1929 - THE GREAT TREK
From the beginning it was destined to be a Brampton/Oshawa showdown.
Young Torontos picked up Ted Reeve and he did wonders for their
defence. On offence they had Max McGregor, Fat Gallagher, George
Laceby, Angus McKinnon and Frank 'Piper' Bain. Loads of talent, yet
Torontos mustered less than three goals per game. One win over
St.Catharines to accompany eight losses. Athletics were worse. They
had Max Peart and imported Ty Silk along with Gordon Thom, however the
season was a total loss. They threw in the towel after four defeats.
Brampton finished on top with a 9-1 record, compared to Generals' 6-3
mark. George Sproule took scoring honours with 17 goals and 21 points.
Norm Zimmer returned to the lineup and placed third. The other
gunners were Jack Worthy(6th place) Claude Jennings(7th) Jerry
Kendall(8th) and Ed Kingdon(9th). Both Kingdons had come over from
Weston. On defence Hank Gowdy joined from Hamilton. Oshawa had five
former Weston players, Toots White, Bob Stephenson, Red Spencer, Conny
Golden and Bill Coulter. They all knew how to win championships.
During the regular season only White made an impression. He finished
second in scoring with 11 goals and 19 points. It was the third
occasion he had been runner up. Toots never would win a scoring title,
making him one of the greatest players never to do so. Chuck Davidson
placed fourth in the league, followed immediately by Charlie Barron.
Kelly Degray grabbed the tenth position. Goaltending was rock solid
for both contenders. Bert Large played every minute for Excelsiors.
Pat Shannon was again Oshawa's goalkeeper. Walker Wilson replaced him
one game and surrendered six goals in a loss to Brampton.
Generals were at their best for the playoffs. All their experience
showed in the clutch. The final opened at Alexandra Park. Pat Shannon
duplicated his feat of the previous year by shutting out Brampton 4-0.
The second game was a 5-3 Oshawa win. Toots White was involved in four
goals and Conny Golden notched a pair.
The road to the Mann Cup was a long one. Oshawa was determined to do
what no eastern team had done before, win in the west. They began by
heading east and routing Ottawa Madisons 15-1. Winnipeg Argos were
more of a challenge but they fell 6-4. In Edmonton the score was 14-1.
On the coast the national championship began in earnest. The best of
three series started on Labour Day. Some 7,000 shocked spectators saw
the easterners tear through the Salmonbelly defence. Generals held
quarter leads of 2-1, 4-3 and 6-4 before pulling away to a 9-5 win.
Pat Shannon was strong, especially early, but the home players starred.
Conny Golden scored three, Chuck Davidson and Kelly Degray two each.
The Wednesday contest was a tight checking encounter, not very pretty.
Jack Wood scored first, on a rebound, however referee Charles Querrie
disallowed the goal. Toots White later put Oshawa up, scoring with his
back to the goal. Haddie Stoddart tied it in the third quarter, after
a fast dash. The winner came from Art Doddemeade on a nasty shot from
forty yards out. Oshawa 2 New Westminster 1. Past eastern failures
had finally been put to rest.
