Gair and McDonald(his first of four) got the Black and Gold going. It was 5-1 by quarter time and 9-2 at the half. The defending champs did finally solve Doug Favell but not until they were down 13-2! They scored three times in the final minute to make it a respectable 16-10 loss. Facing elimination, the Mounties did get their act together. They played with the lead in the fourth match and at one point during the second quarter were ahead 6-2. By the end of the third quarter Hamilton had battled back to within a goal, at 7-6. They eventually tied it, then Archie Dixon put Mimico up 9-8, with 4 minutes remaining. 90 seconds later, Tom Love made it 9-9, sending the contest into overtime. 28 seconds into the extra period the Bengals grabbed their first lead of the night. The defence created a turnover and Joe Cheevers broke away to score his fourth of the game. The Mounties kept battling unitl longtime Tiger Bill Isaacs appropriately scored the insurance marker. 12-10 Hamilton. The first time a fourth place team had won the OLA championship in the Box Era.

The best of three Eastern Canadian Final began October 3rd in Montreal, before moving to Cornwall for the concluding games. This would be the last time the east would challenge for the Mann Cup. Cornwall represented them and they were throughly beaten in the opener. Hamilton led 8-1 after 30 minutes, enroute to a 13-4 decision. Doug Favell suffered an arm injury and was replaced by Fred Harrison for the second half. The Tigers travelled to Cornwall without Bill Isaacs, Merv McKenzie or George Masters, plus an injured Favell. They got a rude welcome from the hometown boys. Cornwall led 11-2 in the third quarter before the Bengals mounted a comeback. They cut the lead to 11-6, then 13-8 and finally 14-12 before running out of time. Thus, for only the second time, the OLA champs faced elimination against an eastern opponent. Hamilton handled it by dominating Cornwall. Blain McDonald and Tom Love each scored four times in the 20-10 romp. The Tigers were up 9-2 at halftime and 15-6 with 15 minutes left.

New Westminster Adanacs travelled to Toronto to defend their Mann Cup title. They were greeted by a crowd of 4,776 in the opener. The goaltending of Doug Favell and Gordie Pogue topped the shooters early on. The A's got two late first quarter goals to break the ice. Hamilton replied in the second with five unanswered markers. Against the heavier Tigers, New Westminster battled back. They scored the only three goals of the third period to knot the contest at 5-5. They continued in the next frame with another four counters. The period featured a horrific collision between Hamilton's #16 Elmer Lee and New West's John Douglas. They both became tangled and crashed into the end boards. Douglas was lost with a sprained ankle. Lee returned later with a blood soaked bandage around his head but was not allowed on the floor. The Mann Cup holders took Game One 11-6.

Doug Favell shutout New Westminster through the first quarter of the next contest. That allowed the Tigers to grab a 3-0. The following 15 minutes Favell couldn't stop Archie Browning. Browning scored two men short to begin the period and concluded it with a blistering drive, while looking at the clock, which eluded the netminder. The defending champions had evened the match 5-5. They went on to win the third quarter and take an 11-9 lead home. Jack Gair brought the Bengals back with a pair of goals in the first two minutes of the fourth. By the six minute mark Arnie Ferguson put the Adanacs up 12-11. Ralph Douglas notched an insurance marker with 90 seconds remaining. The Mann Cup holders outshot the Ontario side 41-27. After the game, Manager Alex McPherson expressed a curious memory. A member of the '33 Mann Cup winning Tigers, McPherson assured the press that all was well. "Hamilton was been down 2-0 in 1933 and came back to win." The trouble was that the Tigers had been UP 2-0 in '33 and very nearly blew it!

The third game was preceded by the OLA Midget Final. St.Catharines defeated New Toronto 7-4. Hamilton was without Tom Love for the contest, while New Westminster missed John Douglas for the second consecutive night. The westerners grabbed leads of 3-1 and 5-3. However a tiger is never more dangerous than when trapped. Two Joe Cheevers goals turned things around as the Black and Gold took a 7-6 lead into the final quarter. The last period began with five scoreless minutes. Then the Ontario champs ran in four straight goals. They took the match 12-7. Coach Ken McDonald claimed his Adanacs had a night off. "Some of the boys were a little leg sore after too much sightseeing."

