1920 MEMORIAL CUP
Selkirk Juniors vs. Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers
at Toronto (Arena Gardens)
The Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers squared off against the Selkirk Juniors, starring Joe Simpson, in the two-game, total-goal Memorial Cup final.
Games were played on March 23 and 25 in Toronto.
This was a high-powered Toronto Canoe Club team. Coached by Ron Carroll, the Canoe Club was captained by Billy Burch, who would go on to play in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Americans and Hamilton Tigers.
Also on the Toronto roster were goaltender Roy Worters (Pittsburgh Pirates, the Americans and the Montreal Canadiens); the immortal Lionel (Big Train) Conacher (the Americans, the Pirates, Montreal Maroons and Chicago); and, Wilfred White (the Philadelphia Quakers, the Pirates and the Americans).
En route to playing Selkirk, the Paddlers — paced by a line featuring Burch between White and Francis McCurry — had posted some impressive victories.
They lost 6-5 to the Stratford Midgets, a team that featured Howie Morenz, but then roared back with a 10-2 victory to win the two-game, total-goal affair, 15-8.
The Paddlers hammered the Quebec-champion Loyola College of Montreal 16-4, and beat the Fort William Beavers 16-1.
Prior to journeying east, the Selkirks, who were also known as the Fishermen or Fishtown lads, spent some time touring western Canada, using exhibition games — including two victories over the Eskimos in Edmonton — as tuneups for the Memorial Cup games.
This tour almost turned tragic, as reported by a March 15 dispatch from Calgary:
"Members of the Selkirk hockey team who have been on a tour as far as Victoria, B.C., returned to Calgary today and will remain until early Thursday morning (March 17) when they leave to play the Vics at Regina that night. En route here the Fishtown boys were delayed 22 hours, due to a snow slide at Sicamous. While there, Crutchie Morrison and Hammy Gillespie hired a skiff and had a narrow escape from drowning. When about 150 yards from shore, one of the oars slipped and the boat overturned. The hockey stars plunged into the ice-cold water where they remained for 10 minutes before being rescued.”
Prior to that game in Regina against the Victorias — it was played on March 18 — the Regina Leader reported: "Those who stayed away from last night's match should make it a point to see the Selkirk team in action for they will be assured of witnessing one of the classiest teams in the west. Joe Simpson has played here before and his corkscrew rushes are always worth seeing.”
The Selkirk roster for that March 18 game in Regina: Wall (goal), Gillespie and Joe Simpson (defence), Jocko Anderson (rover), Harry (Pee Wee) Oliver (centre), Ernie Anderson (left wing), Crutchie Morrison (right wing). Subs: Mitchell and Brandow.
The Selkirks lost that game, 5-3, and then began the trek home and, ultimately, to Toronto where they opened against the Paddlers on March 23.
Here's how Winnipeg Free Press sporting editor W.J. (Billy) Finlay began his report:
"After putting up a game battle for two periods, in which they displayed a lot of class against superior odds, Stan Kennedy's Selkirks faded badly in the final session, and were forced to submit to a 10-1 beating at the hands of Dick Carroll's hand-picked Canoe Club stars in the first game for the junior hockey championship of Canada.”
In front of about 3,000 fans, the Paddlers led 2-0 and 3-0 at the period breaks.
"Starting off badly, when they appeared to be affected by stage fright,” Finlay reported, "the Fishtown lads finally caught themselves and were unlucky to be two goals down on the first session, and when they came back and outplayed their heavier and older opponents though outscored 1-0 in the second session, the 3,000 fans began to take notice, and cheered them loudly for their plucky work. But they had shot their bolt in their strenuous efforts in the second session, as they were badly outplayed in the final spasm, when the locals ran in six goals, mostly by fast combination play, in which the scorer worked in on top of the net.”
As for the Canoe Club, Finlay wrote that Burch was especially sharp. "Burch, at centre, is a long, rangy boy, who is a wonderful backchecker and a wonder in carrying the puck,” Finlay wrote.
But Finlay pointed out that the Paddlers weren't too popular in the east.
"They are very unpopular here,'' he reported, "owing to the fact that they were picked up from different parts of the country and molded into one strong aggregation, and have such a big advantage over all the Ontario teams that they have killed interest in junior hockey.”
The Canoe Club wrapped up the Memorial Cup on March 25 with a 5-4 victory in a game that was described as listless.
"The canoeists showed little interest in the game,” according to one report, "and the handful of spectators expressed disappointment in the comparatively small score.”
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