Larry Smeltzer - Fearless Ball Stopper

Larry Smeltzer

Fearless Hall of Fame Ball Stopper

During his career, Larry Smeltzer was well known for being a great goalie. Smeltzer was originally from Fergus, Ontario where he played his minor lacrosse. He would continue on playing Ontario Lacrosse Association at the Junior and Senior levels. He played a total of 87 games including playoffs of OLA Junior “A” all with Bramalea (Brampton) where he was awarded the Most Outstanding Goalie in 1970 and 1971 and the Ontario Lacrosse Association League Most Valuable Player in 1972. Furthermore, Smeltzer played 43 games of Major Series Lacrosse for Windsor and Fergus where he won the League’s Most Valuable Player in 1976. Add 69 games in the original National Lacrosse League with Syracuse and Quebec City. Eventually, lacrosse would take him to British Columbia where he played for five seasons for Victoria. Throughout his career, regardless of where Larry Smeltzer played, he earned a reputation as being fearless in facing the game’s hardest shooters.

Another flamboyant save by Larry Smeltzer

Larry initially cemented his reputation in the first version of the National Lacrosse League, playing for the Syracuse Stingers in 1974 and then backstopping the Quebec Caribou to their World Championship in 1975, defeating Montreal four games to two in the best of seven series. Smeltzer had a style which was described as “round and burly, but deceptively quick”. Possessing accurate long ball passing skills, Larry would make the save and initiate the fast break (he tallied 100 assists in 69 games) in the NLL.

NLL 1975 Champions

The Victoria Shamrocks enticed him to move West where his play in the Western Lacrosse Association would see Larry Smeltzer become a Hall of fame level star. He earned 4 straight Western Lacrosse Association top goalie awards. Having lost the Mann Cup in 1978 to Peterborough in the seventh game, Smeltzer would lead Victoria to a four-game sweep over Peterborough in the 1979 Mann Cup. He was awarded the WLA Most Valuable Player in the playoffs in 1979.