1957 Midland Lions

On April 27, 1957, for the second year in a row, the Midland Lions Little NHL Jr.”A” team won the G.M.Graham Trophy signifying Ontario Little NHL Jr. Championship supremacy. The trophy was presented by Keith Carruthers, the Ontario Little NHL Vice-President in the Collingwood Eddie Bush arena on Saturday evening to the Team Captain, Chester Graham.

The weekend tournament hosted over 400 players in three divisions from communities in Central Ontario ranging from Toronto to Parry Sound and from Welland to Cobourg. The Midland team was composed of 8 and 9 year old skaters who competed in the Junior ‘A’ division against teams from Beaton, Scarboro (Scarborough) and Toronto Township. Future N.H.L. notables Wayne Carleton (Beaton) and Bobby Orr (Parry Sound) also debuted in this competition.

In the opening game, Midland defeated Beaton 2-1 with goals from Dennis Abbott and Chester Graham with assists going to Graham and Bob Clayton respectively. In the second game, Midland defeated Scarboro 3-0 with two goals from Graham and the third one coming from Jon Pettersen with an assist from Graham. In the championship game, Midland triumphed over Toronto Township 2-1 with Bob Clayton starting off the scoring and Jon Pettersen securing the win with an empty net marker. The team returned to Midland and in keeping with a long-standing tradition for recognizing championship sports teams, they toured the town on an old fire truck. At the end of May, the team was honoured at the Midland Lions Club Banquet and Presentations, where they were presented with commemorative jackets and engraved watches.

The team members were: David Brooks, Randy Small, Dough Taylor, John Swan, Wayne Holden, Dennis Abbott, Tom Gray, Chester Graham, Alan Mostyn, Robert Weckman, Jim Tippin, Earl Scott, Keith Bath, Bob Clayton, Doug French and Greg Somers. The team was coached by the Reverend Len Self, Tom Scott, Don Pringle, Frank Graham and Bill Brooks.