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TOF THE OSHAWA TIMES, Soturday, June 24, 1967 OSHAWA RED RAIDERS PROVIDE FOOTBALL ACTION AT STADIUM Oshawa Arena In Background Rugby Enthusiasm Sparked By Sensational 'Blue Devils' By GEO. H. CAMPBELL No "Sports Review' of Osh- awa would be complete without due recognition being paid to the famed Oshawa General Motors "Blue Devils," organized in 1928 by a group of homebrew en- thusiasts, who made Oshawa's first entry into the ranks of the ORFU and captured the Ontario Rugby Football union's Inter- mediate championship, in their first season of competition, | That's a record few sports clubs, or more particularly any one group of athletes, can! boast! Rugby (recognized in those days as the name of the game now known as "'football" -- foot- lock City and while that waseree C. Goodman called the going on, Oshawa "Chevies"jaccidental bump "interference" lost out in the Ontario ladies'|and not only penalized Oshawa softball semi-finals, dropping aj"a down'? but put the ball back 16-15 decision to the North Bay; where Rowden had started his "Rinky Dinks" -- in a game run -- not where he had bumped played behind the Collegiate. his teammate. That was the The Blue Devels upset thejbreak that ended Oshawa's famed London Gas House Gang |chances. 11-6 on November 17, to win the group title. BUT THEY GOT EVEN They lost the first game of the|_ But that wasn't the end of the | They did have the honor of playing the first "floodlight game" in Canada -- at Ulster, Stadium, where they played against Balmy Beach -- in a |'Battle Beneath Bulbs." RED RAIDERS ARRIVE The Blue Devils finally ceased }as a club, in the late 30's, but a| few years later, another group jof Oshawa homebrews, mostly graduates of local Collegiate finals 8-1 in Sarnia, but came | Sarnia Wanderers-Osh Blue home to win the return game) Devils rivalry. In 1930, the €jteams, bolstered by more new- 16-7 and take the round 17-15,|Devils won the title again, i for their first Ontario ORFU/Sensational fashion, and Johnston among the stars) Chuck" McDonald and Wes of the title triumph, over the|Hicks were some of the new- Wanderers, comers to the team that season.|Charney and Col. "Bob" Smith In 1929, Dr. "Liz" Walker, | Blue Devils lost the first game| ball was the name given to another former Queen's rugby/|in Sarnia, 14-8, when Geary and| soccer in these parts) first camejpreat, working at the Ontario|McPhedran, still stars, at to Oshawa, during the First World War. A group of lads, mostly from "Corktown," used to play be-| School and at Alexandra Park|cjgir and T' ized the first team. They played| one game, against oy! Doctor's derers got their revenge. They|tically in his tracks, ever. old school -- Toronto St. Mike S'won the first game here 6-5, alhe tried to carry. the ball. Hospital, Whitby, joined Clift over - shadowed by the great Pound to coach the Blue Devils, | J0-Jo" Stirrett. | | comers to the city formed i |The Oshawa Red Raiders. Club. title, with Rowden, Cook, Moore|, Bill Wanless, George Hood,| Arn Greene was the spear- head of the new club enthusi- astically supported by 'Moe"' their first president. Such stal- warts as Fay Brooks, Dyson Brooks, Charlie March, Bill Lawson, "Rube" Waddell, Jim-| mie Loreno, Alex Knitski, Fred Stes to join the team were| But on the following Wednes- Bidgood, Phil Burkhart and ; a Art Wilson, Rene Lortie, Ross|day afternoon, at the Motor City | numerous other: d hind St. Gregory's Separate /Hamilton, Harold Millichamp,|Stadium, little George Hood,|Raiders up near 'the cA te heo Elliott and Don | lightest man on the field, played several years of keen activity. and Dr. Fred Finnegan organ-/Cytier, himself into exhaustion but/But those were the days when That season, the Sarnia Wan-|stopped big Jo-Jo Stirrett, prac-|the Cobourg Gallopin' Ghosts -- and Oshawa was beaten. jreal thriller -- but nothing like] While Oshawa's great line, But the game revived in the]; he second game was to prove. |headed by The Three Musket- pay ots fsdonel guidance /Biye Devils went into Sarnia|ters -- Ed Wilson, Alex Gray | of J. G. Althouse, then principal) and took a 2-0 lead but lost the|and Thornton Logan, aided by| at Oshawa High School and OHS)y4) thriller. had teams from then on, with such well-known citizens as Dr. lean Sarnia's windy field -- not Cameron and Dr. F. J. Done-| van, Fred Carswell and Ralph) B. Cowan, then associated with) this newspaper, being some of! the OHS team coaches. These were followed by various teachers as coaches, M. F. Kirkland, "Pat" Patterson, George Stuart, Cliff Chilcott, Doug Wauth, etc. GOT THE URGE We recall that day vividly --\rest, were holding Wanderes in| jto. mention the Vendome (Wind-|Hubbell scored nine points be- storm) Hotel. Norm and Naty|tween them, as Blue Devils y time | were enjoying their