Our History
A History of the Barrie Rugby Football Club
(1967-1995)
Jim Hamilton
{This history was written by Jim in '95. The thoughts are his but the punctuation and annotations are mine. Before Jim gave me this I had put down Some Recollections From an Old Fart and so I have inserted them [in italics] at appropriate spots in Jim's more complete history. Since Jim wrote this he didn't mentioned himself, but no history of either club or school rugby in Barrie would be complete without acknowledging his energetic, thoughtful and continuing contribution to both. For many years he almost single-handedly ran the successful rugby programme at Eastview. Please note that Jim's history ends in '95 and that my thoughts are only of the very early days.}
Jack LeSage - 2002
In 1967, a group of athletes from Barrie and Base Borden got together with a few expatriates from Britain and Australia to form the Barrie Huronia Rugby club.
{I seem to recall that Bob (Aussie) Graham, Jim Tetzner (of Stayner) and I met with Pete Cavill at his Simcoe Cty Rec Director's office to discuss a high school rugby league. (Peter provided his office, wise advice, much enthusiasm--and a two-four!) The league did not develop but this meeting was the foreplay that led to the conception of the Barrie Huronia Rugby club.}
They played in green and white hoops for one year (1967) but soon switched to the familiar blue and white. If you take a look at the club crest it features a Gryphon, a mythical figure that symbolizes rebirth, appropriate for a club whose fortunes, until lately, have been as mercurial as can be imagined. The other aspect of the crest is the 1967 Centennial emblem to signify the year of the club's creation.
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The club was originally incorporated as a non-profit community-based organization in 1970. The club plays under the regulations of the CRU, the ORU and currently plays in Division 1 & 2 of the TRU. The IRFU is the governing body of world rugby and every 4 years a World Cup is held to declare an international championship from among the 150 member nations. Canada is currently ('95) ranked 8th in the world. A unique aspect of the game is its rejection of professionalism. Players, coaches, referees and administrators cannot accept benefit from the game beyond normal expenses.
The club originally featured high school teachers Jack LeSage** & Duncan Ellis**, Australia's Bob "Aussie" Graham & Mel Sherf, the late Most Rev Basil Tonks & Peter Cavill and Canadian Forces' Horace Smith**. Soon they were joined by the likes of Lee Brebner, Dave Megas (an early captain), Levi Snook, Len Stroud & Jim Whitfield as well as a host of schoolboys such as the late Steve Blair, Laurie Caldwell, Bruce & Doug Cairncross, Doug Cole*, Canadian Sports Hall-of-Famer Jim Corrigal*, Rick Coutts*, Brian Daigneault*, Reed Ellis, Ted Handy and Karl Parss. David & Hazel Lewis were the heart and soul of the club in the early years.
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{My recollections are vague but I do remember that Aussie was the President and Treasurer and that our finances were carried in a chocolate box!}
I remember also that I was always afraid to show up for a game because I never knew if we were going to have 15 bodies (let alone 15 players)! People seemed to come out of, and disappear into, the woodwork (We had a few beer-ups at the greenhouses of the Steyn brothers in Bradford since Hank played with us for a while.) but there was a core group that kept the team going. Of course in the early days we assumed that, when new talent arrived, we had to explain the differences between Canadian Football and it's ancestor. But we found that Camp Borden was a rich source of Maritimers and Brits who had played the game.
**It is worth noting that Jack, Dunc and Horace had previously played with the then defunct Camp Borden RFC.
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We had the after-home-game-beer-ups at our "clubhouse" which was the home of Bob and Sheree Graham. At that time, it was way out on the edge of Barrie (Ardagh Rd) and so a little noise was OK.}
Jack LeSage, who introduced the game to Barrie high schools at Barrie North Collegiate, often (ad nauseam?) tells the story that, after applying to enter a very early 7-a-side tournament, he had to ask the tournament organizer (John Brown--Aurora High School) to re-schedule his team out of the 1st game so that his players could see a game before they played it! Barrie Central coach Bill Fell, Dave Cunningham, the late Gary Stewart and the asterisked (*) players above played on that team.
{Dave Chambers (Boys Phys Ed Head at Barrie North) had invited a group of Phys Ed instructors (including Horace Smith) from Camp Borden (now Base Borden) to put on a rugby clinic at our school. After the clinic some of the senior students (Bill Fell, Dave Cunningham, Brian Daigneault, Gary Stewart, Jim Corrigal, Rick Coutts, Doug Cole) conned me into starting a 7's team. (This was the 1st high school team in Simcoe Cty.)
My point is that these young guns were crucial to our club in the early years. (One of the 1st year midget players next year at North was Laurie Caldwell.) It is worth noting that a significant number of that Midget team, including Laurie) were transferred to the new east-end school (Eastview) in the following year. I would argue (but Lee Brebner and Jim Hamilton may not agree) that this gave Eastview a good nucleus to start with. It is my view that the high schools in Barrie continue to be a valuable source of talent that help to ensure the continued success of the club.}
The game in Barrie entered a new phase, about 1970, with the arrival of several British players of exceptional skill: the late Syd Cathery, George Gibson, Brian Gilbertson and Tom Hardy. From Czechoslovakia came Peter Sabata to add his considerable skill. Because of the knowledge of these players and their understanding of the importance of the club as a social entity it grew rapidly fielding 2 teams on a regular basis and, on occasion, 3 teams. This past year (19xx) the club has fielded 2 adult teams, an U17 team and an U19 team.
