Metro Junior A League
Encyclopedia
The Metro Junior A League was a junior ice hockey
league created in 1961 by Toronto Maple Leafs
owner Stafford Smythe
in an attempt to rival the OHA
, and act as a farm system for his NHL team. The league operated for two seasons from 1961 to 1963. For those two seasons the Metro Junior A League champion won the "Father John Conway Memorial Trophy"' and went on to play the OHA champion for the J. Ross Robertson Cup
, and the right to continue on the road to the Memorial Cup.
After two seasons, the calibre of play in the league was subpar, and many of the franchises were still having serious financial problems, while the two old Toronto teams dominated the promoted junior B teams. The Metro experiment was cancelled in 1963 and many of the teams folded. The Toronto Marlboros and Oshawa Generals were readmitted to the OHA for the 1963–64 season.
, who were also owned by Stafford Smythe, were withdrawn from the OHA to play in the new league, and joined by the Toronto St. Michael's Majors
who also supplied the Leafs with players. Smythe set about finding more teams to fill his league. The Marlboros and Majors would be joined by promoted Junior B teams, the Whitby Mohawks, the Brampton 7Ups
, and the Unionville Seaforths
.
The Marlboros and Majors both supplied players to the new teams in an effort to bring up their standard of competition, but the Majors easily won the league title that year, with the Marlies coming second. The Majors also prevailed in the playoffs against Brampton and the Marlboros. In the 1961–62 J. Ross Robertson Cup series, the Hamilton Red Wings
defeated the Majors 4 games to 1.
1961–62 standings
Playoff results
the Whitby Mohawks were renamed the Whitby Dunlops
, the Unionville Seaforths became Toronto Knob Hill Farms
, and the Majors became the Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
. The new sixth team in the league would be the reborn Oshawa Generals
team, featuring future Hockey Hall of Fame
inductee, 14-year-old Bobby Orr
, and playing in Bowmanville
as there was no suitable arena in Oshawa
. As opposed to the first season of the league, there was little effort to spread teams around the Toronto area, as Knob Hill, Neil McNeil and the Marlboros all called Maple Leaf Gardens
home, usually playing doubleheader games on Tuesdays and Sundays.
The end of the 55 year era of the Majors came when St. Michael's College
ended its Junior A program, and its former team transferred to Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School
in Scarborough, Ontario
. The Maroons followed in the footsteps of the Majors, and won the league title again, then defeated the Dunlops and Marlboros in the playoffs. In the 1962–63 J. Ross Robertson Cup series, the Niagara Falls Flyers
defeated the Maroons 4 games to 2.
1962–63 standings
Playoff results
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
league created in 1961 by Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
owner Stafford Smythe
Stafford Smythe
Conn Stafford Smythe was the son of Conn Smythe and president of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team from 1961–1969 and from 1970 until his death.-Early years:...
in an attempt to rival the OHA
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
, and act as a farm system for his NHL team. The league operated for two seasons from 1961 to 1963. For those two seasons the Metro Junior A League champion won the "Father John Conway Memorial Trophy"' and went on to play the OHA champion for the J. Ross Robertson Cup
J. Ross Robertson Cup
The J. Ross Robertson Cup is an ice hockey trophy awarded annually to the winner of the Ontario Hockey League playoff championship. It was presented by and named for John Ross Robertson, the president of the Ontario Hockey Association who served from 1899 to 1905.Originally it was awarded to the...
, and the right to continue on the road to the Memorial Cup.
After two seasons, the calibre of play in the league was subpar, and many of the franchises were still having serious financial problems, while the two old Toronto teams dominated the promoted junior B teams. The Metro experiment was cancelled in 1963 and many of the teams folded. The Toronto Marlboros and Oshawa Generals were readmitted to the OHA for the 1963–64 season.
1961–62
The league started its first season with five teams, two of which were former OHA Junior A teams, and three promoted Junior B teams. The Toronto MarlborosToronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...