The fourth game was the Doug Favell Show. The A's outshot the Tigers 40-23 but that wasn't good enough. Tom Love was back in the lineup and scored two goals. John Douglas also returned but he had no luck around the net. The opening 15 minutes ended tied 2-2. Hamilton took control by winning the second quarter 4-1. They extended that lead to 9-4 before the defending champs started to find net. They drew back to 9-7 with 5 minutes remaining. That was as close as Favell allowed them to get.

A five game final for the first time since the controversial '44 series. Luckily teams were not allowed to pad their line ups with all-stars after that disputed series. The Adanacs and Tigers would meet at Maple Leaf Gardens to decide which was the best lacrosse team in the world. Their would be no excuses for the losers this time.

The westerners took advantage of early Hamilton penalties to take a 4-0 lead. Gradually the heavy bodychecking of the Bengals slowed down the speedy A's. Hamilton closed the gap to 5-4 by halftime. Joe Cheevers gave them their first lead, at 6-5, in the third quarter. Blain McDonald put them up for good 7-6. The Black and Gold won going away. The final result was 12-8. Doug Favell was named MVP, making him the first two time Mike Kelly winner. Elmer Lee fractured his leg while chasing down a loose ball in the fourth period. Immediately after the game he celebrated lying on a stretcher, before being wheeled away to a waiting ambulance.

Since the arrival of box lacrosse the Excelsiors had failed to win any championships. As the fourties drew to a close, Brampton appeared ready to end that drought. With former Adanac star Archie Browning, plus young talent like the Madgett brothers, the Excelsiors finished in first place with a 26-10 mark. Then tradegy struck. At the tail end of the regular season Carl Madgett was crippled by polio. Madgett was the teams fifth highest scorer and second best playmaker with 40 assists. Unfortunately his career was over.

The Senior League welcomed Peterborough Lumberjacks as a new team and played a record 36 game schedule. The playoff format was unchanged, however this would be the last year fifth place would meet sixth place in the Quarter Finals. The defending champions finished fifth and Hamilton took advantage to sweep their first round series, then grab a week's rest before meeting an Owen Sound club coming off a seven game series. Hardly a fair arrangement.

There were only four points separating second to fifth place. From Owen Sound(22-13-1) through St.Catharines, Mimico and Hamilton(20-15-1) they were all evenly matched. After that the level fell badly. Peterborugh won only eight times, while Weston claimed six victories.

It was a good year for the shooters. Mimican Jim 'Doc' Mckay set a record during a 19-11 win over Peterborough. He beat goaltender Ralph Speck three times in 22 seconds. The other standouts on offence were Ken Dixon and Jack Gair. They dueled all summer long for the scoring title with Dixon eventually prevailing 135 to 132. Dixon's 86 goals were also league best. Meanwhile teammate Don MacPhail led all playmakers with 63 assists - one shy of Bill Isaacs record.

Brampton entered the playoffs in shock and immediately lost a 12-7 game to St.Catharines. Along with Madgett, they were also missing Elmer Taylor and Nick Ferri. Still the Excelsiors battled back by winning 11-7 then a 9-8 overtime contest. The Athletics responded with an 8-7 victory followed by an embarrassing 16-1 decision. Veteran Bill Whitaker narrowly missed a shutout. It was the goaltending at the opposite end which would decide the series. Blake Eatough was at his career best and led Brampton to wins in the final two games. They were both by narrow margins, 6-4 and 6-5.

Hamilton once again saved its best for the post season, They started their title defence by beating Peterborough four straight. First came a convincing 16-6 victory. Tony Capula lead with three goals and Blain McDonald had four points. The next three contests were all tight. A 12-9 game was even until late. McDonald scored four times. That was followed by wins of 18-13 and 9-8.