hay-day. Following the demise of the Red Raiders, football in Oshawa for some years, was confined to| the activities of the Collegiate |Elliott, Johnston and all the|'e@™s. | Seven years ago, under the| check, "Doc'"' Rowden and Scott|Promotion of the late '"Teddy"| Morris of Argos fame, the Osh- jawa Junior "Blue Imps" Club Geary, along with Nels McPed-|played a_ brilliant kicking) WaS organized, with A. E. Coul- ran were the stars of the Sarnia |game," to win 9-2 and take the Wanderers. jround and title 17-16. In that game, Doc Rowden| Blue Devils lost out in the! made a long run, of over 60/Dominion championship finals yards, to put Oshawa in field-|that year, to RMC. \ter as the first president. Known as the "Hawkeyes" in recent years, the Oshawa Junior |Club is currently seeking to stay alive, in the Ontario Junior Con- goal position but en route, he| Blue Devils carried on for|ference. The league's final de- had bumped lineman Murray|several years after that, but al- Johnston (who wasn't even look-|though always strong conten- |cision on the continuance of Junior football in Oshawa, is The "bug" had taken hold of ing that direction) since 'Doc' ders, never did win another|still in doubt, at the time of those boys who had played for| Oshawa High School in the mid-} 20's and in 1928, a group of} these local enthusiasts suddenly | realized that among the many} newcomers to the city, joining) the ranks of the rapidly-expand-| ing General Motors family, were} several athletes of recognized! rugby ability. They started on their own me but within a few weeks, had acquired the financial support of General Motors. was running back a kick. Ref-|title. completing this article. Spacious Collegiate Gyms Boon To Basketball Here When Oshawa's YMCA '"'fold- jed,"' basketball was one of |the sports to suffer most and \it created a lull in the game, WHAT A DIFFERENCE The YEARS MAKE... Just as Canada has come a long way since Confederation in 1867, the auto industry has made tremendous progress in improving the '""Horseless Carriage." The 1902 Rambler, pictured above, The popularity of the game in| around here, for many years. this city was instantaneous. The) simcoe Hall Settlement House, presence of many homebrew with its minor basketball pro- athletes, the novelty of some-|cram, put the game back on thing new" and the then (not/its feet in this city and with now) seasonal sports gap be-|the arrival of new collegiates, tween baseball and hockey, all) with their spacious gymnasiums, made the establishment of 8) the game flourished in the past rugby team a big thing for local sports fans. Murray Johnston's spicy column "Punts and Tackles," in The Oshawa Times, kept the fans abreast of their workouts, their injuries, everything about the team and its players. They had a dedicated coach in Cliff Pound and "'Ike" Sutton, former Queen's grid star, who had made himself known to Oshawa sports fans, via his soft- ball pitching prowess, combined to coach the team. Alex Parks, a former Argo player, was their quarterback. The players included Al Moore of Pickering, Morris King, now a Supreme Court Judge, Ed Wilson, Thornton Logan, Alex 'Julius' Gray, Omar Brown, Murray Johnston, Jack Bond, Ned Boultbee, Tom Fitches, Gord Young, Gord Cook, "Moe" Kohen, Bill Tribble, "Oz" Cornish, "Doc" Rowden, Scott Hubbell, kicker supreme, "Wink" Gummow, Frank Black, Phil Varley, '"'Hobie" Hobart, Russ Kilmer, George "Doc"' Loveless, Barney Morse, Russ Wigginton and Stew Carver, plus others we've forgotten, un- fortunately. They won their yery first game on October 6, defeating Guelph 23-1 and the writing was on the wall. OSHAWA A BUSY. SPOT Incidentally, that day, October 6, saw Oshawa GMC soccer team lose in the semi-finals to Hamilton Thistles and Oshawa City lost at home, to Toronto Highlanders, 4-0. Oshawa GM lacrosse team lost 4-3 in Brampton but waa the round 7-4 for Oshawa"s first 15 years. : Central Collegiate, in partie- ular, has been to the fore in | basketball in recent years, with ;many outstanding teams, some of championship calibre. The minor leagues at Simcoe Hall also produced "graduat- es" who continued the game at the adult level, in provincial |ranks, as well as Industrial |League play. | In 1955, Oshawa Simcoe Hall jand Get - To - Gether Golden Bears entered a Junior team jin Ontario playoffs and lost out jto the Toronto Nortown 88's, 'Dominion champions of that | year. | In 1959, Oshawa Shopping | Centre All - Stars, formed from | the Industrial loop, entered In- | termediate 'B' and beat Brock- ville, Toronto, Thorold, Kirk- land Lake and finally Smiths Falls, for the All-Ontario title. They had players as All Dick- inson, Bob Booth, Brent Old- field, Tom and Joe Olinyk, Ron Wilson, Carl Cheski, Gary Vaughan, Ed. Kolodzie, Don Mallett and later Gord David- son, with Fred Whalley as the feam manager, aided by Joe Wrubel and Rick Solway. This was the nucleus of the team, which as Genosha Hawks, coached by Davidson, went to the Ontario final, losing out to BOBBY St. Thomas, after having elim- inated Welland and Toronto. A huge financial guarantee, con- |} cerning the Canadian final ser-|to the Ontario championship, jies with Montreal, entered the beating Sault Ste. Marie in the piclure here - or perhaps St.