, who were also owned by Stafford Smythe, were withdrawn from the OHA to play in the new league, and joined by the Toronto St. Michael's Majors
Toronto St. Michael's Majors
The Toronto St. Michael's Majors, was a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hockey program was founded and operated by St. Michael's College School in 1906, and adopted the name "Majors" in 1934, and was commonly referred to as St. Mike's...
who also supplied the Leafs with players. Smythe set about finding more teams to fill his league. The Marlboros and Majors would be joined by promoted Junior B teams, the Whitby Mohawks, the Brampton 7Ups
Brampton Warriors
The Brampton Warriors are a pair of defunct junior ice hockey teams from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, Central Junior B Hockey League, Metro Junior B Hockey League, and Metro Junior A League...
, and the Unionville Seaforths
Unionville Seaforths
The Unionville Seaforths were a junior ice hockey team that played in the now defunct Metro Junior A League for one season, in 1961-62. The team was named after a Captain Seaforth. Unionville were previously a Junior B team prior to being promoted to the new league in 1961.Cliff Simpson and Peanuts...
.
The Marlboros and Majors both supplied players to the new teams in an effort to bring up their standard of competition, but the Majors easily won the league title that year, with the Marlies coming second. The Majors also prevailed in the playoffs against Brampton and the Marlboros. In the 1961–62 J. Ross Robertson Cup series, the Hamilton Red Wings
Hamilton Red Wings
The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario.-History:...
defeated the Majors 4 games to 1.
1961–62 standings
| Team | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Goals for |
Goals against |
| Toronto St. Michael's Majors Toronto St. Michael's Majors The Toronto St. Michael's Majors, was a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hockey program was founded and operated by St. Michael's College School in 1906, and adopted the name "Majors" in 1934, and was commonly referred to as St. Mike's... |
33 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 55 | 170 | 91 |
| Toronto Marlboros Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989... |
33 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 44 | 141 | 103 |
| Whitby Mohawks | 36 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 30 | 123 | 170 |
| Brampton 7Ups Brampton Warriors The Brampton Warriors are a pair of defunct junior ice hockey teams from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, Central Junior B Hockey League, Metro Junior B Hockey League, and Metro Junior A League... |
36 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 26 | 143 | 189 |
| Unionville Seaforths Unionville Seaforths The Unionville Seaforths were a junior ice hockey team that played in the now defunct Metro Junior A League for one season, in 1961-62. The team was named after a Captain Seaforth. Unionville were previously a Junior B team prior to being promoted to the new league in 1961.Cliff Simpson and Peanuts... |
36 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 25 | 133 | 157 |
Playoff results
- Series A: St. Michael's defeated Whitby 8 points to 2.
- Series B: Toronto Marlboros defeated Brampton 8 points to 2.
- Finals: St. Michael's defeated Toronto 8 points to 6.
1962–63
The Metro league was not successful in driving the OHA out of business after one season. By 1962 financial constraints had forced a re-organizing of the league. The Marlboros and 7Ups remained, butthe Whitby Mohawks were renamed the Whitby Dunlops
Whitby Dunlops
The Whitby Dunlops are a team in Major League Hockey. Two previous teams have also played as the Whitby Dunlops. The first was an OHA Senior team from 1954 to 1960. The second was a junior team from 1962 to 1963....
, the Unionville Seaforths became Toronto Knob Hill Farms
Knob Hill Farms
Knob Hill Farms was a supermarket chain in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by Steve Stavro, and operated from 1951 to 2001.-Community grocery stores:...
, and the Majors became the Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons
The Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons were a junior ice hockey team in the Metro Junior A League for one season in 1962-63. The Maroons were operated by Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, Ontario. When St. Michael's College discontinued its hockey program after the 1961-62 season, the...
