Lacrosse Legends

Scott Squires

Meet some of the amazing people who are true legends of the wonderful game of Lacrosse Brought to you by the "Canadian Lacrosse Foundation" Visit the CLF online at www.Lacrosse.ca/content/canadian-lacrosse-foundation Visit Lacrosse Canada at www.lacrosse.ca Visit some of the amazing Lacrosse HOF Websites: Canadian - https://www.clhof.org Ontario - https://ontariolacrossehalloffame.com Manitoba - http://mblacrossehof.ca/

  1. Thomas Family Lacrosse Legends

    07/26/2023

    Thomas Family Lacrosse Legends

    There are a number of families that are synonymous with the game of lacrosse. The Thomas family is one of them. Join Steve and Ron Thomas as they tell stories of their lacrosse careers at the local to international levels as both amateurs and professionals. Steve ‘s playing career went from 1960 -1984. He played for Akwesasne/St. Regis through Bantam,Midget, Junior and Senior. During this time he helped to organize the St. Regis Lacrosse Program. He was offered a full scholarship to Syracuse University in 1967. Steve played on championship teams with the St. Regis Jr. Braves in 1969, 70 and 71 and was a Canadian Jr. B finalist in 1971. He was known as a “hardroc k” defenseman playing for Ross Powless in 1971 and 1972 on the Rochester Iroquois in the Can-Am Pro League. In 1974 he was drafted by Montreal in the National Lacrosse League. Steve continued to play on many Championship teams in the Quebec Sr. League for the Akwesasne Warriors. He was presented with the John Ferguson Best Defenseman Trophy 3 times. After his playing days were over he continued to contribute to the game as a coach, certified referee, Indigenous Director for the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of fame and Co-founder of the Akwesasne LacrosseHall of Fame in 1998. Ron Thomas lists renowned ancestors as those who helped mold his game. His father was Angus Thomas and grandfather was Thomas P. Thomas – both Hall of Famers. Ron played for the St. Regis Indians Lacrosse Club and the Valleyfield Braves in the 60’s. He excelled at defense and played with Frank Benedict, Abe Thomas, and Larry Martin. He was employed as an ironworker and spent a great deal of time and energy driving from jobs in the USA to make games on the weekends. There are currently 17 Thomas family members in the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

    1 hr
  2. Lacrosse Legend Barry Powless

    06/14/2023

    Lacrosse Legend Barry Powless

    Barry Powless has made his mark in lacrosse on both sides of the border as a player, coach and manager in both the box and field versions of the game. While at Lafayette H.S. near Syracuse he was named a USLA High School All American. He went on to play attack at Syracuse University. After Syracuse he played in the 1980 World Lacrosse Championship and won the Silver Medal as part of the Can-Am Warriors squad in Vancouver. After getting a taste of West Coast life he would play for the next decade in the Vanocuver area. In 1981 he would play and star for both the North Shoe Indians and the New Westminster Salmonbellies who would win the Mann Cup. In 1984 he captured a Presidents Cup with the North Shore Indians. He would join the Vancouver Burrards and the Coquitlam Adanacs during that time.He even made his mark in Field Lacrosse playing for the Vancouver Field Lacrosse Club and won a Provincial Championship and made the All-Star Team. In 1990 he would head back east and he helped propel the Fergus Thistles to a Presidents Cup Championship. That same year Powless played for the inaugural Iroquois National team in the World Championships in Perth, Australia. In 1992 he was picked up by the Buffalo Bandits and would win an MILL Championship. Powless would play at the Senior B level until his retirement at the advanced age of 50 years! This lengthy career brought him many honours including induction into the Ontario Lacross Hall of Fame in 1999, US Lacrosse Upstate New York Chapter Hall of Fame in 2015, the Akwesasne Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2018, and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of the Salmonbellies Organization . His coaching and managing endeavours included Head Coach of the MLL Rochester Knighthawks from 1995-1997, VP of Lacrosse Operations for the NLL from 2000-2002 and Assistant Coach for the Iroquois 2003 World Indoor Finalists. Barry Powless Jr. Has done just about everything a lacrosse person can do!

    46 min
  3. Lacrosse Legend Jim Bishop

    05/18/2023

    Lacrosse Legend Jim Bishop

    As our interview team conducted dozens of interviews across Canada over the last 4 years one name kept popping up – Jim Bishop. Bishop is one of the most well-known names in the game. He is deceased, but his influence and work lives on. We have put together a number of former players and coaches who knew him to discuss the lacrosse life of one of Canada’s most important contributors to the game. He was involved with lacrosse for 58 years, making his mark as coach and builder of the game in Ontario and throughout Canada. Jim began coaching minor lacrosse in Toronto in 1946 and in 1957 he founded the Huntsville Minor Lacrosse Association. One of his greatest accomplishments was building the Oshawa Junior A Green Gaels - the legendary lacrosse organization that competed in and won 7 consecutive Minto Cups. This record of 7 consecutive titles from 1963 to 1969 has not been equalled since and likely won’t be matched. Bishop was involved in establishing the initial National Lacrosse League in 1968 and coached the Detroit Olympics. In 1969, Jim also went to work in Pro Hockey with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He served as a vice-president of the team for 4 years. In 1974, Jim was instrumental in establishing the NLL again for a 2 year period. During that time, he was the Coach and General Manager for the Toronto Tomahawks and then the coach of the Montreal Quebecois. He became the first Technical Director of the Canadian Lacrosse Association in 1978. In 1997 he won his 8 th Minto Cup as a coach. Bishop is a winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award from the Canadian Lacrosse Association for excellence in lacrosse. In 1969 he was inducted into both the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He did countless clinics for both players and coaches across the country. He wanted to teach Canadians the proper way to play the game he loved. He also established a company to distribute lacrosse equipment across Canada which assisted in the development of the sport. Bishop’s greatness was his vision for the whole sport. He built systems into the game that were ahead of their time and made his players work hard to be skilled enough to execute these systems. He freely shared his knowledge and approach to the game and was instrumental in helping to expand the game to all provinces in the country. His story is one everyone in the lacrosse community, young or old, should learn.

    1h 20m

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Meet some of the amazing people who are true legends of the wonderful game of Lacrosse Brought to you by the "Canadian Lacrosse Foundation" Visit the CLF online at www.Lacrosse.ca/content/canadian-lacrosse-foundation Visit Lacrosse Canada at www.lacrosse.ca Visit some of the amazing Lacrosse HOF Websites: Canadian - https://www.clhof.org Ontario - https://ontariolacrossehalloffame.com Manitoba - http://mblacrossehof.ca/