1902 - Imports! Imports! Imports!
Ottawa Capitals had been recruiting out of town players since they
joined the N.L.U., however their '02 squad was basically a local team.
This was the year the C.L.A. really got into the act. Woodstock
rejoined Senior lacrosse and practically their entire roster was full
of imports. Corey Hess, Tom Leahy and Reddy McMillan were the most
notable. Brantford also stocked up on outsiders as they hoped to make
a Minto Cup run. They signed Bert Henry from Orangeville, then brought
in Albert Dade and Tack Hendry from the National Champion Shamrocks.
The trio tore up the league. Hendry scored 21 goals in his first four
games. He finished with 29, one behind Henry's 30. Dade was the
playmaker with 15 assists to accompany 23 goals. 82 of Brantford's 103
goals were scored by this foreign contingent. Bill Taylor's 7 markers
were best among the locals.
McMillan led the Woodstock crew with 19 goals, followed by Leahy's 18
and 14 assists. Hess tended goal in 7 of the Beavers' 8 wins. They
won the western district over London Cockneys, Stratford Iroquois and
Paris Brants with an 8-1 record. Their only loss came to London on
Dominion Day, 5-3. They also opened the season in London with numbers
on the backs of their uniforms. The Cockneys seemed to always be in
the news this season. Brantford goalie Jack Kelly had lost his stick
at a game in London. The next week he travelled to Woodstock to
recover it. Before the contest between London and Woodstock commenced
he marched onto the field and began to examine every Cockney stick. He
eventully spied a London player hiding in a corner. The Cockneys
agreed to surrender the stick if Kelly could identify himself.
Woodstock Police Chief Zeats guarded the stick while Kelly went to find
a newspaperman. Shortly after he had his stick back.
Brantford ruled the east over St.Catharines, Tecumsehs and Orangeville.
They avenged the previous season's tie break loss by crushing the
Athletics 11-1 on opening day. Two weeks later they destroyed the
defending champs 14-2! It was an inglorious year for Orangeville.
They won only three games and proved themselves to be poor losers by
defaulting their final match. They would drop down to Intermediate at
year end, beginning an exile of nearly two decades. Brantford rolled
to first place with a 10-2 record. Road losses to Tecumsehs and
St.Catharines were their only failings. Woodstock had little trouble
wrapping up their work in the west after Stratford and Paris dropped
out in July. That set up a two game September showdown for the
championship. The Beavers went to the Final without Tom Leahy, a
handicap they could not overcome. Albert Dade blasted them early in
the opening game. He scored three of the first four goals as Brantford
waltzed to a 7-2 victory. The second contest was even more one sided.
8-1 Brantford as Tack Hendry scored 6 and helped on the other pair.
1902's Minto Cup challenge came from the west. New Westminster Royals
arrived in Montreal for the July holiday weekend, truly the first
national final. Though officially called the Royals, the more common
nickname was Salmonbellies. Shamrocks won the Saturday opener by a
convincing 6-1 score. Jim McKeown counted three and Ed Robinson two.
On Tuesday the home side suffered a key setback. With the game tied
1-1, field general Harry Hoobin was injured. Still the irish midfield
overcame the loss as Robinson had another great game, along with John
Currie. Jack Brennan led the offence with a brace as Shamrocks
prevailed 5-2.
You would have thought the loss of Dade and Hendry would have crippled
thei irish. Dade was the N.L.U.'s defending scoring champ, while he
and Hendry had scored 27 of Shamrocks' 55 goals the previous season.
The key to the Montreal squad wasn't its home players, it was their
midfield, in particular Hoobin. Harry was universally recognised as
the greatest lacrosse player ever. He would hold the green shirts
together come what may. Even with the offensive loss the irish would
erupt for 80 goals in 12 games. The midfielders became more active up
front as Hoobin led the league with 18 goals and Robinson chipped in
with a dozen. Newcomer McKeown also added 14. Shamrocks still had the
best team going.
They would get decent competition. Not from their two local rivals
though. Nationals and M.A.A.A. combined for only 3 wins in 20 games!
Toronto had one of their best squads. They began the year on a British
Tour, then came home to post a winning record. Their most notable
success was a 4-1 triumph over Shamrocks. That gave them a 6-2 record,
very much in pennant contention. Their title bid ended with a 3-1 loss
to Ottawa. John Power's deuce was the difference. A week later they
fell to the irish 9-6. Paddy Brennan was 2 and 2, while Jack scored a
trio. Charles Querrie's 4 points were in a losing cause.
Ottawa and Cornwall were the other two challengers. Capitals could
always be counted on for a tough fight and they stayed with the Minto
Cup holders right to the end. Colts were very competitive. They only
finished 5-5 but also had three ties, two against Shamrocks.
Due to the Minto Cup, the irish faced a heavy finishing schedule. From
mid-August on they played five consecutive Saturdays, plus a Labour Day
Monday contest. The titleholders added to their woes by tying Cornwall
5-5. That replay of an earlier tie meant another replay at year end.
Shamrocks followed that disappointment with their Toronto loss. They
regained their form on Labour Day weekend. Hoobin scored 7 and Percy
Quinn posted the shutout in a 12-0 win over M.A.A.A.. They then
avenged their Toronto defeat. Both the green shirts and Capitals won
on September 6th, setting up the title match the following week.
Shamrocks(7-1) versus Ottawa (7-2). The pennantholders defended the
flag with a 4-2 win, in spite of Ed Murphy's two scores.
