1926 - A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ontario hosted the Mann Cup in 1926. Thus the O.L.A. champion
challenged for the trophy for the first time since 1919. New
Westminster had won the previous six years but every series had been
held on the west coast. To make the Mann Cup a national final the
C.L.A. started the tradition of alternating the championship from east
to west every year.
So the red carpet had been rolled out for the O.L.A., however there was
still a problem. The national final was scheduled for the Labour Day
weekend, yet the senior league rarely completed its schedule before
October. The solution was for the five clubs to play a split schedule.
The initial eight games would determine the Mann Cup representative
and the combined first and second half records would decide the league
title.
St.Simon's returned to contention. They won their first three matches,
including a 6-2 victory over Weston. Bill Davis, Angus McKinnon and
Art Pim outplayed the Suburbanites' defence. The defending champs had
already lost 7-6 to Brampton! In that game Toots White's hattrick was
wasted. Pete Machell scored a pair and, an unlikely source, defender
Ted Reeve had also counted a deuce. It was Claude Jennings who scored
the winner. With two losses Weston looked finished. Fortunately they
would not lose again in the First Half. Excelsiors also handed the
Anglicans their initial defeat. Machell scored three in the triumph.
With four straight wins Brampton appeared to be Mann Cup bound. They
stumbled on Dominion Day. St.Simon's beat them 3-2 as Hal Wallace
tallied the winner. Within nine days both clubs would lose to Weston.
The titleholders tripled the Saints 3-1. Conny Golden, Bill Coulter
and Ty Silk did the damage. Then they got past Brampton 7-5. Bob
Stephenson, Ken Kingdon and Earl Stevenson each scored a brace. All
the contenders had two losses. The last thing the O.L.A. needed was a
three way tie break! Luckily upsets settled the matter. On July 10th,
Irish-Canadians toppled St.Simon's 5-4. Two weeks later, Maitlands
upended Brampton 7-4.
The Mann Cup competition began August 28th when Weston crushed Montreal
Nationals 17-8. Toots White counted five for the victors. Ten years
earlier such a result would have been unthinkable - like an Alberta
team, in the year 2009, routing Victoria Shamrocks. Unfortunately
Montreal would never again be the centre of the lacrosse universe.
Winnipeg Tigers earned western honours in a close series. Over two
games they outscored Ocean Falls, B.C. representatives, 13-12. Can't
confirm this but I suspect New Westminster and Vancouver boycotted the
new Mann Cup arrangement.
The final opened at Hampden Park on Labour Day Saturday. A steady
downpour limited attendance to 3,000 and turned the field to mud and
water. The covered grandstand was full and the unlucky latecomers had
to stand in the bleachers. Winnipeg's equipment had been lost in
transit so they had borrowed St.Simon's pads. The Weston attack was
too strong for the Tiger defence. The O.L.A. champs scored the first
five, then cruised to an 11-3 win. Conny Golden led with five goals.
Prior to Monday's second game, a minute's silence was observed for
Eddie McLean. The Winnipeg player had died at home the previous day.
The match was marred by questionable play. First, Bill Coulter and Red
Spencer knocked down a Tiger player and began to pummell him. Later,
Harry Coulter ran down goalie Thompson as he was fielding a ball.
After a fifteen minute delay, the netminder continued. He was a bit
groggy, plus had an injured shoulder and knee. Also bruised pride
because the Suburbanites again scored 11 goals on him. Spencer with
four and Nels Riley with three were the most effective. It was another
11-3 result. The O.L.A. had a Canadian Champion!
St.Catharines hosted a memorial game on September 18th for the late
Bill Fitzgerald. 1,500 attended and the funds raised went to the
Fitzgerald family. Athletics and Maitlands opened with an exhibition
contest. The main event was between Charles Querrie's Pros and George
Kalls' St.Catharines. Lionel Conacher dressed for Kalls and James
Murphy refereed. Querrie's Pros won 7-4.
The Second Half of the O.L.A. season saw St.Simon's slip from
contention. They stayed close into autumn but struggled against their
chief rivals. Their final two meetings with Weston were disasters.
Losses of 15-5 and 11-5. The Anglicans finished with a 9-6 record.
The Mann Cup champs did stumble three times in the Second Half. In
early August Irish-Canadians doubled them 8-4 as Buck Johnston scored
five points. The irish also upset Brampton in August, 5-4. It was a
rough month for Excelsiors. St.Simon's defeated them 5-3. After that
they made a late season charge. The crucial win came on October 9th.
Norm Zimmer and Pete Machell both scored twice as they defeated Weston
4-3. This was accomplished with Bert Burry in goal. Starter Bert
Large was out for the year with an injury. Thus the top two both
finished 11-5.
On October 16th over 3,000 crowded into Roselea, most of them draped in
Brampton red and white. Eddie Powers' Weston crew were without Bill
Coulter and Nels Riley, plus Harry Coulter lasted only a few minutes
before his bad knee started acting up. With only one healthy
substitute, the visitors were in trouble. Luckily the penalty list was
light. Rain fell intermittenly all afternoon but it could not dampen
the spirit of the crowd. Excelsiors enjoyed quarter leads of 2-0, 3-1
and 6-2. Pete Machell scored one on a free throw and featherweight
Jerry Kendall added another. The Mann Cup holders had been humbled
8-2!
Harry Coulter also missed the rematch. It was a typical
Weston/Brampton affair, very rough. There was an early fight and the
fans eagerly joined the fray. Referee Bert Booth had his hands full.
When lacrosse was finally played Weston began to reduce the six goal
deficit. By the third quarter Earl Stevenson put them up 4-0. Brampton
must have wondered if it was possible to defeat the Suburbanites.
Indeed it was. Hero of the opener with a hattrick, Jerry Kendall ended
the rally with Excelsiors' first goal. They added another when Art
Doddemeade scored. A 4-2 loss but they had finally beaten Weston!
Official records list the Suburbanites as Mann Cup champions for the
year. The only non league winner to take the cup. Brampton Excelsiors
could make a fair claim that the trophy was theirs.
