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History of Canadian Soccer
by Colin Jose
ONTARIO |
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Canada
Provinces |
Galt Football Club: Olympic Champions, 1904 Players: Albert Ernest Linton – Born: Scotland, February 17, 1880. Died: Galt, Ontario, August 6, 1957. Clubs: Galt F.C., Buffalo. Goalkeeper. Occupation: Machinist. A resident of Galt for most of his life, he served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War One. George Ducker – Born: England, September 27, 1871. Died: Galt, Ontario, September 26, 1952. Galt F.C. Full Back. Occupation machinist. Accounts list Ducker as being "as hard as nails, and a magnificent checker with an unerring kick." He learned the game in Galt and played his way up through the ranks and into the senior team. Won five provincial senior championships with Galt as well as many intermediate and junior championships. Worked for the firm of Goldie and McCulloch. John B. Gourlay – Born: Blenheim, Ontario, July 26, 1872. Died: Vancouver B.C., April 7, 1949. Clubs: Galt F.C., Vancouver City. Full Back. Occupation, machinist. Captain of the Galt team that won an Olympic Gold Medal in St. Louis in 1904 and toured Manitoba in 1903. Known as the father of football in Galt for his dedication to the game. Played on Galt championship teams for eleven years. One of the best known Canadian players in the United States during his era, having played in important matches at Detroit, St. Louis, Buffalo, Chicago, Fall River and Newark. Recognized as the greatest full back in Ontario at the time but was also regarded as a fine captain. Later moved to Vancouver where in 1906 he was playing for Vancouver City. Albert Johnston – Born: Plympton, Lambton County, Ontario, October 30, 1879. Galt F.C. Half Back. Occupation: machinist. Considered to be a hard checker who covered a great deal of territory during a game. He first attracted attention as a sprinter. A member of the Galt team that won the Ontario Cup in 1901, 1902 and 1903. Robert “Bobby” George Lane – Born: January 15, 1882. Died: Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 14, 1940. Half Back. It was written of him that ”The feature of Lane’s work is his persistence. He stays in the game until the last whistle, checks well and has great speed.” Lane also played hockey, Rugby football, lacrosse and baseball. He went to live in Winnipeg soon after 1904, and was a salesman for Wilson Furniture in 1917 and in 1936 for Fuller Brush. He was a member of the Galt team that won the Ontario Cup in 1901, 1902 and 1903. Thomas “Tom” S. Taylor – Born: Galt, Ontario, December 4, 1880. Died; Winnipeg, Manitoba. Considered to be the star of the Galt team and the best right winger in the game at that time. It was written of him that “he always has a few tricks up his sleeve, his shooting is accurate and he is very fast.” A member of the Galt team that won the Ontario Cup in 1901, 1902 and 1903. He moved to Winnipeg soon after 1904 and was Assistant Manager of the A.R. Williams Machine Company from at least 1917 to at least 1936. Otto Christman – Born: Normanby, Grey South, Ontario, in 1879. Died: Orillia, Ontario, August 26, 1963. Moved to Orillia from Elmira, Ontario, before World War One and was a salesman with Sherwin Williams Paints. He was a member of the Ontario Curling Club. Son Lorne was killed in action in 1941 with the RCAF and is buried in Reichswald, Germany. Frederick William Steep – Born: St. Catharines, Ontario, December 20, 1874. Died: Guelph, Ontario, September 14, 1956. Clubs: Hamilton St. Matthew’s, Toronto Gore Vales, Galt F.C., Guelph Taylor-Forbes. Occupation: machinist. Starred in junior soccer in Galt in 1892, and then was a member of the Hamilton St. Matthew’s team that won the first Hamilton Spectator Cup in 1896. He went on to captain Toronto Gore Vales to the Ontario championship in 1899 and 1902, and was on the losing side in the 1900 Caledonia Cup Final with Gore Vales. In 1903, he led Galt to a Dominion championship, and in 1904, to the Olympic title in St. Louis. Soon after, he moved to Guelph and for many years played for the Taylor-Forbes team. William Twaits – Born: Galt, Ontario, August 20, 1878. Died: Sarnia, Ontario, April 13, 1941. Galt F.C. A star in both soccer and hockey, Bill was regarded as one of the finest hockey players in the early 1900s, and was offered professional contracts with teams in Sault Ste. Marie (Michigan), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), and Berlin, Ontario, but chose to stay at home. Later in life, Twaits became sales manager, director and secretary of Mueller Ltd., one of Sarnia’s largest industries. Prior to moving to Sarnia, he was on the business staff of The Galt Reporter and also employed by the Galt Brass Company. Albert Henderson – A member of the Galt team throughout 1904, but didn’t appear in the side again until the mid-western tour to Chicago in October 1905. Gordon McDonald – Seems to have been a guest player with Galt in 1904 and was captain of the Seaforth Hurons when they won the Ontario championship in 1905 and the championship of the Western Football Association in 1905 and 1906. He returned to Galt