The Shamrocks entered the former Inter-City Lacrosse League, which is now the WLA, in 1950. The team became known as the Victoria Pay Less in 1982 to reflect a major sponsorship by Pay Less Gas. The team readopted the Shamrocks name in 1995.
The Shamrocks have won the Mann Cup Canadian National Championship a total of 9 times; in 1955, 1957, 1979, 1983, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2015. They have won a total of 21 Provincial Championships.
Some of the greatest lacrosse players in the world have been proud to wear the green and white, including Jack Bionda, Rick Brown, Archie Browning, Fred "Whitey" Severson, Geordie Johnston, "Bobby" Monaghan, Kevin Alexander, both Paul and Gary Gait, and John Tavares. The Shamrocks home arena features a "Wall of Fame" where many great players, coaches, trainers and managers who have been part of the team are enshrined.
On September 16, 2005, the Victoria Shamrocks won their 8th Mann Cup, defeating the Peterborough Lakers 4 games to 2 in a classic, hard-fought series. Shamrocks' goaltender Anthony Cosmo was awarded the Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy as the series Most Valuable Player.
Almost 10 years later, on September 11, 2015, the Victoria Shamrocks won their 9th Mann Cup, once again defeating the Peterborough Lakers 4 games to 2 in another hard-fought series. Shamrocks' forward Corey Small was awarded the Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy as the series Most Valuable Player.
The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Association, the West.
The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the Major Series Lacrosse champion for the Mann Cup every September. The championship is hosted alternately between Ontario and British Columbia every year.
John Christopher Grant Jr. is a Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. He currently serves as an assistant coach for Redwoods Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League.
John Arthur James "Jack" Bionda was a Canadian lacrosse and hockey player. He was a lacrosse superstar, dominating the sport throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. In hockey he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League between 1955 and 1959, mainly spending his career in the minor American Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the right to compete against the Western Lacrosse Association champion for the Mann Cup every September. The championship is hosted alternately between Ontario and British Columbia every year.
The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario, at the Barton Street Arena, also known as the Hamilton Forum.
Colin "Popeye" Doyle is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player and captain for the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League and the Six Nations Chiefs of Major Series Lacrosse.
Dan Dawson is a retired Canadian professional lacrosse player formally playing for the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League, Brampton Excelsiors (MSL) of Major Series Lacrosse, and is currently a free agent in Major League Lacrosse. Dawson ranks 2nd on the all-time NLL points list through of the 2022 season. He is a 7 time NLL All Pro selection. As a professional, he is a 7 time Mann Cup Canadian box lacrosse champion, and a 1 time Major League Lacrosse (field) champion (2009 Toronto Nationals. Representing Canada, Dawson has won two World Indoor Lacrosse Championship titles and was a finalist in the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship. Dawson has won two Champion's Cups as a member of the Rochester Knighthawks in 2013 and 2014.
John Tavares is a Canadian former professional box lacrosse player and current head coach of the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Six Nations Chiefs of the Major Series Lacrosse League. He is the NLL's all-time leading scorer and also a mathematics teacher at Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He attended D'Youville University in Buffalo, New York.
Lewis Ratcliff is a retired professional lacrosse player. Originally from London, England, Ratcliff moved to Victoria at the age of 7.
Brandon Miller is a former goaltender who most recently played for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League, and the Six Nations Chiefs and, formerly, the Brampton Excelsiors in the Ontario Lacrosse Association's Major Series. He has won four Mann Cups, two with each of the Chiefs and Excelsiors.
The Brooklin Lacrosse Club is a box lacrosse team from Brooklin, Ontario. Brooklin plays in the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) league. The MSL, and its counterpart, the Western Lacrosse Association, represent the highest level of competitive box lacrosse in Canada. Both league champions compete each September for the Mann Cup, one of the most historic and treasured sports trophies in Canada.
The Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of the Mann Cup competition.
Jeff Shattler is an Iroquois professional box lacrosse player who currently plays with the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He has Ojibwe and Inuit roots and has competed internationally with the Iroquois Nationals, including with the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship silver medal winning teams in 2011 and 2015. He was the 2011 NLL Most Valuable Player, 2011 NLL Transition Player of the Year, and the 2018 NLL Cup Most Valuable Player.
William Lloyd "Moon" Wootton was a Canadian professional box lacrosse goaltender. At the height of his career, Moon was considered by some to be the best lacrosse goaltender in Canada and by some to be the greatest lacrosse goaltender in history. He holds the distinction of winning five straight Mann Cup national championships, three Mann Cup most valuable player honours, and nine Ontario Senior A Championships in nine season of participation. He was entered into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in its first year of existence.
Joe "The Quiet Man" Comeau is a Canadian retired amateur and professional box lacrosse goaltender. A member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Comeau was the winner of four Mann Cup national championships, WLA playoff and regular season most valuable player trophies, seven all-star team inductions and four Nicholson Trophies as the WLA's top goaltender.
Leslie D. "Les" Norman was a Canadian retired professional and amateur box lacrosse goaltender. A long time member of the New Westminster Salmonbellies franchise, Norman was a winner of three Mann Cups as a Canadian Lacrosse Champion, the 1968 National Lacrosse Association professional championship, and the 1965 Mann Cup's most valuable player. Norman was also the first goaltender to post a shutout in a Western Lacrosse Association game. Les Norman was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1989.
Andy Ogilvie is a former professional lacrosse player. He played for the Buffalo Bandits, Vancouver Ravens and Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League. His NLL career lasted from 1999 to 2007. He was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2014 along with Gary Gait and Paul Gait.
Evan Kirk, is a Canadian professional lacrosse goaltender in the National Lacrosse League, currently playing for the Rochester Knighthawks and for the Peterborough Lakers of the Major Series Lacrosse. He was a member of Team Canada during the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
