A Great Game (32 page)

Interestingly, the constant changes and frequent defeats had not yet put even a dint in local fan interest in the Toronto Pros. Close to 3,000—some of whom took the train from Berlin—packed the Mutual Street Rink that evening. Despite missing the injured Gross, the Dutchmen were off to a strong start at four wins and one loss, and were a close second to Brantford in the standings.

The supporters of both teams were treated to a great game. Even the most hostile observers deemed it one of the best pro games yet played. The action was intense from the outset, with the Torontos utterly dominating. Excitement so rocked the old building that, after a goal by Ronan, a section of bleachers collapsed, heaving its cheering spectators onto the ice.

The Torontos may have carried the play, but Berlin goalkeeper Hugh Lehman carried the day. The goalie displayed just the combination of brilliance and luck necessary to produce a 5–4 upset. The
Star
was the most colourful in its analysis, alleging Lehman “had a rabbit's foot in each pad and horseshoes all over the net rail.”
²⁵
At the other end, Tyner had uncharacteristically let in a couple of long shots.

Although the Torontos now had only two wins in six games, local sympathy remained on the side of the “hard-luck outfit.”
²⁶
With only a break here or there, all four losses could have gone either way. Nevertheless, the club was falling back further. It was well behind Brantford (five wins and one tie), Berlin (just one loss) and Galt (a loss and a tie). Avoiding another loss on Wednesday against Guelph would thus be essential.

The Royals, though not as bad as St. Kitts, were also a winless squad. Rumours of the two clubs' imminent demise were circulating wildly in both centres and their morale was plunging. By comparison, the Toronto champs looked remarkably strong, although they would again be facing lineup changes.

Despite a strong performance, McNamara would not be back. Miln had signed him for only one game. Hal was aiming to get on with the Montreal Shamrocks, where his brothers were playing. Besides, the trustees' anti-ringer rule meant he would not be eligible for Cup competition with Toronto. Fred Young, whose play had received passing grades, was pressed back into service at right wing.

At this point, however, it appears the constant changes began taking their toll on the Professionals. Lacking any teamwork, they fell 6–4 before 500 remaining Royals' supporters. Only Tyner and (once again) Ridpath had shone during the contest. The Guelph crowd jeered them mercilessly, “declaring that the Torontos were ‘dogs,' ‘fat lobsters,' ‘cattle,' ‘horses,' ‘wooden men,' and other things equally complimentary.”
²⁷

Less than a year after the Toronto Professionals were being praised as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, they were being laughed off the ice.

And their problems were only beginning.

The End of the Toronto Professionals

It is not often that amateur hockey can chase the pro. article out of a city the size of Toronto. But that's what has happened here
 . . .
It means that hockey in Toronto is on a healthy foundation, that O.H.A. supervision is universally satisfactory and that the future of the game is assured.
¹

—
Toronto Telegram

Sport is the ultimate reality show. Try as some might to write its script, the drama has a way of finding its own, unpredictable path. That was certainly true in the case of the Toronto Professionals' 1908–09 season. The humiliating loss at Guelph had been a devastating finish to the team's third week of action—putting a seeming end to any shot at the Ontario title, let alone a second challenge for the Stanley Cup. And yet, no sooner had the Guelph defeat been recorded than a spectacular series of events would befall the Ontario Professional Hockey League. While all of them were bad from the league's standpoint, they would combine to give the stumbling champions a new lease on life.

As soon as Guelph registered its first victory, the club announced its breakup. A second losing season was killing attendance. The disastrous St. Catharines outfit threw in the towel shortly thereafter. Rumours
swirled around Galt's departure as well, but Irving managed to pull through by convincing the owners of the smallish local rink to cut their rent.

In effect, the problems afflicting pro hockey everywhere had hit the OPHL with a vengeance, revealing its early-season expansion as foolish. It all confirmed that the commercial game had grown far too quickly for its foundations to have been well laid. These, combined with ordeals of the local Professionals, greatly delighted John Ross Robertson and his OHA followers. This comment from Frank Nelson's
Globe
was typical:

Professional hockey in such places as St. Catharines, Galt and Guelph in western Ontario, and Renfrew, Smith's [
sic
] Falls and Cornwall, in the east, must of necessity be either a joke or an imposition. In most of the places named it partakes of the character of both.
²

Yet in Toronto, the crafty Alexander Miln would respond rapidly to the challenges. In fact, he took quick advantage of the situation by scooping up the best player from each of the collapsing OPHL franchises. These were Howard Manson of Guelph and Donald Smith of St. Kitts, both originally from Cornwall. For Smith, it was his second stop in Toronto. He had been retained as a substitute in the run-up to the previous season's Cup challenge.

Toronto also benefited from the curious league decision to count all games against the defunct teams, regardless of outcome, as victories for the surviving ones. The “dogs” and “fat lobsters” defeated 6–4 in Guelph were now said to have won that game. Indeed, the Torontos, having been the only club to have lost to either the Royals or the Athletics, were the only beneficiaries of the ruling. It was a small step up, but one that gave them some hope of regaining the championship.

Miln's fortune was not all good, however. He was the victim of growing raids on the OPHL by the Temiskaming league. One night after practice, Skene Ronan and Con Corbeau took their gear from trainer Frank Carroll, left the rink, quickly packed their bags and secretly slipped out of town for a train ride to Haileybury.

The loss of Ronan and Corbeau was a real blow. Skene, who had been moved up to centre in recent matches, was getting noticeably better with each outing. Con was maturing into a quality defenceman and team leader, acting as unofficial captain while fellow French Canadian Newsy Lalonde was on the injury list.

Corbeau later tried to explain to Toronto fans how he could have broken his contract and run off to Haileybury for the princely sum of $75 a week:

We were honestly sorry to leave Toronto . . . Manager Alex. Milne [
sic
] is the straightest man who ever managed me. He is a good fellow in every way, and we were sorry to leave him. But what could we do? No fair-minded man would blame us under the circumstances.
³

Corbeau was either being facetious or naive. The loyal Torontos' supporters blamed him. They felt betrayed. So, too, did the Ontario league, which banned both Corbeau and Ronan for life. However, given the
competitive pressures on pro clubs to recruit constantly, players knew that such sanctions were meaningless.

For Toronto's manager, there also remained the questions surrounding his disabled stars. Word was that Newsy Lalonde was out of hospital, practising and ready for action. Yet Bert Morrison, according to reports, remained stricken with his vague “illness.” Last season, he had been the target of constant press criticism; this year, the same writers had not ceased talking about the damage done by his absence. Nonetheless, any expectation of his return gradually—and strangely—slipped away as the season progressed.

Now, with a surplus of forwards to choose from, Miln made the decision to cut Herb Birmingham. The twenty-seven-year-old veteran
lacked the weight to check back and no longer had the speed to keep pace. Herbie had been averaging two goals a game for the Torontos, but the decision was not controversial. There was no outcry from either fans or press. This underscores just how lightly goal scoring was taken as a measure of offensive prowess during this era.

A general thaw throughout southern Ontario delayed the Torontos' next match until Wednesday, January 27, at the Galt Rink. The made-over Professionals included only three players from their previous game. Chuck Tyner in goal and Bruce Ridpath on left wing had been the two constants throughout the season. Stoke Doran at cover was still a relative newcomer.