The best Quarter Final series involved Owen Sound and Mimico. The Crescents had home advantage but chose to begin at the Drummond Bowl. Close to 2,000 fans saw stocky Don McPhail drive straight up the middle and score at the 5 second mark. After that penalties killed the Sounders. The Mounties tallied seven of their goals with the manadvantage, plus added two shorthanded counters. Four first quarter power play markers set them off enroute to a 16-6 win. Up north, the Crescents power play got their turn and scored ten goals! Yet Owen Sound's special teams unit was far from perfect. They led 7-2 just before the half and had a major penalty to work with thanks to McPhail high sticking Doug Gillespie in the face and drawing blood. Mimico answered with a pair of shorthanded goals from Ken Dixon and Jack Williams. Williams was on centre stage for the contest's turning point. The home side led 8-7 in the third quarter when Mountie netminder Ray Mortimer tripped Don Campbell in front of the goal. The netminder had to serve his own penalty. Even worse, all penalties had to be served in their entirety regardless of how many goals were scored. Thus Williams replaced Mortimer, for the longest two minutes of his life! Owen Sound beat him four times. Mimico managed a bit of a rally later on after Dixon sparked them by scoring with his club two men short. Still the Crescents won 14-9. The homer series continued as the Mountaineers next won 13-6. A six goal second quarter was key. Jack Williams had a six point night and diminuative Scoop Hayes wriggled through the Crescent defence for four goals. Mimico did lose Williams with a shoulder injury. He missed Owen Sound's 8-6 triumph to even the series 2-2. It was a clean game with only four penalties called. Ray Mortimer was the star and robbed Crescent shooters six times in the first half. Two quick goals won it for the Sounders. Jack Mason picked the corner with a backhand shot and Bun White took a pass from Arnold Smith to score 15 seconds later. Mimico won at home yet again. a comfortable 10-2 result. Ray Mortimer shutout the Crescents for over 47 minutes. The game was fairly close until an injury sidelined Lloyd Wotton in the fourth quarter. The match was delayed 15 minutes as Wotton was tended to. He left with ligament damage to his ankle. That should have sealed Owen Sound's fate. On top of the Wotton injury, Don Campbell was hurting, plus Don Ashbee had left the team to join the Buffalo Bisons training camp. At least the remaining two games would be in the north. That plus Wotton's miraculous return saved them. Wotton moved with a limp but he was still fast enough to turn aside 24 Mountie shots. He also shutout the Mimicans over the last 28 minutes of the game. Bun White tallied four goals and player/coach Doug Gillespie had five points. Owen Sound won it 16-5. The finale saw more magnificent play from Wotton. he held his team in it through three defensive quarters. The clubs entered the last fifteen minutes deadlocked 3-3. An Archie Dixon elbowing penalty gave the Crescents their chance. Don McWhirter scored on the power play. A couple of Jack Mason goals extended the lead to 7-4. Mimico stayed close, down 8-6 with five minutes left. But a Jack Williams penalty, followed by a misconduct ended the Mountaineers hopes. Owen Sound took the game 10-6. despite being outshot 33-26.

The northerners had the weekend off to rest up for their Monday night encounter against Hamilton. In comparison, the defending champs were enjoying the end of a nine day lay off. The Semi Final being a best of three series would help Owen Sound, however the three games were scheduled over four nights(Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). To make matters worse, the Crescents travelled all the way to Hamilton Tuesday only to have the game rained out. Thus they made the long trek back home, then returned south the next night. The physical demands were too much for a club trying to knock off the Mann Cup champions.

Still all started well for the Sounders. On September 12th, they defeated the Bengals by a 10-4 score. Bun White accounted for half their goals. 1,500 fans turned out to see another defensive battle at the Cannon Street Bowl. Owen Sound mustered only 15 shots on Doug Favell! Small wonder they managed only four goals as the Tigers doubled that total. Hamilton had only 27 shots on the night. Such was a combination of the Crescents ball possession style of play and the Tigers physical game. The home side scored the first four goals and were never challenged. Blain McDonald returned from a shoulder injury to tally a pair. Lloyd Wotton aggravated his ankle injury when making a fourth quarter save on Merv McKenzie. He completed the contest. The deciding match at the Owen Sound Arena was played before slightly more than 2,000 spectators. The visitors won it with a well balanced attack - nine different players scoring. The only two goal man was Tom Love. He counted the first two of the contest as Hamilton jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Bill Isaacs made it 4-1 early in the third quarter after Jack Gair won a scramble for the loose ball then fed the wide open sniper. On an evening when the Crescents fired 37 shots at Doug Favell, they put up a much better challenge. Grant Gillespie took a pass from Jack Mason and beat Favell from an impossible angle. Bill Allum came back 27 seconds later with a long shot to close the gap to 4-3. However George Masters answered with a shorthanded marker as he raced through the Owen Sound team and dropped a shot past Wotton. Before the end of the quarter Mason scored a power play goal. That was the last hurrah for the home side. McKenzie bumped the Hamilton lead to 6-4. A minute later McDonald drove home a low bouncer after Doug Davidson had beaten three Crescents for a loose ball. Gair eventually made it 8-4, dashing Owen Sound's hopes. The Tigers took the contest 10-5. The busiest Hamilton man was trainer Lefty Jordan. He had to dash on to the floor practically every time a Bengal player was touched. Isaacs pulled the most absurd fake when he slumped to the floor without even being contacted!

