St. Catharines Falcons

For the current junior B team, see St. Catharines Falcons (1968–).

St. Catharines Falcons

City	St. Catharines, Ontario
League	Ontario Hockey Association
Operated	1943 (1943)-47
Home arena	Garden City Arena
Franchise history
1943-47	St. Catharines Falcons
1947-62	St. Catharines Teepees
1962-76	St. Catharines Black Hawks
1976-82	Niagara Falls Flyers
1982-02	North Bay Centennials
2002-Present	Saginaw Spirit

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.

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.

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 Port Dalhousie.

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 $2500. 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.

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

NHL Alumni are Armand Delmonte, Val Delory, Bing Juckes, 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.

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	Points	Pct %	Goals For	Goals Against	Standing
1943-44	26	15	9	2	32	0.615	125	103	1st OHA Group 2
1944-45	20	12	8	0	24	0.600	101	93	2nd OHA
1945-46	28	14	14	0	28	0.500	133	123	4th OHA
1946-47	36	7	25	4	18	0.250	101	219	8th 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.

Garden City Arena - OHL Arena & Travel Guide

Defunct OHA / OMJHL teams

Belleville Bulls Brantford Alexanders Barrie Flyers Brampton Battalion Brantford Lions Galt Black Hawks Galt Canadians Galt Red Wings Galt Rockets Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters Guelph Indians Guelph Royals Hamilton Fincups Hamilton Lloyds Hamilton Majors Hamilton Red Wings Hamilton Steelhawks Hamilton Szabos Hamilton Tiger Cubs Hamilton Whizzers Kitchener Canucks Kitchener Greenshirts Kingston Canadians Kingston Raiders London Nationals Montreal Junior Canadiens Niagara Falls Flyers North Bay Centennials Oshawa Generals^† Owen Sound Greys Plymouth Whalers Port Colborne Recreationists St. Catharines Black Hawks St. Catharines Falcons St. Catharines Fincups St. Catharines Teepees Stratford Kroehlers Stratford Midgets Toronto Aura Lee Toronto Lions Toronto Marlboros Toronto Native Sons Toronto St. Michael's Majors Toronto Varsity Blues Toronto Young Rangers Waterloo Hurricanes West Toronto Nationals Windsor Spitfires^†

Metro Junior A League teams (1961-1963) Brampton 7Ups Oshawa Generals‡ Toronto Knob Hill Farms Toronto Marlboros‡ Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons Toronto St. Michael's Majors‡ Unionville Seaforths Whitby Dunlops Whitby Mohawks

† Formerly defunct franchise, currently active; ‡ Franchise transferred into OHA.

CHL Memorial Cup WHL QMJHL J. Ross Robertson Cup OHA history OHA standings OHL seasons

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