The Fergus Thistles

Fergus Thistles

Five Presidents Cup National Championships

over a Seven Year period

(Written by Rad Joseph)

Over the decades of its history, the game of lacrosse has had many great teams, teams who can be categorized as a dynasty. Such is the story of the Fergus Thistles who reigned supreme at the Senior “B” level during the mid-1980s into the early 1990s. The Thistles won five Presidents Cup national championships over a seven-year period.

Background

The Presidents Cup is the national Senior “B” level box lacrosse championship for the Canadian Lacrosse Association. The annual tournament format championship awards a "Gold", "Silver", and "Bronze" placing. The skill levels have been adjusted in recent years; Senior "B" teams from across Canada now compete for the Presidents Cup (as before it was all Senior teams). Senior "A" is now represented by British Columbia’s Western Lacrosse Association and Ontario's Major Series Lacrosse who compete for the Mann Cup.

Fergus Thistles

The Fergus Thistles, first established in 1857 were one of the oldest lacrosse clubs in Canada, over a 7-year period won five Canadian Lacrosse Association Presidents Cup titles in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1992. Sadly, the team folded in 1995.

Given the small population of Fergus (6,064 in 1981; 7,940 in 1991 - Statistics Canada census), it is a testimony to the Thistles organization they had been so successful and accomplished capturing five Presidents Cup championships. In its glory years, Fergus was an exceptionally close-knit lacrosse community.

High Caliber Players

Over the years, the team roster included players and builders such as Bob Hamley, Mark O’Donoghue, Bob McGinn, Jay Bidal, Barry Rooymans, Greg Hummel, Rob Mason, and Ed Comeau, some of who have been inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

The Thistles competed against strong opposition teams which included Canadian and Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame players such as Derek Keenan, Gil Nieuwendyk, Terry Sanderson, and Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame players - John Fusco, Brian Hall and Jim Meredith.

Thistles Dominated

The success of the Fergus Thistle Senior “B” lacrosse team is comparable to some of the great teams in lacrosse. During the 1986, 1987, 1988 seasons, the Fergus team dominated the Ontario Lacrosse Association Senior “B” league compiling a combined regular season and playoff games of 79 wins, 20 losses, and 1 tie – just slightly under a winning percentage of .800. A team winning 80% of its games is an incredible accomplishment.

The level of success of the Fergus team (5 National championships over a 7-year period) is noteworthy.  The caliber of Senior “B” lacrosse is high. It is not uncommon for Senior “B” teams to be capable of competing at the Senior “A” level, but the hard reality of geographical location negates the practical fact of being in a Senior “B” league, rather than a Senior “A” league. The top teams in Senior “B” are comprised of rosters with players possessing high skills and accomplished levels of athleticism

A summary of the Fergus Thistles championship teams is displayed below (providing details as available):

1986 – First place with a record of 21-3 scoring 309 goals and giving up only 175 goals against. In the playoffs, Fergus defeated Scarborough Saints 4-0 in the Semi-Finals. In the Finals, the Fergus Thistles defeated the Owen Sounds North Stars 4 games to 3 to win the Ontario title. At the Presidents Cup, Fergus defeated the Newtown Golden Eagles winning the Senior “B” championship of Canada.  

1987 – First place with a record of 17-3 outscoring the opposition 250 goals to 155. In the playoffs, Fergus swept Scarborough 4 games straight in the semi-finals. In capturing their second consecutive Presidents Cup, Fergus defeated Owen Sound 4 games to 3 to win the Ontario championship, going on to defeat Sarnia and winning the Presidents Cup.

1988 – Second place with a record of 17-6-1 outscoring opposition teams 300 goals to 185. In the playoffs, Fergus swept Huntsville four games straight and defeated Owen Sound in six games to win the Ontario championship. Fergus went onto defeat the Surrey Rebels to capture their third consecutive Presidents Cup championship.

1990 – Fergus won the Presidents Cup over the Edmonton Miners

1992 – Fergus defeated Nanaimo Timbermen to win the Presidents Cup

Dan Sytsma, who has been involved in the Fergus lacrosse community for over four decades, reminisces and thinks of those championship years as the “the glory days.” Dan noted the success of the Fergus teams was finding talent.  For that, he credits the late Mac Mason. Sytsma commented, “Mac was the architect who kept the Fergus Thistles going through the 80s and 90s.”  (Editor’s note: Mac Mason was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the Builder category in 1993, the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Fergus Sports Hall of Fame. Although Mason was instrumental in the success of the Thistles, he had a highly efficient and hard-working executive was included. Don McNiven, Bruce Disher and Dan Sytsma.

The reality for a small community such as Fergus is the difficulty of competing with teams from larger centres, particularly in enticing players. However, the small-town community-based team atmosphere was appealing to some players and created a close-knit team.

Each season Fergus won the Presidents Cup, the Thistles defeated the Owen Sound North Stars to win the Ontario Senior “B” championship. Two of the series went to seven games. It was a rivalry unmatched in lacrosse during that period. Although the Fergus team ceased operations in 1995, its legacy in lacrosse is noteworthy, particularly for the greater Fergus lacrosse community and avid fans of Senior “B” lacrosse.