1908 - SHAMROCKS' BELLY FLOP
The N.L.U. line up remained unchanged as Quebec City was refused
admission into the league. What did change was that the Minto Cup went
west.
New Westminster Salmonbellies came east for the cup and went home with
the prize. It was the biggest upset in lacrosse history. The N.L.U.
champ was King of the strongest lacrosse league in the world, whereas
New Westminster had only needed to defeat Vancouver to win the west.
Further proof of eastern superiority came before the final commenced.
In an exhibition game Archie Adamson scored 4 times as Tecumsehs
hammered Salmonbellies 10-4, That would be the only loss of their
tour.
The championship series commenced with a shocking 6-5 win for the
westerners. Back in New Westminster, hundreds of fans gathered outside
the telegraph office to hear the latest game score. The cheering was
loud indeed. Even louder two days later when the Fishmen completed
their coup. A convincing 6-2 win over the beaten irishmen. A huge
celebration began in the Royal City, involving thousands, practically
the entire town. By nightfall there were torchlight parades and
monster bonfires. Back in Montreal only a stunned silence remained.
The season was a total disaster for Shamrocks. On top of those two
Minto Cup losses, they dropped to the basement in league play again.
Only four wins in twelve tries.
The year was not much better for Toronto. James Murphy's crew also won
only four matches, plus they got their ears boxed in an exhibition game
against St.Catharines, losing 8-2. They did get to host the Prince of
Wales. The future George V attended the July 25th Toronto/Nationals
game accompanied by Earl Grey. The home side won 6-1.
The other two Montreal clubs ran hot and cold all summer. Montreal
A.A.A. boasted the top offence in the league but it translated into
only five victories. Albert Dade took home scoring honours with 28
goals. Frank Hogan was secong best with 21 markers and Henry Scott was
not far back with 16. The Winged Wheels opened well by beating the
irish 4-3, but then lost four straight. By that time the pennant was
out of reach. Nationals split their 12 contests. They were 5-3 in
early August, thanks to a remarkable 13-2 win over Ottawa. Georges
Dussault scored four, followed by trios from Didier Pitre and Oncle
Lamoureux. The next week they dropped from the title chase. Tecumsehs
felled them 11-6.
The Ottawa veterans took one last run at the pennant. Two newcomers
aided the rejuvenated Capitals. Tom Gorman had three hattricks on the
year and Fred Taylor scored 16 goals. Taylor made bigger headlines
with his temper. He lost it during a game with Toronto and punched
referee Tom Carlind. Such behavior might have been condoned in wild
hockey towns, like Renfrew, but not in the Queen City. Cyclone Taylor
not only received a game misconduct. He was arrested!
Along with Ottawa, Cornwall and Tecumsehs battled for the championship.
Capitals' hopes faded with an 11-4 loss to M.A.A.A. on September 5th.
That fifth defeat meant a 7-5 record, not nearly good enough. Starting
in August, Colts put together a five game winning streak to gallop into
contention. An unusual 1-0 shutout was included in this stretch.
Newsy Lalonde outdueled Happy L'Heureux. Win number five came over
Shamrocks on Labour Day. Bob and Charlie Degan both counted a pair in
the 5-4 victory. That gave Cornwall a 7-4 record. Alas they had left
their charge too late. Tecumsehs had lost their opener to Nationals,
then run off five consecutive wins. They were front runners the rest
of the way. The indians swept both Ottawa and Cornwall to prove their
superiority. Archie Adamson murdered Capitals with six goals in two
games. Bob Gilbert came up with a big hattrick in one of the wins.
Gilbert also had five points in a win over Colts. The other victory
over Cornwall was a narrow 5-4 contest. Neil Felker notched the
decider An August 29th loss to the irish kept things interesting.
Charles Querrie set up Adamson for both goals in the feeble 8-2 loss.
Tecumsehs won their ninth game on Labour Day to clinch the title. They
defeated Toronto 6-5. A brace for Harry Murton and three points from
Querrie carried the day. Dolly Durkin scored the winner. A
championship for Toronto but no Minto Cup. Tecumsehs would tend to
that matter the following summer.
Another St.Catharines C.L.A, title was a foregone conclusion. They
averaged over 10 goals a game and won all six of their matches.
Hamilton finished 3-3, while Brantford lost all its games. It was no
surprise. Two games into the season the Brantford players quit because
they had not been paid their salary. Hastily the Royal Canadian
Indians, a Six Nations squad, were called in to replace them.
Eventually some of the original players returned, however the Indians
completed the schedule.
Athletics were perhaps the best team to come out of the Garden City.
Eddie Hagan was one of their stars, as usual. George Kalls played in
three games, moonlighting on Toronto. He scored 7 goals and 10 points.
Best of all was Bill Fitzgerald. He started his rise to prominence
witha five point effort in an 8-6 win over Hamilton. The Double Blues
also proved they could play with the big boys. Along with a exhibition
win over Toronto, they split two games with the champion Tecumsehs.
