Lacrosse Legends

Aitchison or “Aichy” was born and raised in New Westminster, B.C., but he never played as a Salmonbellie.

His career was as unique as his personality and he came to the game later than most as a high school field lacrosse player at age 16. A friend got him involved with the Junior Coquitlam J-Hawks. Aitchison felt so embarrassed by his inferior stick skills that he quit after 8 games.

The coaches talked him into coming back and he progressed the rest of the year. In 1970 he was picked up by Burnaby to play in the Minto Cup – a real eye-opener for the newcomer to box lacrosse. He had a fine career with the Senior Coquitlam Adanacs from 1971-82.

He was selected as the Rookie of the Year his first year and was awarded the Ed Bailey Trophy. On 4 occasions he made the WLA All Star Team. “Aichy” played in the 1980 World Box Lacrosse Championships and won gold as a member of Coquitlam’s squad. “Aichy” represented Canada in field Lacrosse in 1974, 1982 and 1986.

He was coming off a serious knee injury in 1986 but amazingly was selected to the World All Star Team as a long-pole defenseman - one of the 10 international players selected to the All Star Team – an incredible honour!

Brian “Butch” Keegan had a lacrosse career that many would dream about. He had great success as a player and a coach.

Keegan was one of the top scorers in both Junior and Senior Lacrosse, played on a Mann Cup team, a Professional League Nations Cup team and also coached four Presidents Cup champions.

As a player he was awarded the Most Gentlemanly Player Award at both the Junior and Senior levels. Butch played for Canada in the first World Field Lacrosse Championship in 1967.

He was one of the fortunate players to experience life as a pro in 1966 and then later in 1974 and 1975. His coaching prowess was recognized in 1989 when he was selected as OLA Senior Coach of the Year.

All these accolades brought him induction into the inaugural class of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997, and then entry into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000. Butch would put back into the game as a member of both the OLHof and CLHoF Eastern Seletion Committee for many years.

Bill Lefeuvre was inducted nto the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002. His induction was fitting as he was a member of the core group that built the institution having raised much of the funding for the project.

Lefeuvre also has stories on many of the major acquisitions on display there. There’s the 12 foot First Nations carving that greets visitors to the Hall, and the venerable Globe Shield as memorable examples.

He’s been involved in the in the game in many ways. He was Coach and General Manager of the Founders Cup Champion Spartan Warriors in 1996. He also served as General Manager of the Major Series St. Catharines Athletics.

His travels took him to Cape Breton and China where he has been involved in building the game. He even put his talents towards equipment manufacturing. Bill Lefeuvre’s impact on the game has been diverse and is of interest to all fans of the game.

A.J. Jomha is one of the great lacrosse people to come out of Alberta.

He has excelled as a player, coach and builder of the game at all levels – local to national.

Jomha started his time with the game in Edmonton’s minor program. As a player he was on the 1979 Alberta team that hosted the Minto Cup. Many players of that team would go on to win the first ever Founders Cup by Alberta in 1980.

He went on to coach the 1985 Alberta entry into the Canada Games. He would later coach at the Junior B, Junior A and Senior B levels, winning a number of national championships along the way.

He made his mark at the pro level serving as a scout for the Toronto Rock and Assistant Coach for the Edmonton Rush. He would advance to the position of Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Rush.

At the Lacrosse Canada Board level he has served as Box Sector Chair and Director of National Championships as well. Jomha also played a strong role in the development of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League featuring teams from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.

Ron Pinder grew up in Richmond, B.C.

His first national championship came in the form of a Minto Cup ring playing for the legendary Richmond Roadrunners team in 1971.

He would go on to win two Mann Cups for the Vancouver Burrards in 1975 and 1977. He finished his career with close to a 3 points per game scoring average.

Pinder really made his mark in the Mann Cup. His dad, Roy Pinder, had won the Mann Cupp in 1949. Ron would “see him and raise him one” starting in 1975 when he was awarded the Mike Kelly award that year as the MVP of the Series.

1975 was a great year for Ron Pinder. Jim Bishop called on him in the NLL playoffs to join the professional Montreal Quebecois .

Montreal was down 3 games to 1 in the semi-finals against the Boston Bolts and came back to take them 4-3. They would go 6 games against the Quebec Caribous who would go on to win the Championship in the final year of the pro league.

