1901 - SENIOR RENAISSANCE IN ONTARIO
A rebirth in the C.L.A. Senior League. From two to nine clubs as
Fergus, Paris and Brantford all returned after long absences.
St.Catharines was also back. The other new teams were: Shelbourne
Dauntless, Mount Forest Lornes and Galt Manchesters. For Brantford it
was the beginning of their drive to win the Minto Cup. Boosting such
local talent as William Brierly, Frank McLaren and Fred Graydon was
former Toronto N.L.U. star Dolly Durkin and Orillia's Mickey Connor.
Orangeville won a record fourth straight pennant. Put in a weak
northern division they had little trouble reaching the league final.
Dufferins went 5-1, most wins by very lopsided scores. The biggest was
a 16-2 decision over Mount Forest. Their one setback was a 4-3 loss to
Shelbourne.
In the southern district Brantford and St.Catharines dueled in a lively
race. Brantford topped Orangeville's mark by scoring 17 against Paris.
Interestingly the same Paris squad beat Tecumsehs 15-1! That was the
Brants only victory. The Athletics had a perfect record until the
final game. Brantford defeated them 4-1 to force a tie break. McLaren
was the hero with two goals. But they could not beat the Double Blues
in consecutive games. St.Catharines squeaked by in the rematch 4-2, as
Gourlay scored a hattrick.
In the C.L.A. Final, Orangeville were tested but won out 7-5. Joe
Hatcher, Bert Henry and Billy Irvine each tallied a brace. In a losing
cause George 'Tod' Downey also had a pair.
In the east, Shamrocks returned to the top. The key to their success
came from Nationals. Albert Dade rejoined the irish, bringing Tack
Hendry with him. More importantly Paddy Brennan also defected. Those
three would combine to score 36 of Shamrock's 59 goals in the campaign.
Mixed in with the fine talent the green shirts already had created a
powerhouse. Shamrock's first championship was no foregone conclusion.
Ottawa was not about to go away, plus Cornwall was back.
A Victoria Day loss to Toronto was a bad omen for Capitals. Disaster
struck on July 20th during a 4-2 win over the irish. Ed Murphy took a
stick to the face and suffered a broken jaw. Diagnosed out for the
year, Murphy made a remarkable recovery to play in the final two
contests. He would manage three goals, bringing his season total to 11
in five games. Yet the damage had been done. During his absence,
Ottawa lost 4-2 to Cornwall, then a must win game to Shamrocks. The
green shirts prevailed 5-3, eliminating the titleholders from
contention. They would finish 6-4. There would be a new Minto Cup
champ.
Colts were the surprise of the year. Led by the Brodericks and Degans,
plus the support of the likes of John White, Bob Madden, Bones Allen
and Corey Hess, they posted an 8-2 mark. John Broderick led the league
with 18 goals. Hess recorded one of the few shutouts of the season
blanking Nationals 6-0. Shamrocks matched their eight wins, setting up
a tie break in Ottawa. A one game final to determine the new Minto Cup
holders. Hendry, Dade, Jack Brennan and John Currie all scored in a
4-2 triumph for the Montreal squad. The Shamrocks had only just begun.
