1910 - THE MANN CUP
This is a puzzle reminiscent of 1866. According to C.L.A. records the
Mann Cup champions of 1910 were Young Torontos. Who were Young
Torontos? and how did they win the Mann Cup? In my research I have
never come across Young Torontos prior to 1910. I assume they were an
Intermediate team before that date. As for the Mann Cup being won in
1910, I've discovered no national championship that year, nor have I
even found evidence that the Ontario Lacrosse Association(O.L.A.) even
existed then. Official records today are no help. They state
incorrectly that the O.L.A. was formed in 1887 - they have the C.L.A.
in mind. What's the difference between 'C' and 'O'? only eleven
letters. Back in 1911 there was a huge difference.
The C.L.A. was a professional league by the end of the first decade.
The O.L.A. represented a amateur revival. It and the Mann Cup changed
lacrosse for the entire century. Whether this revival began in 1910 or
1911, I can't say. Perhaps there was an O.L.A. Senior League in 1910.
It might have been made up of exclusively Toronto clubs. Due to the
popularity of the N.L.U. the new circuit could have been completely
ignored by Toronto papers(such a scenario came to exist in 1918 due to
the war). Let us assume Young Torontos did win the first O.L.A. crown
and, for their effort, were presented with the Mann Cup. A cup they
defended the following year and lost to a Vancouver amateur side. Thus
the Mann Cup headed west. A nice, neat and simple story. But is it
correct?
The problem is with the C.L.A. Senior League of 1910. It resumed play
and ran a four team league. Three clubs tied for the title:
St.Catharines, Tecumsehs and Young Torontos! St.Catharines won the tie
breaks, beating Tecumsehs 5-1 and Young Torontos 4-3. How do Young
Torontos get the Mann Cup out of all that? The trouble isn't that they
failed to win. How could they earn Canada's amateur championship by
playing in a pro league? Perhaps they were not paying their own
players? Doesn't matter. The idea of amateur in 1910 was a long way
from today's wish washy Olympic amateurism. In 1910 an amateur
lacrosse player competing against a professional was like a ladies'
bridge club meeting in a brothel! It wasn't done. So how did Young
Torontos earn the Mann Cup? Tecumsehs fielded two squads in 1910.
Their best was in the N.L.U. and the other in the C.L.A.. Did Young
Torontos have two teams? But there is no hint of an O.L.A. league in
the media, probably because there was no league. Why form a second
team if there was no league to play in? The appropriate question
appears to be: did Young Torontos win the first Mann Cup?
Minto Cup matters are much clearer. Montreal A.A.A. headed west in
July with high hopes. Their chances lay in the hands of three young
hot shots. Fred Scott was having his best year and would finish second
in N.L.U. scoring with 26 goals. George Roberts was putting together
another strong summer and would complete league play with 20 markers.
Henry Scott complimented the trio with a 16 goal season. Veteran
Albert Dade was another force. He only played in four N.L.U. games but
was available the entire Minto trip.
They began well, with an exhibition win in Winnipeg. 11-4 was the
result. On the west coast everything went wrong. They were simply
outclassed by New Westminster. Salmonbellies won both matches by
scores of 10-4 and 13-5.
Back in Montreal an Cornwall kid was making good. Newsy Lalonde was a
proven scoring star in hockey. The time had finally arrived for him to
show his mettle in lacrosse. He joined Nationals at the home position.
With Happy L'Heureux set in goal there was nowhere else to place
Lalonde. The switch revolutionised the game. Ten years later,
baseball would experience a similar transformation when Babe Ruth moved
from pitcher to outfielder. Newsy's initial season won him his first
scoring title, with a record 31 goals. It was a modest start compared
to what he would do in the year's to come. Lalonde was well on his way
to earning the honour of Lacrosse Player of the Half Century. And the
frenchmen, overnight, had become a powerhouse.
Cornwall was left at the opposite end of the scale. Colts had talent,
three Cummins, three Degans and John White captaining the squad.
Unfortunately it was sort of like being captain of the Titanic. 3-9
was the end result.
Two wins more than Capitals and two less than the struggling Shamrocks.
Talk about bad omens, former Ottawa centre Charles 'Chick' Watts died
of pneumonia on May 19th. The rest of the season was downhill from
there. Capitals still had some talent, such as, Tom and Joe Gorman,
Shiner Eastwood and Bob Pringle. Unluckily their other big name
players were getting old. Horace Gaul and Ernie Butterworth only
appeared in 6 games, John Powers 5. Fred 'Cyclone' Taylor suited up
for Ottawa twice. He failed to score. Disgruntled Barney Quinn only
played half a game, in goal. When his demand for $25 per game was not
met he took the summer off. The irish were rebuilding. Only John
Currie remained from the dynasty years and he appeared in just 3 games.
The new kids were Harry Hyland(14 goals) Morgan Quinn(8) and Jimmy
Munday(7). Their 5-7-1 record actually flattered Shamrocks. They
scored 50 goals on the year but gave up 95! Their one tie was against
Nationals. That game had to be called early because of a free fight.
Unlike the previous season, Tecumsehs finished strongly by winning
their last five games. McDougall and Harry Murton had returned from
Regina to boost the offence. Plus teenager Max McGregor stepped
forward with a 17 goal season. Despite the strong finale, the indians
fell short with an 8-4 record. Three July losses were too great a blow
to recover from. Winged Wheels stayed in striking distance until
Tecumsehs beat them on August 27th, in overtime. They also fell to
8-4. Toronto were not even that good. They had four top ten scorers,
three from St.Catharines: Bill Fitzgerald, Pete Barnett and George
Kalls. Fitzgerald suffered a dislocated jaw on June 4th, yet only
missed one game! Toronto's inconsistency was their downfall. They
never really mounted a serious challenge. Fourth place with 7 wins and
5 losses. That left Montreal Nationals standing tall with a 10-2
record.
The year concluded with the frenchmen heading west in late September.
They went without centreman Dulude, injured in their final league game.
Thus New Westminster controlled ball possession and won the first
contest 7-3. Nationals next lost Lalonde. He missed the second match
because of food poisoning. Salmonbellies won 11-1.
