Fact & Fantasy: A History of Tavistock & District Sports - Page 99

SPORTS

TORONTO'S DEFEAT

Yet my biggest thrill in soccer came in the year 1912, Tavitock faced the Little Yorks of Toronto, for the Ontario Junior Championship, in Tavistock (see 1912 Tav . Gazette). Arriving late that afternoon, via G.T.R. ( now the C.N.R.) one of the "city slickers" from "Hogtown" was boastfully heard to predict that "We'll clobber these country yokels". If our memory serves us correctly, the result of that game was Toronto O, Tavistock 5, and centre Charlie Weicker pulled the three-goal "hat trick".

But roaming farther back along memory's lane, I recall some of Tavistock's soccer teams about 65 years ago, which included players such as Charles "Bully" Mohr, Werner "Swally" Weitzel and his older brother "Corby" Harry Weitzel, the Loth brothers (Charlie, Eddie, Bobbie, and Milt), "Rheiny" Preiss, the Schaefer brothers (Eddie and Otto "Shark", Andy Hawley, Whit McDonagh, Alf Nighswander, the Herner brothers, Charlie and Henry, Most of these young men also played hockey for Tavistock, along with Jack Braun, the durggist, Frank McDermott, Jack and George Landreth, Johnny Schummer and a host of others.

HOCKEY

The hockey games were played on natural ice in the old, old rink, which was later converted into a "Show-house" or livestock barn for the annual Fall Fair. In those days, teams travelled out of town in open sleighs, because cars were almost unknown, and if they had been available, would not have been a means of transportation owing to the snowbound roads and numerous pitch-holes.

One game that I recall took place in Drumbo, about 35 miles southeast of Tavistock, on a bitterly cold night. Our team left about 3 p.m. for the 8 p.m. game, travelling in the customary box sleigh, hauled by a team of horses. Planks were laid along both sides of the sleigh and the floor was covered with straw, in an effort to keep our feet warm and make the long ride a bit comfortable.

In the rinks of those days, showers, and heated changing rooms and other conveniences were unknown and there was nothing like a change of underwear, All players wore neck-to-ankle underwear, "long johns", which became thoroughly sweat-saturated by the time the game ended.

On this particular trip to Drumbo, as in all other out-of-town games, the perspiration-drenched "red flannels" became almost frozen to the body before the players arrived back in Tavistock.

But the weather was so cold this trip that the horses were brought to a halt halfway home, the straw from the box was built into a bonfire on the road, and the players partly thawed out. I often wonder how they escaped dying from pneumonia.

But the team of 1927 competing for the Senior Championship of the old Northern Hockey League, later absorbed by the now flourishing Western Ontario Athletic Association, is the one I shall never forget, because I held the triple office of president, manager and coach.

And may I explain now, in all modesty, that I played soccer, hockey, and baseball for Tavistock teams, before hanging up playing gear, and turning to writing sport, refereeing and umpiring games and handling teams. I am not presuming to brag but during the past 40 years, I have also broadcast hockey games and held the presidency of the Stratford Minor Hockey Association the second and third season it operated. I wrote my first sport story during the month of August 1914, the first month of the First World War. It was published in the Tavistock Gazette, owned by my father, and taken over by me in 1916.

The story covered a soccer match in Tavistock against Stratford, and I not only played in it, but wrote the story about it the next day.

N.H.L. CHAMPIONSHIP

But the highlight of the sports history of Tavistock for the past 63 years, so far as I personally am concerned, and I could be accused of prejudice for naming it, occurred in 1927 when our team won the Northern Hockey League Championship. The title was decided on a best-of-three game series with Tavistock and Durham winning their home games. This called for a third and deciding game on neutral ice; Palmerston was the site designated by the League President, a Mr. Murphy of Kincardine, if memory serves me right.

Actually, the Tavistock team was augmented by four players from New Hamburg: "Stuffy" Grundenberger, "Bumpty" Roth, Sammy Bowman and "Butch" Kalbfleisch.

The third game between Durham and Tavistock produced a never-to-be-forgotten incident, when I refused to allow the Tavistock team to take to the ice-after the first period, unless one of the goal judges was replaced.

I am purposely refraining from mentioning names, because the goal judge in question was the younger brother of the referee and called a goal against us in the first period, which I questioned and against which I protested vigorously. My suspicions were aroused when a man approached me at the first rest-period, and without identifying himself, informed me that he lived in Palmerston and wanted to see Durham win, but he also wanted to see them win fairly. In explanation he added that the goal judge had wagered $50 that Durham could defeat Tavistock and agreed with me that, on the goal he called against Tavistock the puck had not entered the net.

So bolstered by this information, plus the avowed assurance of the Tavistock goalie, Wilf "Gus" Strahm, that the puck fired from the left wing had caromed off the right goal-post into the right corner of the rink, I informed the referee vehemently that the game was over, unless the goal judge was replaced.

Even though the goal judge was his brother, the referee, and he was an efficient one and a former star athlete of Listowel, agreed with me, when I divulged my reason for refusing to continue the game; so we looked up the president and told him the circumstances.

His reaction was that I surely would not end the game abruptly after 20 minutes of play, with the Palmerston rink jammed to the rafters. I remained adamant and the referee supported my stand. "If we are to lose this game, I want to lose it fairly and on the ice." Sensing my determination, the league president eventually replaced the goal judge. After the third period ended, Tavistock had finished on the long end of the score and had won the cup.

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