St. Boniface Seals vs. Oshawa Generals
at Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens)
It could be argued that the two best players on the ice during the 1938 Memorial Cup were defenceman Wally Stanowski of the St. Boniface Seals and centre Billy Taylor of the Oshawa Generals.
Stanowski was a colorful defenceman who loved to carry the puck. Taylor was a pure sniper, who would go on to rewrite the record book in the 1939 Memorial Cup final.
In the 1940s, they would be teammates with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But this was 1938.
Billy Reay was a player with St. Boniface. He would later co-coach, with Sam Pollock, the 1949-50 Montreal Junior Canadiens to a Memorial Cup title.
Defenceman Bert Janke captained the Seals, who were coached by Mike Kryschuk. The Generals were under the guidance of Doc Rowden.
In the west, the Edmonton Athletic Club made some early noise by eliminating the Trail Tigers, 4-2 and 8-0, and then bouncing the Saskatoon Chiefs in three games (Edmonton won the opener 7-3, lost the second game 2-0, and then won the series with a 6-3 victory).
St. Boniface, meanwhile, took care of the Port Arthur West Ends, 4-3 and 3-2, setting up the Abbott Cup final.
St. Boniface took the first two games, 7-3 and 8-3, lost the third 3-1 and then wrapped it up with a 6-5 victory.
In the east, the legend of Billy The Kid was starting to build.
Taylor, once the mascot for the NHL's Maple Leafs, was 18 years old and had led the Generals past the Toronto Marlboros and Sudbury Cub Wolves. He went into the eastern final against the Perth Blue Wings having scored 15 times in his last 12 games.
"We should take them all right,” Taylor said of the impending series with the Blue Wings.
Taylor had help with Oshawa's scoring, primarily from right-winger Doc Dafoe.
Sudbury had beaten Oshawa 3-2 in the first game of an eastern semifinal. But Dafoe scored twice in a 7-1 Oshawa victory and then added three more as Oshawa won the series with a 4-2 victory.
Perth had beaten the Halifax Canadians, 7-6 and 8-5, and the Verdun, Que., Maple Leafs, 6-4 and 5-3.
The Generals did just what Taylor said they would, rolling past the Blue Wings 6-2 in Perth and 7-5 in Oshawa. Taylor scored three times in the first game, including two 38 seconds apart in the third period. He added two goals and two assists in a second game marred by a donnybrook involving Ottawa rink manager Clare Brunton, two policemen and some spectators.
The Memorial Cup final, a best-of-five affair with all games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, opened on April 9. The referees were Hap Shouldice of Ottawa (he would go on to be a longtime Canadian Football League official) and Russ McBride of Winnipeg.
Neither the Generals nor Seals had been in a Memorial Cup final.
After Game 1, The Canadian Press reported: "It was the east's victory but the west drew the hosannas when Oshawa Generals defeated St. Boniface Seals 3-2 in the first game of the Memorial Cup junior hockey finals.
"And most of the huzzahs that burst from the throats of the 9,500 present were evoked by whirling Wally Stanowski, Seals' 18-year-old defenceman. Even the rabid Oshawa rooters were compelled to cheer this demon speedster, whose ghost-like rushing left the fans gasping.”
While Stanowski left folks agape -- they were comparing him to the great Eddie Shore -- Taylor was in on all of Oshawa's goals. He scored once and set up the other two, by Whipp Shortt. Centre Herb Burron scored both of the Seals' goals.
Oshawa suffered a key loss when defenceman Dan McTavish fractured his right wrist in the first period. He was perhaps the Generals' most dependable defenceman. Ross Knipfel dropped back to fill in for McTavish.
The beginning of Game 1 was delayed when St. Boniface protested the length of Oshawa's sticks. From one to two inches was sawed off a half-dozen sticks before the game was allowed to begin.
After which Oshawa clamoured for new referees.
St. Boniface manager Gil Paulley was quick to point out his club thought the officiating had been "excellent.”
Oshawa claimed it was concerned about the presence of McBride, who had officiated at regular-season games involving the Seals.
Yes, Shouldice and McBride were back for Game 2 on April 12 before 10,413 fans, the largest crowd ever to watch a junior game.
This time the hero was St. Boniface goaltender Doug Webb, a first-year junior, who blanked the Generals, 4-0.
Reay, a left winger, scored twice, with Janke and George Gordon getting the others.
St. Boniface's speed was the big difference, and Oshawa was having problems on defence. Already without McTavish, the Generals' other top defenceman -- Ab Tonn -- was playing with what was described as a septic throat.
