1953 - SIX MAN LACROSSE 


It was the ICLL which took the lead in bringing the game into the modern
era.  Before their season commenced, they abolished the Rover position,
limiting the number of runners on the floor from six to five.  To
balance the removal of one defender, the nets were reduced from 4 1/2 x
4 1/2 to 4 feet by 4 feet.  The OLA soon followed suit.  In midseason
the Senior League switched to the new system.  On July 6th, six man
lacrosse started in Ontario.  It was merely a trial, to be reviewed at
season end, however it was a successful trial which would remain until
the end of the century.  The change paved the way for Jim Bishop and his
fast break game which hit the Jr.A League the next season.  Thus the
first steps towards the high speed modern game were set in motion.  All
that was left was the introduction of the 30 second clock in the 1960s.

It wasn't just a summer of change, it was also a summer of turmoil. 
After twelve games and only three victories, Brampton decided to merge
with Mimico.  The idea fell through and the Excelsiors dropped out of
the league.  None of their players headed down to the lakeshore and the
Mounties went on to finish last with a 2-28 record.  There was also
trouble in Weston.  The West Yorks packed their bags and moved to
Orillia in the middle of the season.

Perhaps the most curious incident of the year happened in Peterborough
when Mimico's Pop Chard allegedly attacked referee Lewis Vipond, giving
him a bloody nose.  So said the Peterborough Examiner.  However Vipond
once told me the incident never happened, that he never had any trouble
with Pop Chard.  Creative journalism or selective memory?

Peterborough even changed things up a bit.  They inked a new sponsorship
deal with McGuinness Trailers, thus the Timbermen became the
Trailermen(though the people responsible for official CLA records never
bothered to change the nickname).  First the Lumberjacks, then the
Timbermen and now the Trailermen, Peterborough lacrosse and its'
multiple nicknames were off and running.  The Juniors were the worst
culprits.  They'd already been known as the Filter Queens and Pats. 
Still to come were the Petes, U.E.W.'s, P.C.O.'s, Gray-Munros,
Centurions, James Gang, Maulers, Lakers and Javelins!

Even though Peterborough had won consecutive titles the league had been
competitive.  That began to change.  As the Trailermen grew stronger,
many of the other clubs fell apart.  Owen Sound dropped down to
Intermediate, Brampton would leave the league for most of the decade,
Mimico was on it's last legs, the game had abandoned Toronto, Hamilton
Tigers were a mere shadow of their former greatness as they struggled to
balance the books and St.Catharines continued to fight against a severe
talent drain.  The Dark Age had come to the OLA - as it was hitting the
ICLL hard too.  Dwindling attendance combined with minimal media
coverage would cripple the game beyond repair.  It was similar to what
the CFL went through in the late 1980s and 1990s...people ceased to
care.  Television had a major impact on the situation.  Hockey and
Football had their profiles heightened, while lacrosse was ignored. 
More importantly, people began to stay home at nights, rather than go
down to the local bowl to support the home team.  It was all a bad
situation, made worse in the OLA by a dominant Peterborough team which
smothered all competition, thus killing interest outside the
Peterborough area.

The Petes were challenged one last time during the regular season.  The
Athletics had a vastly improved squad and they took a run at first
place.  Roger Smith led them with a league record 81 assists.  He won
the scoring title with 129 points.  Al Frick and Derry Davies both
scored over fifty goals.  The A's fell two points shy of the Mann Cup
holders, finishing with a 24-6 record.  It could have been a much
different situation had the Double Blues all their local boys playing
for Peterborough(Jerry Fitzgerald, Don O'Hearn, Bob Thorpe and Harry
Wipper) or the West Yorks three top ten scorers, all from
St.Catharines(Ken Croft, Tony D'Amico and Leo Teatro).  Alas they
didn't.

Only two clubs finished with winning records.  The rest struggled
terribly.  Orillia managed a 15-15 mark for third place.  Fergus grabbed
fourth spot with 14 wins, as Bob Dobbie led the league with 70 goals. 
Hamilton narrowly missed the playoffs two points back.  The Tigers no
longer had the funds to lure St.Catharines talent to the Steel City. 
The very best A's were either heading to Peterborough or out west. 
Hamilton did pick up Brampton Junior graduate Jack Bionda.  The game's
next superstar scored 10 goals and 7 assists in six games.

The senior Lacrosse revival in Orillia was shortlived.  They met the
defending champions to start the playoffs and were dispatched four
straight.  The scores were: 19-3, 14-8, 14-8 and 27-7.  The twenty goal
blowout was the last Sr.A game ever played in Orillia.

St.Catharines also won their opening series in four games.  On August
11th they doubled the Thistles 12-6.  Ted Howe led the A's with three
goals.  They won in Fergus 16-11.  A big five goal night for Don Moore. 
Derry Davies chipped in with four.  Don Gear scored four times for the
scotsmen and J.J. Hill added three.  The Double Blues next won 17-9. 
Norm Corcoran was high man with four markers.  The final contest was a
much closer 11-7 result.  Gear scored a hattrick in vain.  Al Frick had
three for the winners.

In the OLA Final, St.Catharines four game winning streak was transformed
into a three game losing streak.  Defence and goaltending was the
difference as Peterborough grabbed a 3-0 series lead.  Lloyd Wotton was
slightly better than Doug Favell.  The scores were: 12-8, 10-8 and 9-4. 
The Athletics avoided elimination with an inspirational 14-6 victory at
home.  That was the only game they would take from the Mann Cup holders.
 At the Miller Bowl, the Trailermen ended the series with another 9-4
win.  Ross Powless was high man in the post season with 26 points.  He
was just one better than teammates Don O'Hearn and Ike Hildebrand. 
Jerry Fitzgerald was two back with 24.  Russ Slater and Derry Davies
were top playoff goal scorers with 19 each.  Al Frick was right behind
them with 18 counters.

A new power had emerged in the ICLL.  Victoria Shamrocks finished in
first place for the third straight year but this time they got it right
in the playoffs.  They nearly didn't as fourth place Nanaimo pushed them
the distance in the best of five Semi Final.  In the league final the
Shamrocks avenged past defeats by finally beating Vancouver 4 games to
1.  Thus Victoria reached the Dominion championship with an all western
squad - the last such team for some time to come.  There was an eastern
flavour to the club with three ex-Excelsiors in the line up(Archie
Browning, Lew Landess and Whitey Severson).  They were a strong side,
however no match for the Trailermen.  Peterborough won out west for the
second consecutive time, something no team had ever done before.  They
put the Shamrocks away in five games, the most onesided eastern win on
the coast in history!  Plus the third straight Mann Cup win tied
Orillia's box record.  Ross Powless was named MVP.  Jack Mason led the
series in points with 13, while he and Russ Slater each scored 9 goals. 
Lloyd Wotton held Victoria to under eight goals per game.  Browning and
Jack Northup led the irish with 6 goals and 2 assists each.  ICLL
scoring champ Whitey Severson was shutout!