St. Catharines Falcons (1943–1947)

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.

For the current junior B team, see St. Catharines Falcons (1968–).
St. Catharines Falcons
CitySt. Catharines, Ontario
LeagueOntario Hockey Association
Operated1943 (1943)-47
Home arenaGarden City Arena
Franchise history
1943-47St. Catharines Falcons
1947-62St. Catharines Teepees
1962-76St. Catharines Black Hawks
1976-82Niagara Falls Flyers
1982-02North Bay Centennials
2002-PresentSaginaw Spirit

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 Cup game in Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in the spring of 1943 between the Winnipeg Royals and Oshawa Generals.[1]

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 St.Catharines Ontario.

The team was so unsuccessful, 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 $2,500. 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.

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.

Doug McMurdy was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy in 1944-45 as the Most Outstanding Player in the OHA.[2]

NHL alumni are Armand Delmonte, Val Delory, Bing Juckes, and Nick Mickoski.

Yearly results

The Falcons never made it to the league finals for the J. Ross Robertson Cup, but did very well in the regular season, making the playoffs their first three years.

SeasonGamesWonLostTiedPointsPct %Goals
For		Goals
Against		Standing
1943-44261592320.6151251031st OHA Group 2
1944-45201280240.600101932nd OHA
1945-462814140280.5001331234th OHA
1946-47367254180.2501012198th 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.

References
  1. Gregoire, L. Waxy; Dupuis, David; Pilote, Pierre (October 1, 2013). "Flight of the Teepee". Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story. ECW Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9781770411364. Retrieved December 23, 2016 – via Google Books.
  2. Hewitt, John (June 2, 2010). "Former Falcons defenceman McMurdy dead at 84". St. Catharines Standard. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
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