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History of Canadian Soccer
by Colin Jose
MANITOBA |
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Canada
Provinces |
Manitoba: The Early Years The Manitoba Football Association is the oldest provincial soccer association in Canada. Formed in Brandon, Manitoba, on March 19, 1896, by delegates from Neepawa, McGregor, Ancrum, Austin, Carberry, Elkhorn, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Souris, Hartney and Winnipeg, the constitution was based on that of the Western Football Association of Ontario, itself formed in 1880. The first president was J. Shoemaker of Carberry. The vice-presidents were C.A. St. John of Neepawa, C.F. Travis of Elkhorn, George Fraser from Elkhorn, A.M. Campbell from Souris, Chris Newton from Rounthwaite and Ben Woodhall from Holland. The secretary-treasurer was W.A. Harvey from Winnipeg. By June of 1898, the team from Carberry was touring Ontario. They played in Wingham, Clinton, Seaforth, Berlin (Kitchener), Burlington, Bright, Toronto and Deseronto. On the way east, they even played in St. Paul, Minnesota. In July of 1902, the Winnipeg Shamrocks came east to Ontario and Quebec, and played in Berlin, Galt, Toronto, Cornwall, Montreal and Ottawa. The Shamrocks beat Ottawa 10–0 and Montreal 4–0. In 1903, Galt Football Club returned the favour, playing in Winnipeg, Gretna, Manitou, Plum Coulee, Crystal City, Pilot Mound, Deloraine, Hartney, Brandon, Souris, Gladstone and Portage la Prairie. Galt played the Shamrocks in Winnipeg and won 1–0. In August of 1907, the Winnipeg Britannias entered competition for the People Shield, then the unofficial championship of Canada, and beat Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, 2–0 before losing to Calgary Caledonians in the final 1–0. In 1909, the United Weston team from Winnipeg played in the same competition but were defeated 3–2 by Vancouver Celtic in Calgary. The Calgary Herald of August 26, 1909, contains biographies of the following United Weston players: A.G. Sutherland, T. Stacey, A. Little, R. Smith, I. Creighton, H. Tyles, J. Moir, C. Howell, C. Colvin, H. Bignall, A. Noble and A. Hawker. The summer of 1911 saw the first visit of an overseas touring team to Winnipeg, with the famous Corinthians from England playing in the city. The Corinthians won 2–1, and the players who represented Winnipeg on that historic occasion were A. Bennett, Adam Smith, J. Farish, W. Leslie, L. Creighton, Harry McMaster, A. Wilkie, W. Bradshaw, H. Bignell, J. Robertson and R.S. Bennett. It was to be the first of many visits from overseas teams, as before World War Two, touring teams often played in Winnipeg twice, once on their way to the west coast by CPR via Regina and Calgary, and once on their way back by CNR via Edmonton and Saskatoon. Winnipeg also has the distinction of being the city in which the Dominion of Canada Football Association, today’s Canadian Soccer Association, was formed. The meetings took place in July of 1912. At the meeting, the Manitoba Football Association joined with the provincial associations of Ontario, New Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta to form the national association. Sam Larkin of Winnipeg was elected a vice-president. One year later, the competition for the Connaught Cup, the national championship, began with Norwood Wanderers from Winnipeg being the first winners. The competition was played in Fort William, Ontario. In 1914, Norwood won again, this time on home turf in Winnipeg. That same year, E. Bailey Fisher from Winnipeg was elected president of the DCFA. Winnipeg Scottish became the third team from Manitoba to win the Connaught Cup in 1915. Following World War One, Winnipeg War Veterans in 1919 and Winnipeg Britannia in 1920 reached the national final, but in each case ended up on the losing side. Following the replacement of the Connaught Cup by a trophy presented by the Football Association of England, United Weston won the championship in 1924 and 1926, and was on the losing side in 1929 and 1936. By the time the 1920s arrived, the competition for the championship of Manitoba was in full force, and teams such as Fort Rouge Rangers, United Weston, Winnipeg Nationals, Robertson Memorial, St. James, Winnipeg Scottish, Winnipeg Irish were in the final, and in the 1930s, Government Telephones as well. Touring teams came and went: the Scottish Football Association team in 1921, Corinthians in 1924, England in 1926, the Scottish Football Association again in 1927, Vienna Hakoah also in 1927, the Welsh Football Association in 1929, Glasgow Rangers in 1930, England again in 1931, Scotland in 1935 and 1939 and Charlton Athletic in 1937. In 1927, the Scots played Hakoah in a battle royal. In the years between the two World Wars, the national cup final was played at Carruthers Park in Winnipeg 15 out of the 20 times. As a result, Winnipeg referees such as Sandy McMahon, Jimmy Duncanson, Billy Bowman, Jack Mitchell, Jimmy Kelly, Art King and Harold Gillespie were in great demand. In that same period, Winnipeg’s Dan McNeil and John Easton were presidents of the national association, and David Roy and Sam Davidson were national association secretaries. Davidson was secretary, and arguably the most powerful man in Canadian soccer, from 1922 to 1940, running the national association through the very difficult years of the Great Depression. In 1924, Bob Harley from United Weston captained the highly successful Canadian team that toured Australia. Also on that tour was J. Hood from Brandon. In 1927, on the tour of New Zealand, Manitoba was represented by Bill Brolley from Winnipeg Irish, Bill Gibson from Winnipeg Nationals and Dave Thompson from Winnipeg St. James. When the Scottish Football Association team toured Canada in 1935 and played the Manitoba All-Stars in Winnipeg, the Manitoba lineup included; F. Davis, Ernie Scholes, J. Morrison, A. Pratt, Alex Archer, J. Daly, G. Hutchinson, S. Murray, Bobby Hampton, J. Fulton and George Pickup. Archer was born in England, but grew up in Winnipeg, where he played soccer and hockey. He was a member of the Winnipeg Scottish team that won the Manitoba championship in 1927 and lost in the finals of 1928 and 1930. Shortly after the 1935 game against the Scots, he was on his way to England to play hockey for Wembley Lions in the British League. Early in 1936, he won a gold medal at the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in Germany as a member of the British national team that beat Canada in the final. While officially the Pan American Games did not start until 1955, there was a Pan American Exposition held in Dallas, Texas, in 1937, which included a soccer tournament. Canada, the United States and Argentina sent teams. Canada was represented by a team made up largely of players from Winnipeg Irish, who beat the U.S. 3–2, but lost 8–1 to Argentina. The Winnipeg players who went to Texas back then were: “Spud” Birch, Steve Olander, “Shifty” Jennings, Joe Shack, Joe Playfoot, Jackie Low, Sandy Murray, Ernie Scholes, “Buzz” Horne, George Pickup and G. Ness (all from Winnipeg Irish). In addition, the team included Jack Boyd (St. James Legion) and Harry Beckwith (Elmwood United). Towards the end of the inter-war period, one Winnipeg player was sent for a trial with England’s Wolverhampton Wanderers. This was Doug McMahon, son of Winnipeg referee Sandy McMahon. Wolves signed McMahon, and he played one game in the First Division of the Football League of England before the war interrupted his career.... Continue to Manitoba The Early Years: Players and Officials (page 2)
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