1909 - MINTO CUP ON THE COAST
Once again there was no C.L.A. Senior League. As in 1906 the defending
champion Athletics faced no challengers. They simply held on to the
Gold Shield for another year.
To the west there were a pair of Minto Cup challenges. First one came
from Regina. The Prairie Boys had grabbed a handful of eastern talent
and headed for New Westminster. They had Bones Allen and McDougall.
They also stole two key players away from the defending N.L.U.
champions. Tecumsehs would have to do without goaltender Bun Clarke
and home player Harry Murton. At Queens Park, Regina gave a good
account of themselves to start. The opening game was only a 6-4
defeat. The rematch was a disaster. Salmonbellies routed the visitors
12-2. New Westminster had too much talent for Regina. Included in
their championship roster was: J.Bryson, Feeney, George Rennie,
Clifford Spring, Gordon 'Grumpy' Spring, Alex 'Dad' Turnbull, Len
Turnbull and Bill Turnbull. Gray tended goal for the Cupholders.
The second challenge came from Toronto Tecumsehs. Roy Kinsmen was now
their netminder. Enroute to B.C., the indians paused in Saskatchewan
to exact some revenge. They destroyed Regina 16-7. Dolly Durkin and
Neil Felker both scored four, while Archie Adamson added three. Next
came New Westminster. Everyone in the east expected the fluke loss of
1908 to be avenged in style. Didn't quite work that way. The Fishmen
took the opening contest 6-4. Bob Gilbert's pair of markers was not
good enough. J.Bryson had the deciding brace. Archie McNaughton
refereed the match smoking a cigar in the first half and his pipe in
the second. Salmonbellies completed their defence with a 6-5 victory.
Len Turnbull had a hattrick and Bill Turnbull supported with a deuce.
Adamson's trio was in vain. Further disgrace for the N.L.U.. It had
not started to dawn on their fans yet, however the Cup had been lost
for good.
There was a four way pennant race in the east but it did not include
Ottawa. Capitals never recovered from a spring ownership crisis. In
fact, they would never recover. There would be many more money
problems and ownership controversies to come. Consequently last place
would become a regular position for the once great franchise. The
final years would be similar to what the Rough Rider Football Club
would experience eighty years later.
Capitals did win two matches and both were huge. On August 28th, they
shocked Tecumsehs 5-4. Ernie Butterworth combined with John Powers on
a 'give and go' to score the winner. A week later, Ottawa handed
Toronto a catastrophic 13-4 beating. Shiner Eastwood's four goals led
the last place club. Harry Lavallee followed with three. This was the
same Lavallee who had been arrested earlier in the season. He and Fred
Gagnon had mixed it up in one contest. Their behavior was so unruly
that both players were charged with "breech of the peace".
Nationals and Colts both suffered through a losing summer. For the
frenchmen, they still had not had a winning season the entire century!
Both clubs were at the bottom of the league, averaging only four goals
per game. Dare Devil Gauthier led Nationals with 9 goals, while
Georges Dussault and O.Dupras chipped in with 8 each. Cornwall's top
guns were Dot Phelan and Ambrose Degray. Both counted 9 scores.
Charles Querrie's champs never recovered from their western trip. They
had departed sporting a 6-1 record but returned to lose their final
five games. Even after the Ottawa loss, they were still in the hunt.
The schedule concluded with them playing the two front runners, an
opportunity to bring the leaders back to four losses. It didn't
happen. M.A.A.A. eliminated them with a 4-2 Labour Day victory. Fred
Scott won it with two goals. Shamrocks put Tecumsehs out of their
misery by routing them 7-2. Jack Brennan and Jim Hogan starred on the
last Saturday of the season. Both scored hattricks. For Brennan, this
was his final year. He would score one more goal, in the Tie Break,
That gave him a career total of 198, the league's all time best. His
253 career points was another mark no one would ever touch. Not bad
for a guy considered unworthy of the Hall of Fame!
The Ottawa loss was a bigger blow to James Murphy's crew. They had put
together a six game winning streak, including a 14-6 win over Capitals
and a 12-1 victory over Shamrocks. With a league high 104 goals,
Toronto's firepower had carried them into contention. Their high
scorers were: Art Warwick(25 goals) Nick Carter(21) Pete Barnett(21)
Bill Fitzgerald(18) and George Kalls(16). However the loss Capitals
dealt them was their fourth. They were not eliminated but they needed
help. The kind of help Tecumsehs did not provide.
Three losses was the magic number. The Triple A's and Shamrocks were
the pair who posted 9-3 records. Another last to first effort by the
irish, however the pennant was not theirs yet. Jim Hogan led the green
shirts with a league record 30 goals. George Roberts followed with 28.
The trouble was Roberts no longer sported the shamrock. His jersey
now had the famous winged wheel on it. Roberts' defection was crucial.
In the championship decider on September 18th, he prevented his former
team from clinching with a three goal effort. M.A.A.A. won 6-2 to
setup the tie. They had also won the initial meeting in June, 6-3.
All that was forgotten when the playoff began.
4,000 spectators braved rainy weather to see the irish win the first
match 7-5. Jim Hogan counted four goals. Albert Dade and Henry Scott
each scored a pair for the Winged Wheels. Down two goals, M.A.A.A.
responded admirably in the rematch. 'Alderman John Brennan Jr., a
former Shamrock, held the green shirts to one goal. Triple A's scored
five, two each from Fred Scott and Roberts. Montreal A.A.A., a team
which had posted only one winning season since 1889, had their second .
. . and a championship to boot!
