Merv Marshall “One of the greatest”

Merv Marshall was the goaltender for six seasons (1963-1968) with the Oshawa Green Gaels when the Gaels won seven straight Minto Cup championships. It is fair to say no other team has dominated the OLA Junior “A” League as the Gaels did during their seven consecutive Minto Cup run. Marshall was quick and agile and was the catalyst for the offence and he strived to move the ball up the floor after making a save.

Some of the greatest Green Gaels played during this era including Merv Marshall, Johnny Davis, Chuck Li, Elmer Tran, Gaylord Powless, Terry Rowland, Charlie Marlowe, Brian Thompson, Larry Lloyd, Jim Higgs and others. Merv Marshall was the Most Valuable Player of the 1963 Minto Cup, the Ontario Lacrosse Association Most Valuable Player in 1965 and a first team all-star in 1967. He collected 128 assists thorough his junior career. Marshall was part of the Brooklin Mann Cup team in 1969, a Windsor Warlocks Senior “B” Presidents Cup team in 1971 and with the Rochester Griffins Nations Cup champion in 1974. He went on to play with the Rochester Griffins and the Long Island Tomahawks of the National Lacrosse League.

It is noteworthy, from 1963 through 1969, the Junior “A” Gaels team accumulated a record of 220 wins, 20 losses and 1 tie establishing a winning percentage of 91% over 245 games.

As a result of their tremendous success, Marshall was a member of the Gaels team inducted into the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000.