1885 - LEAGUE LACROSSE COMMENCES
Two Montreal(A.A.A. and Shamrocks) and two Toronto clubs(Toronto and
Ontarios) took part in the N.L.U.'s first league competition. A simple
double round robin with the teams playing each other home and away.
The season opened the last Saturday in May. Toronto defeated M.A.A.A.
3 straight in under half a hour. Ross Eckhardt was the hero with 2
goals. The Winged Wheels were without their best goalie Billy Aird.
With Aird in their lineup they would go undefeated the rest of the way
to finish 5-1.
On June 13th lacrosse's bitterest rivalry resumed when Shamrocks and
Triple A's battled. The night before, the two squads met to reconcile
past quarrels. The result was a cleanly played 67 minute game. Winged
Wheels won 3-2.
It was an inconsistent year for the irishmen. They were swept by their
chief rivals and only two victories over the weak Ontarios gave them a
respectable 3-3 record. Their third triumph came against Toronto, in a
game dominated by drunken brawls in the crowd.
M.A.A.A. rolled to the title after a close 3-2 win over Toronto,
followed by another one game victory over Shamrocks. They clinched the
pennant in their final match by beating Ontarios three straight, in
only 23 minutes.
Toronto Ontarios miserable year had only one success. On July 11th
they held Toronto to a 2-2 tie, in front of 1,500 at Jarvis Street
Grounds. Knotty Martin won both games for the last place club. The
match was called at 7pm. Tied games were not replayed the first two
seasons of league lacrosse.