|final, after ousting Welland, Kit- Thomas wouldn't have won the chener, Peterborough and Tor- Senior lacrosse title, of the new| OBA title. onto, era. Oh yes, at OCVI, Seniors beat Peterborough C.I. 7-1 here but the Juniors lost 5-0 in the Lift- In 1961, the Oshawa Hawks| In 1962 Oshawa entered the added Fred Reilly, John New |newly - formed Ontario Senior ey, Tony Andrejicka and phat forester to Hamilton Quigleys. Lyons and went all the way! Whalley moved into et BOOTH One Of City's Forerunners Basketball Veterans in 1963 and Jim Brady took over the city's top basketball team. Since then under other sponsors, they have had good |years but no more champion- | ships. Basically, basketball in Osh- jawa is still mainly a "high school sport', S '"NOBODY UNDERSELLS TRENT" sold 1,500 the first year, establishing Rambler as the world's second mass-produced automobile. Contrast the 1902 Rambler with the sleek AMX by American Motors, pictured below. The AMX is scheduled for production later this year. It seems like an appropriate time to note how closely the modernization of the automobile parallels Canada's rapid growth. May we both grow older and better together. * Delivered in Bowmanville, plus license end selee tex. $3002* the Rambler Kings AUTO SALES LTD. KING ST. E. BOWMANVILLE LANSDOWNE ST., PETERBOROUGH .. ... 745-4695 623-3305 Back in the early 1920' Oshawa and the immediat area boasted several sof ball leagues of "factory "town" and '"'district"' sta us and the South Ontar County Softball League wz an active organization, eve before Oshawa joined th Oshav In Sw: It is readily admitted also as readily wundersto F since it was one of the "ney » sports" and came into being Oshawa was growing by le: * and bounds, to big city stat » the game of softball is the t gest single sports activity » this, as in most Ontario co | munities. In addition to the game gre ing with the population of | province, it also enjoys the | vantages of being readily | cessible as a schoolyard act ity, can be played both indox > and outdoors -- in fact t game started as "indoor ba -- and is played by both gi and boys -- at a very you age. The Ontario Amateur Softb Association is the largest dividual governing sports boc at a provincial level, in Cs ada, with more than 25, teams playing under the OA' banner and more than doul that number in industrial, fz tory, house, and other n¢ affiliated leagues. It has been estimated th there are almost a million so ball players in Ontario, cou! ing all age levels and bo sexes. Here in Oshawa it estimated that almost 75 tear are playing softball this su mer, well over 1,000 players. OSHAWA STARTED EARLY The Ontario Amateur Softb: Association was formed Hamilton in 1923 and Oshav affiliated in 1924, at the annu meeting in Brantford. In those early years, tl South Ontario County Softbe League flourished, with vario' factories, such as Malleabl Williams Piano, Tannery, Ge eral Motors, Trimmers and O tario Regiment having teams One of the early fine tean to win the South Ontario Coun League title and Lawson | Clifford Trophy, was the GM team, coached by Jim Holde and managed by Bill Harme with Sam Gummow, W. | Coad and H. L. Bloomfiel Players included Reg Fai George Keenan, Alf Parish, E Pratt, A. Marks, Alex Webste L. Yeo, Sammy Lowe, Ji Timmins, M. Covert, Jac Broad, Ray Hobbs and Je Childerhose. Johnny Trott wa mascot for these 1925 chan pions. The OASA held their 192 Annual Convention in Oshaw and Art Rowden became th first Oshawa man to be electe to the OASA executive. In 1949 the OASA Annual wa again held in Oshawa, at whic time Geo. H. Campbell wa elected president. He had bee elected to the executive 2 Hamilton, in 1945. John G Brady was elected president c the OASA in 1955, at Peterbo ough. Both Campbell an Brady served two-year terms In recent years, Charlie Rus sell of this city has been | member of the OASA Execu tive and at the 1967 annua meeting, "Vinny'? Walker, o Port Perry, was a successfu candidate. Also at the last OASA con vention, John Brady joinet George Campbell and other for mer OASA stalwarts, when hon ored with the presentation of ¢ Life Membership. Following "indoor ball' ir the Armouries and the change of the ball from the 14-inch, tc the 13-inch, and then to the 12 inch "outseam", before reach: ing the current 12-inch, regula: tion model, other softball changes took place in Oshawa. NEW ASSOCIATION FORMED The formation of the Oshawa