Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share by Email
Share on Google Classroom
As Canada marks its 150th anniversary in 2017, it also honours the birth of modern lacrosse , the country’s official summer sport. Lacrosse is one of the oldest organized sports in North America. Originally a spiritual or medicine game played by First Nations , it became popular among European Canadians in the mid-1800s. Under men like William George Beers, new rules and regulations changed the spiritual game into a modern sport. When the National Lacrosse Association of Canada was formed in 1867, it was the Dominion of Canada’s first governing body of sport.
This exhibit honours 14 of the most talented players in the history of field and box lacrosse. (Player biographies and most images courtesy of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.)
Édouard Charles “Newsy” Lalonde
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1905–24
Clubs: Cornwall Colts, Regina Capitals. Vancouver Lacrosse Club, Montréal Nationals, Ottawa Capitals, Leaside Braves, Vancouver Terminals
Chosen by sports journalists as Canada’s greatest lacrosse player 1900–50, Newsy led the Vancouver Club to Minto Cups in 1911, 1918 and 1920. From 1910 to 1918, playing with either Vancouver or the Montréal Nationals, Lalonde led east and west leagues for goals in all seasons but one. For Vancouver, he scored 147 goals in 93 games.
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Clifford Isaac “Doughy” Spring
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1906–36
Clubs: New Westminster Salmonbellies, Toronto Tecumsehs, Ottawa Capitals
A lacrosse iron man, Doughy led all pro players on the Pacific Coast with 157 career games between 1909 and 1924 and was second only to his brother and teammate Gordon “Grumpy” Spring in all-time scoring with 154 goals. His career spanned the field to box eras and lasted a remarkable 30 years.
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Albert Gordon “Grumpy” Spring
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1909–21
Club: New Westminster Salmonbellies
The pioneer of the one-timer shot, Grumpy is one of Canada’s greatest field lacrosse goal scorers. He played on nine Minto Cup champion teams 1908–21, scoring 191 goals in 134 games. He also managed or coached the Salmonbellies to five Mann Cup championships until his death in 1949.
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Alban “Bun” Clark
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1898–1921
Clubs: Toronto Tecumsehs, Regina Capitals, Vancouver Lacrosse Club, New Westminster Salmonbellies
Arguably the greatest goaltender of the pro field lacrosse era, Bun played 117 games in 10 seasons with Vancouver and New Westminster, the most of any goalkeeper and more than double any other, recording 67 wins out of 117 games.
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Henry Francis Hoobin
Field lacrosse
Senior career: 1898–1907
Club: Montreal Shamrocks
Star mid-fielder of the Montreal Shamrocks, Minto Cup winners 1901–05 and 1907. Said to be “the finest home player who ever initiated an attack, the most scientific, the cleanest player who handled a stick in the National Lacrosse Union.”
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
Patrick and Jack Brennan
Patrick Joseph “Paddy” Brennan
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1898–1908
Club: Montreal Shamrocks
Paddy is the only Shamrock born in Ireland. He and his brother Jack led Montreal to Minto Cup victories 1901–05 and 1907. Paddy captained the gold medal-winning Canadian lacrosse team at the 1908 Olympics and is the father of box lacrosse.
Jack Brennan
Field Lacrosse
Senior career: 1899–1909
Club: Montreal Shamrocks
Jack’s prodigious goal scoring helped the Shamrocks capture the Minto Cup five times in a row, 1901–05, and again in 1907. He is the National Lacrosse Union’s all-time scoring champion with 198 goals and 253 total points over a 10-year career.
Charter members of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
William Lloyd “Moon” Wootton
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1946–59
Clubs: Owen Sound Crescents, Peterborough Trailermen
Considered by many the greatest goalie in Canadian box lacrosse, Moon played on nine straight OLA championship teams and five straight Mann Cup winning teams 1950–54. Credited as the first offensively minded goalie, he was named Mann Cup MVP three times.
Charter member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
John “Jack” Bionda
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1953–70
Clubs: Hamilton Tigers, Victoria Shamrocks, New Westminster Salmonbellies, Nanaimo Timbermen, Portland Adanacs, Huntsville Hawks
A superstar, Jack led Brampton to a Minto Cup in 1953 and the Salmonbellies to Mann Cups in 1958, 1959 (awarded MVP) and 1962 (awarded MVP). National Hockey League commitments kept him from joining his Victoria teammates for Mann Cup wins in 1955 and 1957. He won British Columbia’s Inter-City Lacrosse League scoring title seven times and in 361 combined regular season/playoff games scored 738 goals with 557 assists.
Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1974
Alexander “Ross” Powless
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1945–67
Clubs: Peterborough, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Brantford, Oshweken, North Vancouver
Ross was a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation near Brantford, Ontario. Credited with reviving interest in box lacrosse in the 1950s, he helped the Peterborough Timbermen win four consecutive Mann Cup championships 1951–54.
Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1969
Gaylord Powless
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1968–77
Clubs: Detroit Olympics, Brantford Warriors, Coquitlam Adanacs, Brampton Excelsiors
Gaylord, son of Ross Powless, grew up on the Six Nations reserve, led the Oshawa Green Gales to four straight Minto Cups – twice named MVP – and won the Mann Cup in 1971 with the Brantford Warriors. In a nine-season, 303-game senior/pro career, he scored 492 goals and 741 assists for 1,233 points.
Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1990
Wayne Goss
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1968–81
Club: New Westminster Salmonbellies
Wayne led the Salmonbellies to one pro championship in 1968 and five Mann Cups between 1970 and 1981. He tallied 1,852 total points in 465 games, held 41 Western Lacrosse Association scoring records and a number of Mann Cup records, including most assists. Wayne was named to 11 all-star teams and was Mann Cup MVP in 1981.
Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1986.
Paul Gait
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1987–2005
Clubs: Victoria Shamrocks, Brooklin Redmen, Six Nations Chiefs, North Shore Indians, Detroit Turbos, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Nighthawks, Syracuse Smash, Washington Power, Colorado Mammoth
Paul won a Minto Cup, three NCAA championships, and led senior teams to eight championships in an 18-year career that included four Mann Cups, three National Lacrosse League (NLL) titles and one Major League Lacrosse title. He tallied 770 Western Lacrosse Association/Ontario Lacrosse Association points, is the NLL’s eighth ranked goal scorer with 410, and is ranked in goals/games at 3.20. He represented Canada four times at the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships, earning All-World honours in 1994.
Inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2016.
Gary Gait
Box lacrosse
Senior career: 1987–2011
Clubs: Victoria Shamrocks, Brooklin Redmen, Detroit Turbos, Philadelphia Wing, Baltimore Thunder, Pittsburgh CrosseFire, Washington Power, Colorado Mammoth, Rochester Nighthawks
Gary won a Minto Cup, three NCAA championships, and led senior teams to nine championships in a 24-year career that included three Mann Cups, three National Lacrosse League (NLL) titles and three Major League Lacrosse titles. He tallied 927 Western Lacrosse Association/Ontario Lacrosse Association points and is fifth all-time in the NLL with 1,165 points. He represented Canada six times at the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships, scoring four goals in an historic 15–10 victory over the US in 2006.
Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2014.