Mike Benedict Jr. Has had a lifelong involvement with the game starting with a great high school career from 1986-1989 at Salmon River High School in New York State.

He went on to play Junior B for both Akwesasne and Gloucester through 1992. He became a full time Senior Player in 1993 for the Akwesasne Thunder and was picked up by the Onondaga Redmen to play in the Presidents Cup and was named a 1st Team All Star.

In 1994 he played in Manchester, England with the Iroquois National Team. He scored 10 goals in one Senior box game in 1995. He won a Gold Medal with the Akwesasne Thunder that same year winning the Championship MVP Award with a 5 goal - 5 assist performance.

His rookie season with the MILL was with the Rochester Knighthawks also in 1995. Benedict’s MILL/NLL/MLL career included time with the Syracuse Smash, Buffalo Bandits, New York Saints, Columbus Landsharks, Rochester Rattlers and New Jersey Storm. Benedict has seen it all.

Experiences include an appearance in an NLL PlayStation Video Game as an Olympic Torch Bearer for Akwesasne in 2010.

Barry Alfred was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2013.

Alfred is known for his leadership and was selected Team Captain many times in his career with Kahnawake.

He is known for bringing out the best in his teammates and was named Top Player in Quebec after posting 150 points.

He saved some of his best performances for the Presidents Cup where he gained numerous MVP Awards, Leading Scorer Awards and All Star Nominations.

Alfred began coaching in 1996 as Head Coach for the Kahnawake Senior B Mohawks until 2009.

They had 7 Presidents Cup appearances. He also led his Masters Kahnawake Chiefs Team to a National Canadian Championship title.

Alfred feels fortunate to have played with “greats” including Brian Jacobs, Louis Delisle, Ernie Mitchell, Galla Thomas, Barry Powless, Mike Benedict Sr. and Gaylord Powless.

Greg Thomas was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2006.

He began his 27 year lacrosse career in Peterborough including four seasons on the P.C.O’s Junior A team.

They won a Minto Cup in 1972. In 1973 Thomas headed west to tend goal for the Coquitlam Seniors for 10 years and single seasons with both New Westminster and the Vancouver Burrards.

He had a lifetime save percentage of 74.3 percent in 269 games. He also scored as a goalie – one goal and 330 career assists. In one league game he had a goal and 5 assists.

This productivity led to three All Star Team selections in the Western Lacrosse Association.

He backstopped Canada West in the 1980 World Box Lacrosse Tournament. Other personal awards include the Maitland Trophy in 1979 and the Leo Nicholson Memorial Trophy as the WLA MVP in 1981.

When he was through playing he coached youth lacrosse for 8 seasons.

Bill C-212

Throughout history the fortunes of the game of lacrosse have ebbed and flowed.

The game has enjoyed some great times and some bleak ones. Somehow the game fights back from the precipice during the tough times and establishes itself on better footing. Its survival is uncanny and magical.

The game was in dire straits at the end of the 1980’s. Internal mismanagement and the Federal design to cut off funding to non-Olympic amateur sports were threatening to deal lacrosse a fatal blow.

What was needed to ensure survival was unclear. It seems when things are at their worst, a few intrepid souls whose passion for the game overrides their practical tendencies, seem to step up and fight the good fight.

The idea of creating Bill C-212 would prove to be one of the most creative and difficult maneuvers the game had ever seen or needed to be successful.

This story tells the tale of the six year struggle that ensued as lacrosse gained the status of Canada’s National Summer Sport.

Pierre Filion established the Quebec provincial lacrosse governing body from the ground up. He was hired in 1975 as Technical Director of the Québec Lacrosse Federation.

Filion drafted a constitution, by laws, incorporated the Federation, drafted an operations manual and established a democratic procedure.

In 1975 he created the QSLL, a QJLL and in 1976 three QJLL (juvenile leagues). Filion organized 14 regional lacrosse associations and managed provincial minor championships and Québec Games. He organized provincial and regional lacrosse clinics for coaches.

Filion created the Québec Team Program at the Canada Games.

In 1977 the Québec Lacrosse Federation presented a request on behalf of the CANAM League to obtain membership within the CLA and thus access annually to the Presidents’ Cup (the Senior B championship of Canada).

Filion organized field and women’s programs in Québec and Intercrosse in QC schools. He was also very involved in the international development of lacrosse.