. The new sixth team in the league would be the reborn Oshawa Generals
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. The Generals are one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Hockey League...
team, featuring future Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
inductee, 14-year-old Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
, and playing in Bowmanville
Bowmanville, Ontario
Bowmanville is the largest community in the Municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario about 75 km east of Toronto and 15 km east of Oshawa along Highway 2...
as there was no suitable arena in Oshawa
Hambly Arena
The Hambly Arena, originally known as the Oshawa Arena, opened in 1930 and was built in large part to the contributions of Colonel R.S. McLaughlin. It was the first brick facade and steel support structure for ice hockey in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada...
. As opposed to the first season of the league, there was little effort to spread teams around the Toronto area, as Knob Hill, Neil McNeil and the Marlboros all called Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
home, usually playing doubleheader games on Tuesdays and Sundays.
The end of the 55 year era of the Majors came when St. Michael's College
St. Michael's College
St. Michael's College may refer to:* Saint Michael's College, a private liberal arts college located in Colchester, Vermont, USA* St Michael's College, Adelaide, Australia, a private Roman Catholic primary and secondary school founded by the Lasallian Brothers* St...
ended its Junior A program, and its former team transferred to Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School
Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School
Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School is a private, all-boys Roman Catholic secondary school of the Toronto Catholic District School Board in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Neil McNeil is one of 31 high schools run by the TCDSB and one of four all-boys schools, and currently has an enrollment of 811...
in Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
. The Maroons followed in the footsteps of the Majors, and won the league title again, then defeated the Dunlops and Marlboros in the playoffs. In the 1962–63 J. Ross Robertson Cup series, the Niagara Falls Flyers
Niagara Falls Flyers
----The Niagara Falls Flyers were two junior ice hockey franchises that played in the top tier in the Ontario Hockey Association. The first, a Junior "A" team existed from 1960 until 1972, and the second in Tier I Junior "A" from 1976 until 1982....
defeated the Maroons 4 games to 2.
1962–63 standings
| Team | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Goals for |
Goals against |
| Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons The Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons were a junior ice hockey team in the Metro Junior A League for one season in 1962-63. The Maroons were operated by Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, Ontario. When St. Michael's College discontinued its hockey program after the 1961-62 season, the... |
40 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 69 | 260 | 110 |
| Toronto Marlboros Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989... |
40 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 50 | 217 | 159 |
| Toronto Knob Hill Farms Toronto Knob Hill Farms Toronto Knob Hill Farms were a junior ice hockey team who played one season in the fledgling Metro Junior A League in 1962-63. Formerly the Unionville Seaforths, the team moved to downtown Toronto for the Metro League's second year and became associated with grocery retailer Knob Hill Farms.The... |
40 | 14 | 20 | 6 | 34 | 121 | 154 |
| Whitby Dunlops Whitby Dunlops The Whitby Dunlops are a team in Major League Hockey. Two previous teams have also played as the Whitby Dunlops. The first was an OHA Senior team from 1954 to 1960. The second was a junior team from 1962 to 1963.... |
40 | 11 | 21 | 8 | 30 | 167 | 225 |
| Oshawa Generals Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. The Generals are one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Hockey League... |
40 | 12 | 23 | 5 | 29 | 146 | 222 |
| Brampton 7Ups Brampton Warriors The Brampton Warriors are a pair of defunct junior ice hockey teams from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. They were a part of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, Central Junior B Hockey League, Metro Junior B Hockey League, and Metro Junior A League... |
40 | 12 | 24 | 4 | 28 | 157 | 208 |
Playoff results
- Series A: Neil McNeil defeated Knob Hill Farms 8 points to 0.
- Series B: Toronto Marlboros defeated Whitby 8 points to 2.
- Finals: Neil McNeil defeated Toronto Marlboros 8 points to 4.
See also
- Ontario Hockey League historyOntario Hockey League historyThe roots of the Ontario Hockey League began with the Ontario Hockey Association which formed in 1890. Since then, there have been four major eras of distinction in levels of junior ice hockey. The OHA first organized a Junior division in 1892...
- List of OHA Junior A standings