Due to the length of the schedule, the Final was a best of five affair. The series was completed in four days. The Excelsiors may have been the better club through the regular season(they scored 97 goals more than Hamilton) but they were no match for the Mann Cup holders in late September. With players like Bill Isaacs, Tom Teather, Merv McKenzie, Jack Gair, Tom Love, George Masters and Eddie Powers Jr. Hamilton simply had too much experience for Brampton. Six players had been in the league since the thirties. Isaacs and Teather, the longest serving, had debuted in 1935. Even Coach Joe Cheevers had played on six Mann Cup winners!

The Black and Gold started the series on one day's rest but didn't miss a beat. Their best player was Doug Favell. He quickly silenced the Excelsior gunners. The Tigers took the first two games by identical 9-5 scores. Bob Hilson was the only shooter to solve Favell, with a second game hattrick. That would be the only trio in the series as the Bengals scoring was well balanced. Six different players scored a pair as they won the last game 14-4. Six games in nine nights and five of them victories! Best of all, Favell holding the opposition to five goals or less in each win. Hamilton had proven they were still Ontario's best team.

But their Dominion crown was soon to tumble. Unfortunately I can't say much about the '49 Mann Cup Final. My two western sources are both silent on the series - you'd almost think Vancouver lost! They did win, defeating Hamilton 3 games to 1. Doug Favell's goal average took a beating as he surrendered 50. Hamilton scored 46 times on Jack Green, thus they were competitive on the Coast. George Masters was series scoring leader with 10 goals. Blain McDonald chipped in 9. The Burrards' Don Matheson was top point man with 12. He also took home the Mike Kelly Award.

At exactly the mid century mark the Dominion championship switched to a best of seven final. The timing was perfect as the New Westminster Adanacs and Owen Sound Crescents would duel in a classic series. On top of that, Ontario fans would also be treated to a seven game OLA Final.

The regular season pennant was claimed by Owen Sound with a 22-6 record. With Lloyd Wotton tending goal they surrendered a league low 219 goals. St.Catharines followed with 20 victories. Jim McMahon, Bill Nelson and Stu Scott all rejoined the A's after having been suspended the entire 1949 season for playing professionally during the off season. Roy Morton was the other player suspended and he promptly retired. The Double Blues also got into a pre-season fight with the Tigers over Barney Welch. The St.Catharines native had played the previous two seasons with the defending champions. Barney eventually chose to stay in Hamilton. Even with some additions the Athletics had the smallest crew in the league. The Burly Bengals placed third(18-10). George Masters bolted for the west coast and Richmond but discovered he was too late to play in the ICLL. Thus he returned to Hamilton and, after a short hold out, resigned. Brampton Excelsiors were next at 16-12. Three BC boys(Archie Browning, Whitey Severson and Lew Landess) powered their offence. Browning finished runner up in the league scoring race with 100 points and Severson's 47 assists were also second best. Mimico also came home at 16-12. Peterborough had a winning record of 15-13. The Timbermen desperately worked to improve their club. They tried to lure Don McPhail from the Mounties, then went after Weston's redheaded goaltender Bill Hartley. Both efforts failed. They actually lost talent as Leo Teatro and Jim McNulty returned home to St.Catharines. Still Peterborough held on to former Athletic Bob Thorpe and added Jerry Fitzgerald. Both would be top ten scorers. Not only did Weston nearly lose Hartley, Gus Chard was actually practicing with Brampton before the league forced him to return to his old team. Weston only won twice. One less than Toronto West Yorks three victories. Both clubs missed the playoffs.

It was a rough year for lacrosse support in St.Catharines. While Hamilton, Mimico and Peterborough consistently drew over 2,000 fans a game, the Athletics struggled to attract a thousand. There was some unhappiness to ticket prices being raised 10 cents to cover a hospital tax. Adults were charged 60 cents and kids 25. For the A's home opener half the sales went to Winnipeg flood relief. Over $200 was raised.

