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History of Canadian Soccer
by Colin Jose
ALBERTA |
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Canada
Provinces |
Alberta: The Early Years In 1911, Alberta welcomed its first overseas touring team, the famous Corinthians from England. On August 24, 1911, they met the Edmonton All-Stars at Diamond Park in the provincial capital and won 6-1. The Edmonton team on that day was Ernie Parker (St. George’s), Kinsman (Callies), Moffatt (Swifts) – McCormick (Swifts), Crews (Swifts), Cowan (Callies) – Gathercole (St. George’s), McLuckie (Callies), Tod (Callies), Lloyd (Swifts), and Manton (Swifts). Two days later, it was the turn of the Calgary All-Stars to face the tourists. This time the result was much closer with the Corinthians winning 4-3. Playing for Calgary that day on defense were Nicholson (City) – Melville (Hillhurst), Grindley (Callies) – Haig (Callies), Arthur Wakelyn (Hillhurst), Petrie (Callies). The names of the forwards cannot be distinguished in the newspaper. In October of that same year, Calgary Hillhurst crossed the Atlantic Ocean to tour England, but the tour was cut short due to injuries to some of the players. The years of the First World War were lean years for soccer in Alberta, as in many other parts of Canada, but the end of the war brought a tour by a team representing the Scottish Football Association. The Scots, including many famous names, played in Calgary on June 12, 1921, and in Edmonton two days later. Calgary was beaten 5-0 and Edmonton 6-0. In 1924, it was the turn of the Corinthians to tour once again, and for Canada to send a representative team all the way to Australia. Three Alberta players made the three-month trip down under: Mitch McLean of the Calgary Caledonians, Bill Linning of Lethbridge Veterans United and Jim Wilson of Edmonton Royals, with McLean playing in all six internationals. When the Corinthians played in Edmonton in 1924, the Edmonton forward line contained three players who were to make an impact nationally for years to come. Their names were Dave Turner and the brothers George and James Graham, with George Graham scoring the winning goal as Edmonton beat the Corinthians 1-0. At that time, they all played for Edmonton South Side. Turner went on to a great career with Westminster Royals and George Graham with Toronto Ulster United. But Jim Graham remained in Edmonton where he played for Edmonton All-Stars many times, and also played hockey for the Gainers Superiors and toured Europe with them in the winter of 1932-33. Later in 1950, he coached Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys to the World Hockey Championship. In the 20s and 30s, teams in Calgary played for the Black Cup, and in Edmonton for the Vets-Martin and Dragoons Cups, while all-star teams from Edmonton and Calgary played annually for the Hudsons Bay Trophy. However, the Alberta story is not all Edmonton and Calgary. Alberta had strong teams in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Drumheller. Lethbridge Supinas won the Alberta championship in 1932, 1934 and 1935 while Drumheller Miners toured across Canada in 1932. In addition, some teams from eastern British Columbia close to the Alberta border were members of the Alberta Football Association, and competed for and won the Alberta championship. For example, Michel Freebooters from the Crows Nest Pass area won in 1926 and 1927, while Kimberley Tunnel won in 1928. In the national championship, Calgary Hillhurst was the only team to win the title in this era, with Hillhurst beating Toronto Ulster United right in Toronto. That team included Andy Wilson, Fred Foster, Bob Stephen, Roy Austin, Andy Mitchell, Geordie Scott, Fred Deluce, Sammy Gough, Stan Wakelyn, Bernie Cartwright and Johnny Wright. Edmonton C.N.R. came close in 1929, beating Vancouver St. Saviours in the B.C.-Alberta final handily but losing to Winnipeg United Weston in a three-game Western final. On the administrative side, Charles Smail from Edmonton played a major role in the affairs of the Alberta Football Association and the Dominion of Canada Football Association, as did Fred Crumblehulme from Calgary.© 2007 by Colin Jose ... Continue to Alberta: The Early Years: Notable People (page 3) Previous [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Next
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