to play in the game against the Pilgrims in 1905. John A. "Jack" Fraser – Born: Ontario, December 15, 1881. Galt F.C. Half Back. Occupation: clerk. Fraser was considered a utility man, and while his regular place was as a half back, he could play any field position with credit. Later moved to Hamilton to live. Parnell Orde Gourlay – Born: February 8, 1879. Died: Vancouver, B.C., November 15, 1958. Galt F.C. A member of the great Galt teams in the early 1900s, he was the only member of the party that went to St. Louis who didn’t see any action. Alexander N. Hall – Born: Peterhead, Scotland, 1883. Died: Toronto, Ontario, September 28, 1943. Clubs: Peterhead, Toronto Scots, Galt F.C., Westmount (Montreal), Sheffield Wednesday, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Mimico Beach. Emigrated to Canada while still a teenager, and was a member of the Galt team that won a Gold Medal at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri. Scored three goals in the first game against Christian Brothers College. Moved to Montreal in 1905, and was signed by Westmount, and represented Montreal against the touring Pilgrims in that year. The Montreal Gazette said of him, “He is a scientific player and uses his head to great advantage, is a splendid shot and very fast on the ball, is feared by every defence he has played against. He is worth his place on any team in America.” Returned to Britain and was signed by Newcastle United, then the champions of the Football League, in April of 1907. He made his First Division debut the following season on September 7, 1907, against Sheffield Wednesday at Owlerton. Played a total of six First Division games and scored two goals for Newcastle before being transferred to Dundee in March of 1908. Played five games for Dundee at the end of the 1907–08 season, three in the 1908–09 season and 25 in the 1909–10 season, during which Dundee won the Scottish Cup. Later became player-manager of Dunfermline Athletic. Served in the British Army in World War One, and then returned to Canada to live in Toronto. Played for Mimico Beach, and worked at the Toronto Incinerator. Captained Toronto Scots before moving to Galt. Officials Louis Blake Duff – Manager. Born: Bluevale (near Wingham), Huron County, Ontario, January 1, 1878. Died: Welland, Ontario, August 29, 1959. Duff played for Galt’s Ontario Intermediate championship winning team in the early 1900s. A high school teacher, a newspaper reporter in Galt and Welland, and later owner and editor of the Welland Telegraph. Duff also had a reputation as an after-dinner speaker, and at various times was President of the Ontario Hockey Association and the Ontario Historical Association. John D. Eagan – Trainer. Born: Galt, Ontario. Died: Galt, Ontario, February 1935. An all-around sportsman and theatre promoter, he attended Central School and then went to work at Goldie’s Safe Company. From there, he went to the machine shop at Cowan’s Ltd., but he soon turned his hand to large and small promotions. In the sports field, he was a sprinter and a quarter-miler, and played Rugby and baseball. In the theatrical world, he was the manager of the old Opera House in Galt, and in 1911, became the manager of the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario. He also worked in the insurance business, and was an agency supervisor for Metropolitan Life. Thomas George Elliott – Born: Galt, Ontario. Died: Galt, Ontario, December 23, 1961. President of the Dominion of Canada Football Association in 1939–40. President of the Ontario Football Association in 1929 and 1930. Secretary-treasurer of the Western Football Association in 1909 and 1910 and President in 1912. Goalkeeper for the Galt team that won the Ontario Cup in 1901 and 1902. Life member of the Ontario Curling Association and secretary-treasurer of the Galt Curling Club. Worked for 40 years at Babcock and Wilcox, and at one time was president of the Hamilton and District Purchasing Agents. George Hancock – Born: Galt, Ontario, 1883. Died: Galt, Ontario, 1948. A member of the great Galt teams of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He toured Manitoba with the team in 1903, and was described as “a right wing who is most aggressive forward on the line.” He went to St. Louis with the team in 1904, but didn’t play in either of the games. In 1905, he established a paper box factory in Galt, and was the head of the box factories in Brantford and Woodstock at the time of his death. He was also president of the Scroggins Shoe Company and a director of the Galt Wood Heel, the Wragge Shoe Company and president of Dominion Plywoods at Southampton, Ontario. He owned a celebrated Jersey farm on Cedar Creek Road in Roslyn Park, and was a city council member and a member of the public utilities commission in Galt in 1919. The Galt club seems to have been formed in 1882, and many of its players over time came through the Galt Collegiate Institute, which was a soccer hotbed in Ontario along with Berlin High School. In fact, the collegiate institutes all across western Ontario played a major role in spreading the game to all the towns and villages in the area.
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