In spite of their terrible Senior club, the game was booming in Weston. Their minor system could boast of over 300 players. Weston drew 2,000 for their season opener(a 17-8 loss to Brampton) but such support was impossible to sustain throughout a 26 loss season.

The '50 campaign had its casualties. St.Catharines' curly thatched defensive ace Frank Madsen was forced to retire after a knee injury. Brampton's Bob Hilson was suspended for a year after punching referee Bill Fitzgerald. Boston Bruin star Eddie Sandford played sparingly for Mimico. The most serious losses were off the floor. In June, Hamilton's Tom Oliver suddenly died at home, at the age of 44. A native of Selkirk, Manitoba, Oliver had played in the Allan Cup in 1930 and won a Mann Cup with the Tigers in '33. The other loss was western icon Dan McKenzie. On July 12th, he passed away after a heart attack at the age of 65. McKenzie was formerly CLA President. He had also managed the Canadian Olympic lacrosse teams in 1928 and 1932. During his final years his doctor forbade him from attending games due to his weak heart. He would often sneak into arenas and be spotted hiding behind a post. "I can't stay away," he once explained. "I tell the doc I work too hard in the garden."

On the bright side, St.Catharines junior Norm Corcoran was signed by the Bruins. Brampton's Memorial Arena opened and over a thousand spectators watched the hometown boys defeat Hamilton 19-8. An even brighter note was the season Arn Dugan had. The Peterborough sniper was runaway scoring champ and top playmaker with 69 assists and 124 points. Owen Sound's Russ Slater was high goal scorer with 65. In one game Dugan challenged Gordon Gair's records with a 12 goal 17 point night in Oshawa. Toronto Ravinas moved to the Oshawa Arena in mid season and changed their name to Riverdales.

For the post-season the old format of 1 vs 6, 2 vs 5 and 3 vs 4 was revived(no more easy ride for the fifth place team). First order of business was breaking the Brampton/Mimico tie. Excelsiors took the two game series, outscoring the Mountaineers 37-27. More costly than the loss was a back injury to Mimico's Don McPhail. He would miss their opening Quarter Final game.

The pennant winners opened against Peterborough. They split the first two games. Owen Sound won at home 15-6. Peterborough responded when Ralph Speck outduelled Lloyd Wotton in a 7-3 contest. Moon Wotton ruled in the end as the Crescents won the next three by scores of: 19-3, 9-5 and 13-4.

Hamilton also advanced after a five game series. They edged past Brampton 11-9 thanks, in part, to Tom Love's hattrick. The Excelsiors evened the series with a convincing 13-6 victory. The famous Adanac Gold Dust Twins dominated. Browning scored three and Severson added five points. The Tigers narrowly won the crucial third game 8-7. Tony Capula fired in three timely goals to offset Harry Graham's four points. The defending champs then dominated the remaining contests. A 15-9 win, with George Masters bulging the twine four times, was followed by a 17-10 victory. The racing redhead, Blain McDonald scored six goals.

The best Quarter Final series involved the second and fifth place clubs. St.Catharines opened at the Haig Bowl on September 6th, facing a Mimico squad without McPhail, Sandford and Archie Dixon. The A's biggest concern was the officiating duo of Lewis Vipond and Joe Murphy. They were notorious for letting the teams play and calling virtually nothing, a disadvantage for the featherweight Double Blues. The first game was one of their more active nights as the referees handed out 17 minutes in penalties. The Athletics won it 13-10, though their shot edge was only 42-41. Mimico rebounded at home in front of a disappointing crowd of 1,200. McPhail had three assists and Jack Williams counted a pair of goals as the Mounties won 14-10. St.Catharines dominated an ugly third contest, winning 14-3. It took Mimico over forty minutes to beat Bill Whitaker. On this evening Murphy and Vipond lost control. With two minutes left Bill Nelson - back from a bout of the flu - fired the ball at Jack Kapasky's head. At the end of the game Don McPhail took his revenge. He popped out of the penalty box and hit the 200 pound Nelson on the head. A donneybrook ensued. When completed, and the players shooed off, a score of fans combed the floor on their hands and knees looking for Leo Teatro's teeth. Both his plates had been smashed and shattered. The teams only had a day to cool off before going at it again. The Mountaineers were victorious at home 13-9. Denny Peterson score 26 seconds into the match as the home side roared out to a 6-1 lead. The Double Blues battled back to 8-5 by three quarter time and 10-9 late in the fourth. Mimico scored the final three goals in the last three minutes, off the sticks of Bill Harwood, Bernie Pritchard and Williams. An odd 1,000 spectators turned up in St.Catharines for the next meeting. Tom Teather made a surprise appearance in Double Blue and veteran Carson Myers joined him. Leo Teatro was in fine form as he scored seven points. The A's romped to a 20-6 win. The sixth game was delayed a day due to a rainout. St.Catharines led much of the way but Chuck Simpson tied it twice in the third period. He then put Mimico ahead 10-8. Ken Croft scored in the last minute of the quarter and that shifted momentum again. Whitaker shutdown the Mountaineer shooters the remaining fifteen minutes and captain Pat Smith did the rest. He set up Tony D'Amico to tie it then scored a pair himself. He even set up the last goal as the A's took the game 13-10 and the series in six.

