1931 - BRAMPTON'S UNLIKELY REPEAT
A year of transitions before and during the season. The O.L.A. Senior
League jumped to six clubs as Hamilton Tigers, Mimico Mountaineers and
Toronto Native Sons joined. Native Sons packed their line up with
veterans. Bill MacArthur was in goal, backed by Roy Sutherland. In
the field they had Buck Johnston, Ed and Ken Kingdon, George Laceby and
Ty Silk. The most important signings all came from Oshawa. As quickly
as General Motors sponsorship had made Oshawa a powerhouse, it
evaporated and just as quickly brought about their downfall. The only
notable player the Generals were able to retain was Pat Shannon. In
six games he gave up 65 goals! Oshawa defaulted their other four
contests as they quit in mid-season. Defecting to Native Sons were:
Chuck Davidson, Conny Golden, Bob Stephenson and Toots White. Even
Oshawa back up netminder Tilly Stokes signed and made two starts.
Small wonder the Toronto squad finished first with 8 wins and 2 losses.
It was a troubled beginning for the defending champions. A new O.L.A.
residency rule meant that a player must live and work in the town he
played for. This disqualified two Excelsiors, Bert Burry and Red
Spencer, from playing for Brampton. They played in the team's opening
game anyway and were promptly suspended. Plus Excelsiors were ordered
to replay the game. The Burry/Spencer controversy was not settled
until professional box lacrosse made its impact on the established
league.
The big shake up came four weeks into the schedule. Despite their
problem with the O.L.A., Brampton raced off with four consecutive wins,
outscoring their opposition 35-14. Then the International Lacrosse
League was formed and everything changed overnight. Many players
turned professional and jumped to the box league. The major losses
were: Bert Burry, Jerry Kendall, Bert Large, Red Spencer, Ted Reeve and
Norm Zimmer(Brampton) Frank 'Piper' Bain(St.Simon's) Toots White(Native
Sons) and Kelly Degray(Oshawa). Lionel Conacher came out of retirement
to lead the new circuit with 76 goals and 102 point in 24 games. Six
Nations' Scotty Martin placed second with 41 goals and 59 points.
White followed with 58 points, then Kendall(54) and Zimmer(45).
The Big Train was not the only player to return to the game. George
Sproule's retirement lasted four weeks. The Excelsior coach handed
over the reigns to Eddie Powers, grabbed his gutted stick, and ran
Brampton's midfield. He could not prevent the defending champs fall.
They dropped to a 6-4 record, luckily tying for the third and final
playoff position with Hamilton. St.Simon's finished second with 7 wins
and 3 losses.
Brampton opened the two game tie break on August 5th. The passing was
off colour as the offences wilted under the blazing sun. Tigers were
without starting goaltender Pat Gow. Excelsiors scored two in each
half and should have added more but the final quarter was scoreless.
Down in Hamilton the titleholders followed their 4-1 win with a 5-1
victory. Gow was back. Wilfred 'Bucko' MacDonald greeted him with a
high hard one. Brampton won all four quarters.
Excelsiors had been fortunate. Despite the devasting losses to the
home position they had signed a kid from Guelph. MacDonald, the future
hockey star, finished second in league scoring. The scoring champ was
Oddie Core. Another good break for Brampton. In Core's first four
years with the team he had scored 14 goals. Yet the moment he moved
from the shadow of Norm Zimmer he exploded - 19 goals and another 20
assists!
St.Simon's in the semi-final was not so easy. The Anglicans led the
opening game 2-1 as Excelsior netminder Wally Large(Bert's brother) let
in two bad ones. Bill Anthony tied it 2-2 with a free throw, early in
the last quarter. Ollie Burton then gave Brampton the lead. Ross
Gimblett drew the Saints level and Jack Campkin won it with a long
shot.
Seven minutes into Game Two Anthony scored the only goal, tying the
series. After that both sides played very cautiously. Ivan 'Turk'
Davis had a chance to win it for St.Simon's late, however he shot
wildly. Oddie Core also missed two opportunities at the other end.
With eighty minutes complete the teams left the field. The large
Varsity Stadium crowd became angry because they wanted the tie broken
in overtime. Commissioner W.J. Blaney went to the Anglicans' dressing
room but Saints' manager Fred Whittimore ordered him out.
A four day wait followed before the rubber match. In the final contest
St.Simon's led 4-0 midway through the third quarter. Eddie Powers
ordered all his players onto attack and Brampton rallied to tie it.
Junior Mush Thompson set up the fourth goal by feeding Mooney Gibson
from behind the net. The match ended 4-4. This time the extra period
was played. As darkness began to cast shadows over the field, Core
scored the winner from 35 feet out.
Excelsiors met a well rested Native Sons team in the best of three
final. At Ulster Stadium they jumped in front 3-1 only to have the
first place finishers roar back. Two goals 90 seconds apart tied it.
Bob Stephenson set up both, first to Conny Golden, then George Laceby.
Oddie Core replied a minute later. Bucko MacDonald added two more,
making the final result 6-3. Playing the second game on one day's
rest, Brampton faded late. The Toronto squad trailed 3-2 at half, then
scored three unanswered goals to win it. Golden, Laceby and Stephenson
did the damage.
The deciding match was played at Weston, again on only one day's rest.
Brampton took control early and built a 3-1 lead. Mooney Gibson broke
it open in the third quarter with a goal and two assists. Excelsiors
romped to a 10-2 victory.
In an era when teams rarely played more than once a week, the champions
had repeated by playing eight games in less than a month. Their work
was still not done. On August 29th, playing on two days rest, Brampton
defeated Montreal A.A.A. 6-2. Core scored two early and Bill Anthony
two late. At 9:30pm the squad hopped on a train to Winnipeg. Wins
followed over the Wellingtons, 2-0 and 5-3, plus Calgary Rangers 8-4.
The final series with New Westminster commenced September 7th at Queens
Park. In Game One the Salmonbellies take too many penalties, 45
minutes to Brampton's 5. John Vernon had 20 of them. Excelsiors
disappointed the crowd of 5,000 with an 8-4 triumph. Core's hattrick
and MacDonald's deuce carried them through. The Fishmen rallied with a
7-3 win. George Feeney and Hattie Stoddart both scored a pair. Stew
Beatty also counted two for the losers. New Westminster ragged the
ball throughout the final period.
The last contest was on September 12th. Salmonbellies controlled the
first half but were frustrated by Wally Large. Still, they did build
up a 3-1 lead. In the last forty minutes Brampton's size wore down the
smaller Fishmen. A penalty by Mercer, his third of the contest, was
the turning point. George Thompson scored. Two minutes later Stew
Beatty tied it with a long bouncer. The deciding goal came six minutes
later. Bucko MacDonald intercepted a pass, then sent Oddie Core in for
the winner. 4-3 Brampton with one quarter to go. The final twenty
minutes were scoreless. Excelsiors had won field lacrosse's last Mann
Cup.