Stanowski wasn't nearly as effective after being on the receiving end of a crunching body check by Red Krentz. Stanowski limped off and was left with a bruised leg.
Ed Fitkin, who would go on to become one of the country's first TV stars on Hockey Night in Canada, wrote in The Globe and Mail:
"Those who install the Seals as favorites for teen-age puck honors aren't basing their predictions on the score of last night's tussle but by the decisive manner in which the western champions outplayed the Generals over most of the route.
"They're not a great team. They're not in the same hockey society as Winnipeg Monarchs because of their lack of smoothness. But they are a great hockey machine.”
The Generals didn't pay much attention to the experts as they went out and won the third game 4-2 on April 14, the night before Good Friday.
"Main reason for Seals downfall, however, was an eagle-eyed, nimble-footed goalie, Bob Forster,” reported The Canadian Press. "Forty-three shots were fired at him in the Oshawa net and only twice was he beaten.”
Taylor scored twice and set up another, with Tonn and Shortt adding one goal each. Burron and Stanowski scored for St. Boniface.
Brick Calhoun, who was put into the Oshawa lineup to replace McTavish, went down with a broken shoulder with three minutes left in the game.
St. Boniface was without right-winger Jack Messett who was down with pneumonia.
Before Game 4 on April 16, Shouldice and McBride were replaced by Montreal's Bill Bell and Ottawa's Jack Dugan.
St. Boniface forced a fifth game by beating the Generals 6-4.
The Generals outplayed the Seals for 50 minutes and actually held a 3-1 lead more than 12 minutes into the third period. Five goals in the last half of the third period propelled St. Boniface to the victory.
The Seals got goals from Burron, Paul Couture, Hermie Gruhn, Bill McGregor, Janke and Gordon. Shortt scored twice for Oshawa, with Taylor and Dafoe adding singles. Taylor also had three assists as he again figured in all of his team's goals.
Shortt's second goal gave Oshawa a 4-3 lead at 15:12 of the third period. But McGregor (16:28), Janke (17:40) and Gordon (19:59) gave victory to the Seals, who fired 25 third-period shots at Oshawa goaltender Bob Forster.
"As unpredictable as any cock-fight, the series to date has supplied a full quota of thrills to the record crowds attending the games,” reported The Canadian Press prior to the fifth and deciding game.
Another referee, the fifth of the series, was pressed into action when Bell pulled out because of a business commitment. So Game 5 on April 19 was handled by Dugan and George Bonnemere of Montreal.
And the Seals put it away, winning 7-1 before 15,617 fans, the largest crowd to witness a hockey game -- any hockey game -- in Canada. The crowd was about 300 more than attended Game 2 of an NHL playoff series between Toronto and the Boston Bruins some three weeks earlier.
The Seals took a 3-0 first-period lead on two goals by Reay (the second would be the Memorial Cup-winner) and one from Burron and never looked back. Oshawa scored the first goal of the second period -- by Don Daniels -- but trailed 5-1 when the period ended.
Gruhn, with two, Janke and Burron scored for the Seals in the second and third periods.
Taylor was smacked in the nose by an errant stick in a first-period collision with McGregor and wasn't the same afterwards. Still, he set up Daniels' goal.
Taylor totaled four goals and seven assists in the five games, figuring in 11 of Oshawa's 12 goals.
Still, the hockey world hadn't seen anything yet.
The 1939 Memorial Cup championship would really belong to the flashy, cocky skater known as Billy The Kid.
There was one interesting sidelight to the 1938 Memorial Cup final.
After the final game, it was revealed that, as The Canadian Press reported, Stanowski had "received a bribe-letter -- which may or may not be from a crank -- suggesting he ‘lay down' “ in that last game.
The Winnipeg Free Press reported: "A sensational development took place in the St. Boniface Seal camp when Wally Stanowski received a letter offering him $100 if he would lay down after the first period.”
The Canadian Press report added that "Stanowski, who draws the usual $6 a day expense allowance, was unperturbed and those closest to the club preferred to believed the letter a joke.”
The letter was typewritten but the sender "wasn't so strong on spelling,” reported The Canadian Press.
The writer apparently promised Stanowski $100 if he would bail out with a sore leg in the first period. There was also an additional $50 in it for Reay if he "takes it easy and draws a few penalties.”
The writer described himself as a 6-foot, 200-pounder wearing a light grey overcoat and dark brown hat.
"They must think I'm crazy,” Stanowski said. "We'll give all we have against Oshawa and we expect to win.
"As for the letter, well, I guess I'll frame it.”
NEXT: 1939 (Edmonton Athletic Club Roamers vs. Oshawa Generals)
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