St.Catharines was granted one night off before having to deal with the defending champions in a best of three series. Thus it was no surprise they lost the opener 10-9. A Bill Nelson major penalty set the stage early. Hamilton scored three times on the power play, a pair from Norm Shortridge. They were up 7-0 before the A's solved Doug Favell. They solved the Favell riddle in a big way. Late in the third quarter, Harry Wipper scored his second, on a solo effort, to tie the game 8-8. Blain McDonald got it back with an underhand shot then set up Jack Dorney with 11 minutes remaining. The Double Blues closed to 10-9. In the dying seconds Wipper beat four defenders but Favell stopped him at the bell.

A Whitaker/Favell duel featured in the next match. George Masters put Hamilton ahead 4-3 in the second quarter. Later Alex Edmonds gave the Tigers a 5-4 edge on a shot which appeared to hit the post. St.Catharines overcame that controversy as Teatro scored on a twisting solo run in the third period. D'Amico then completed a neat three way play with Frank Bird and Jim McMahon to put the A's in the lead. Tony Capula tied it 29 seconds later when he backed McMahon into Whitaker then bulged the twine. It remained knotted 6-6 until the final four minutes. Smith collected a rebound off a Wipper shot and beat Favell for the winner. The game's only casualty for Stu Scott getting injured when he took a Steve Oneschuk shot on the jaw.

The deciding contest lacked all the drama of the first two games. Four thousand turned out to see the Athletics jump ahead 6-0 early enroute to a 19-7 win. The great Doug Favell faced 31 shots but could only save a dozen. Jim McMahon and Tony D'Amico beat him four times each.

The OLA Final commenced up north and the opening match was dominated by Owen Sound's cautious play. They did break free midway through to run in five straight goals. That broke open a tight 2-2 stalemate. St.Catharines managed a trio late but fell 9-7. Harry Wipper flew in from Montreal for the second game. His A's tripled the Crescents 9-3, despite being outshot 37-30. The Double Blues put it away with a three goal third quarter. Game Three was a rough affair but had few penalties as Vipond and Murphy were officiating. Owen Sound blasted the visitors early with six consecutive goals. They went on to win 12-7. The homer series continued the next night, a 16-3 St.Catharines rout. They led 5-0 at the half then poured it on. It was a very different game as Max Peart and Milt Burrows refereed, handing out 85 minutes in penalties. Wipper's four goals were best. On October 2nd it was the northerners turn to win. Wipper was absent, back at McGill University, and the A's offence floundered. It was a tight battle, only 4-3 midway through the third quarter. Then lacrosse's best Armenian, Harry Kazarian, sparked a four goal rally with a counter and a helper. The Crescents took it 11-5. Only 2,000 chilled to the bone fans turned out for Game Six. Wipper was back and contributed an assist. Owen Sound played very defensively, ragging the ball as much as possible. Eventually St.Catharines got enough possession to produce a five goal second quarter. The result was an easy 13-4 win.

