St. Catharines Falcons
Encyclopedia
The St. Catharines Falcons were a junior ice hockey
team in the Ontario Hockey Association
from 1943 to 1947. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario
, Canada
.
game in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens
in the spring of 1943 between the Winnipeg Royals and Oshawa Generals
.
Pilous would be coach & general manager of the team, and MacDonald would be secretary & treasurer. Pilous raised the capital from talking six local businessmen (Pete Grammar, Ted and Os Graves, Tom Heit, Jack Leach, and Cal Wilson) into investing $500 each. He then took a trip back to his home town of Winnipeg, to hire players for the 1943-44 season.
The Falcons played their first game on November 13, 1943. The St. Catharines Falcons name came from a naming contest for the new junior team. The winner of the contest was a nine year old boy named Jimmy Stirrett from Port Dalhousie
.
The team was so successful, that after two years, the St. Catharines Senior 'A' Saints folded. In 1946-47 the club didn't make the playoffs and was in financial trouble. It looked like the end of Junior hockey in the city. In January 1947, George Stauffer, President of Thompson Products Ltd., stepped into the picture and bought the Falcons for $2500. He saved Junior hockey in St. Catharines, and renamed the team the Teepees.
Today there is an unrelated local Jr. B hockey team in the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League
using the same name as the St. Catharines Falcons.
Centreman Doug McMurdy was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy
in 1944-45 as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHA.
NHL Alumni are Armand Delmonte
, Val Delory
, Bing Juckes
, Nick Mickoski
, but did very well in the regular season, making the playoffs their first three years.
Junior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...
team in the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
from 1943 to 1947. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
The Garden City was introduced to OHA Junior 'A' Hockey in the fall of 1943 when the St. Catharines Falcons made their debut in the league. Rudy Pilous, a former St. Catharines Sr. A hockey player and his friend Jay MacDonald were inspired to bring a team to St. Catharines after watching a Memorial CupMemorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
game in Toronto's 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...
in the spring of 1943 between the Winnipeg Royals and 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...
.
Pilous would be coach & general manager of the team, and MacDonald would be secretary & treasurer. Pilous raised the capital from talking six local businessmen (Pete Grammar, Ted and Os Graves, Tom Heit, Jack Leach, and Cal Wilson) into investing $500 each. He then took a trip back to his home town of Winnipeg, to hire players for the 1943-44 season.
The Falcons played their first game on November 13, 1943. The St. Catharines Falcons name came from a naming contest for the new junior team. The winner of the contest was a nine year old boy named Jimmy Stirrett from Port Dalhousie
Port Dalhousie, Ontario
Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal.The city's most popular beach, on the...
.
The team was so successful, that after two years, the St. Catharines Senior 'A' Saints folded. In 1946-47 the club didn't make the playoffs and was in financial trouble. It looked like the end of Junior hockey in the city. In January 1947, George Stauffer, President of Thompson Products Ltd., stepped into the picture and bought the Falcons for $2500. He saved Junior hockey in St. Catharines, and renamed the team the Teepees.
Today there is an unrelated local Jr. B hockey team in the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League
Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League
The Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1974 until 2007. As of 2007, the league has become a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League...
using the same name as the St. Catharines Falcons.
Players
Several Winnipeg-area players including Harvey Jessiman (goalie), Bing Juckes, Tom Pollock, Laurie Peterson and Doug McMurdy formed the nucleus of the first club, combined along with local players.Centreman Doug McMurdy was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy
Red Tilson Trophy
The Red Tilson Trophy is an annual award given to the most outstanding player in the Ontario Hockey League. The award is voted on by OHL writers and broadcasters, and is named for Red Tilson, a former played for the Oshawa Generals who was killed in service in the Second World War...
in 1944-45 as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHA.
NHL Alumni are Armand Delmonte
Armand Delmonte
Armand Romeo 'Dutch' Delmonte was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in one National Hockey League game for the Boston Bruins during the 1945–46 NHL season.-External links:...
, Val Delory
Val Delory
Valentine Arthur Delory is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played in one National Hockey League game for the New York Rangers during the 1948–49 NHL season.-External links:...
, Bing Juckes
Bing Juckes
Winston Bryan "Bing" Juckes was a professional ice hockey player who played 16 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the New York Rangers.- References :...
, Nick Mickoski
Nick Mickoski
Nickolas "Broadway Nick" Mickoski was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Mickoski started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers in 1947. He would also play for the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins. He retired after the...
Yearly Results
The Falcons never made it to the league finals for the J. Ross Robertson CupJ. 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...
, but did very well in the regular season, making the playoffs their first three years.
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Pct % | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Standing |
| 1943-44 | 26 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 32 | 0.615 | 125 | 103 | 1st OHA Group 2 |
| 1944-45 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 0.600 | 101 | 93 | 2nd OHA |
| 1945-46 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 0.500 | 133 | 123 | 4th OHA |
| 1946-47 | 36 | 7 | 25 | 4 | 18 | 0.250 | 101 | 219 | 8th OHA |
Arena
The St. Catharines Falcons played in the Garden City Arena in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario from 1943-1947. The team shared the arena with the Sr. A. team, the St. Catharines Saints from 1943-1945.- Garden City Arena - OHL Arena & Travel Guide