A long series but one desperately in need of a close result. The defensive style was also monotonous. With a seventh game came the argument over a neutral site. Commissioner Jim McLeod(from Owen Sound) chose the Fergus Arena. Hardly middle ground as far as the Athletics were concerned. To make matters worse, 500 St.Catharines tickets were guaranteed, yet when the Double Blue fans arrived they found their section taken. Many were turned away at the door. None of them would have enjoyed the final result. It was close for better than 30 minutes. Owen Sound only led 3-2 by halftime. Kazarian got the fourth on a solo rush. Next Doug Gillespie bulled his way in to score. The Crescents fired in four more in the last quarter to win 9-3. The first major lacrosse title for Owen Sound since their juniors had won the Ontario Championship back in 1910 and 1911!

New Westminster Adanacs made their farewell appearance in the Mann Cup against an Owen Sound club debuting in the Dominion Final. The series kicked off October 8th with an 8-7 win for the northern boys. 28 year old Don Campbell scored four clutch goals. A crowd of 2,671 took in the second contest, a more convincing 13-6 victory for Owen Sound. Grant Gillespie scored four goals and Campbell potted three more. It took lightweight sub Stan Tyson to get the western A's into the series. New Westminster was down 7-4 during the Friday night game when Tyson scored and later set up the tying goal, leveling the game 8-8. The Adanacs won the fourth quarter 5-1, for their first win of the series. Bob Bremner led them with a hattrick. A Sunday afternoon contest drew an audience of 4,775. Coach Bob Lee's chargers evened the series with a 7-5 win. It was a rugged game, yet the duo of Joe Murphy and Max Peart handed out only five penalties - four to Owen Sound. New West won the first period 3-1 and led the rest of the way. Big Gordon Pogue had his best game of the series between the pipes. Rearguard Jack Proctor scored three times and 150 pounder Russ Slater counted four of the Crescents five markers. Two much need days off for the northern crew as they tried to regroup. Bremner greeted them in Game Five with a goal in 16 seconds! Fortunately Arnold Smith answered it at the 40 second mark. The teams battled to a 5-5 tie by half. Lloyd Wotton shutout the A's in the second half. Doug Gillespie scored the winner with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Then Owen Sound had to kill off penalties on three seperate occasions. Campbell and Jack Mason slipped in a pair of goals in the last minute. An 8-5 Crescent triumph. New Westminster forced a seventh game with a 6-5 Friday night victory. Jack Northup's slump continued as he was shutout. The ICLL's scoring champ had managed only six tallies in the series. Midway through the opening period a Bob Bremner shot caused Wotton to fall awkwardly on his ankle, tearing ligaments. Owen Sound had picked up Doug Favell and he stepped into goal for the remainder of the series. The Adanacs led after the first 30 minutes 4-0. They advanced that lead to 6-2 thanks to a couple of Harry Smith goals. The Crescents rallied in the fourth quarter with three goals in less than 2 minutes. Harry Kazarian sparked it, then set up Don McWhirter for the fifth counter. Gord Pogue protected the one goal margin over the last 8 1/2 minutes.

Bob Lee predicted an A's win by three goals on Sunday. But they would have to face their arch nemesis. Doug Favell had practically beaten them singlehandedly in '48. He would deny the Adanacs again! A crowd of 6,588 watched the squads battle to a 6-6 halftime tie. Favell came up with 14 big second quarter saves to keep his side in it. Over the final 30 minutes he would surrender just one goal. 29 year old Orangeville native Doug Gillespie broke the tie in the third quarter. He would finish the evening with a hattrick. Harry Kazarian, Grant Gillespie and Arnold Smith would each scored a pair. Owen Sound dominated the final half and took the match 15-7. Injured Lloyd Wotton was named the Mike Kelly winner. In ten years no Ontario runner had yet been named MVP(twice the award had been given to losing BC players).

The lacrosse town of the half century had not accomplished much in the sport prior to 1951. That was all about to change. Peterborough Timbermen made the key off season signings and built a powerhouse overnight. Two St.Catharines Junior grads(Harry Wipper and Don 'Nip' O'Hearn) joined Bob Thorpe and Jerry Fitzgerald in the Lift Lock City. The big coup was attracting three of Owen Sound's best players. Lloyd Wotton, Russ Slater and Jack Mason all made the jump to Peterborough. The Timbermen were ready to win a Mann Cup.

Peterborough won the regular season pennant with a 23-7 record. They were followed by Mimico(19-10-1) Hamilton(18-12) St.Catharines(16-14) Brampton(10-19-1) Fergus(9-21) and Toronto(9-21). Owen Sound had dropped out of the league. Besides the trio who went to Peterborough, their other stars either retired or headed down the road to Fergus. Don Campbell, Jack Foote, Harry Kazarian, John Lumley and Arnold Smith all suited up for the Thistles.

Mimican Don McPhail led the league in scoring and penalty minutes. His 108 points were 18 better than top goal scorer Harry Wipper. The Timbermen placed five in the top ten: Wipper, Ike Hildebrand, defending scoring champ Arn Dugan, Mason and Slater. Hildebrand had come from BC to play for Peterborough. Blain McDonald slipped into the number ten position with 66 points. For McDonald it was a record setting seventh consecutive year in the top ten.

The playoffs opened with Fergus and Toronto dueling for sixth place. Frank Facto scored four times for the West Yorks as they won at home 12-7. Jack Howes added a hattrick. The Thistles overcame that five goal deficit with a 14-5 victory, taking the series 21-17. Frank Chambers scored four goals in the second game. John Lumley and Elmer Harris had three each. That earned the scotsmen the right to face Peterborough. On August 22nd, the Thistles pulled the upset by beating the Timbermen 7-5. Stellar goalkeeping from former Pete Ralph Speck gave Fergus their only win of the series. They had already lost in Peterborough 10-2 and would lose the remaining two contests by scores of 14-5 and 16-9. Harry Wipper had seven points in one game and Jerry Fitzgerald led with six in another.

The Quarter Finals did have one oddity: a tie game. The Hamilton/St.Catharines best of five series went six games. The first game at Cannon Bowl had to be called at an 11-11 tie. The A's then doubled the Tigers 12-6 as Ken Croft scored four times. The goaltender took over after that, with Doug Favell and Whitey Frick battling. The Bengals won 9-3 only to lose again 6-3. With their backs to the wall the Black and Gold responded with two big victories. They won at home 7-6, George Masters trio saving the day. Then they travelled to the Haig Bowl for the deciding match. Hamilton won it 10-6.

Mimico won the other series in three games. Archie Dixon scored three goals in the closest game, an 11-8 Mountie victory. After that it was all downhill for Brampton. Red Hartley held them to four goals in a 15-4 win. That was followed by a 20-9 rout.

The Mountaineers continued their winning ways in the Semi Final. Hamilton was coming off a sixth game triumph in St.Catharines the previous night and were ill prepared for Mimico. Pop Chard, Ken Dixon, Hal Downer and Denny Peterson scored two goals each as the Tigers were tamed 13-6. Tom Love was high man with a triple for the losers. A few days rest over the long weekend made no difference in the rematch. Pop Chard scored four times in the Mounties' 10-3 win.

The League Final commenced at the Miller Bowl in Peterborough. Lloyd Wotton silenced the Mimico gunners throughout a 15-3 game. Russ Slater potted four goals, while Ike Hildebrand and Jerry Fitzgerald counted four points each. The Lakeshore crew had as much trouble at home, where they couldn't stop tiny Ike Hildebrand. He was involved in half of Peterborough's goals as they won 14-8. The series lead was soon three games, thanks to a 19-5 romp. Six goals and two assists for Bob Thorpe, four tallies by Harry Wipper and five helpers from Hildebrand made life miserable for the Mimicans. They did stay alive with a 13-9 victory in Game Four. Peterson scored seven times for the Mountaineers. Over 4,000 fans came out to the Miller Bowl for the last game in the series. Fitzgerald beat Red Hartley three times and Wotton surrendered only five goals. An 11-5 Peterborough win, their first provincial championship ever!

A Canadian championship was soon added to the Timbermen resume. It had been ten years since an Ontario team had won out west. None had even been able to win two games in a series. Peterborough won four, though it took them seven games to achieve. They prevailed over a Vancouver club which had placed third in ICLL play but upset Victoria in six games in the league final. Lloyd Wotton went the distance in the Petes goal and became the first repeat winner of the Mike Kelly Award. The eastern champs picked up Denny Peterson and Don McPhail(Mimico) plus Merv McKenzie and Ross Powless(Hamilton). Peterson scored 10 goals and McPhail added 5 in 4 games. McKenzie tallied 10 points while Powless counted 4 assists. Jack Mason led the series with 11 goals. Russ Slater picked up 16 points.

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