In the mid-70's, under the leadership of Syd and Jane Cathery, the club purchased a house on Bradford St and enjoyed a spectacular few years as one of Ontario's premier teams on the field and unsurpassed in the clubhouse afterward. Unfortunately the work associated with the club drove the few strong supporters to exhaustion and this fact, combined with the return to England of Syd & Jane Cathery and Tom Hardy, caused the house to be lost to insolvency. It is a lesson not forgotten and present expansion plans centre on very slow controlled growth centered on a field rather than a clubhouse.
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{I think that the '79 English tour was the 1st club tour. It was organized by Kevin Malone. We needed the services of two of his acquaintances from Toronto and Michael Cathery (the youngest son of the famous family) who was attending university in England. It was a good experience both socially and athletically (We learned a lot!). For part of our trip we were billeted at Syd and Jane's pub in Cheritan Bishop.}
The club played at a variety of locations over the years. In early times we were at Base Borden and then North Collegiate, where Phys Ed Head Jim Whitfield provided for years: a field, change rooms and field leadership as 1st-team captain. We then moved briefly to the fields at the present location of Innisdale Secondary School before moving, for 6 years, to Formosa Springs (now Molson's) park. Barrie RFC for a few years had a successful corporate partner in Formosa Springs Brewery and, in fact, we ran the snack bar in Formosa's Cross-Country Centre. We later played at the fairgrounds and Lampman Lane. For years the practice field was Sunnidale Park. Presently we play on our own (leased) fields. These two superb fields are on Gore Rd.
Barrie became famous in the '70's for the annual 7-A-Side tournament held on the 1st July weekend. The event culminated about 1978 with a huge tournament and a very memorable (for some!) beer-up afterward. Barrie won that tournament which featured the leadership of Ian Cathery who was up to that time probably Barrie's most renowned player. (Ian was selected to Canada's National team in the late '80's only to dislocate his shoulder shortly before he was to leave on tour to Australia. Ian's brother Michael returned home with the family and eventually captained English Universities before continuing his playing career in Exeter. Syd played long enough to play a few seasons with his sons--a terrifying experience for those playing against "the family".
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{I think that the '79 English tour was the 1st club tour. It was organized by Kevin Malone. We needed the services of two of his acquaintances from Toronto and Michael Cathery (the youngest son of the famous family) who was attending university in England. It was a good experience both socially and athletically (We learned a lot!). For part of our trip we were billeted at Syd and Jane's pub in Cheritan Bishop.}
The club played at a variety of locations over the years. In early times we were at Base Borden and then North Collegiate, where Phys Ed Head Jim Whitfield provided for years: a field, change rooms and field leadership as 1st-team captain. We then moved briefly to the fields at the present location of Innisdale Secondary School before moving, for 6 years, to Formosa Springs (now Molson's) park. Barrie RFC for a few years had a successful corporate partner in Formosa Springs Brewery and, in fact, we ran the snack bar in Formosa's Cross-Country Centre. We later played at the fairgrounds and Lampman Lane. For years the practice field was Sunnidale Park. Presently we play on our own (leased) fields. These two superb fields are on Gore Rd.
Barrie became famous in the '70's for the annual 7-A-Side tournament held on the 1st July weekend. The event culminated about 1978 with a huge tournament and a very memorable (for some!) beer-up afterward. Barrie won that tournament which featured the leadership of Ian Cathery who was up to that time probably Barrie's most renowned player. (Ian was selected to Canada's National team in the late '80's only to dislocate his shoulder shortly before he was to leave on tour to Australia. Ian's brother Michael returned home with the family and eventually captained English Universities before continuing his playing career in Exeter. Syd played long enough to play a few seasons with his sons--a terrifying experience for those playing against "the family".
The early 70's saw the formation of a nearly unbeatable women 7's team.
The longest playing member of the club is probably Rob Avery who joined the club, in the early '70's, as a wing and "progressed in" to his familiar prop position. Rob spent most of his career at prop ranging far afield (behind the field?) as a frustrated back despite his continuous condemnation of all things away from the front row. His famous partner was, of course, Johnny Parry.
One of the most prominent of our members had to be John Butcher. With considerable enthusiasm, unparalleled energy and unquenchable thirst, John: led us into the Mid-Ont Rugby League; arranged (in the mid-70's) for the hosting of the London Welsh in what became our most famous "party weekend"; kicked a memorable 50-m drop goal (60 m if you ask John!); and generally dragged us kicking and screaming into the '80's.
The club has moved from the TD 1st Div into the elite Senior League on 4 occasions (up to '95). In each case, lack of depth eventually led to relegation but this is a high tribute to a small club in a small city with a small industrial base. The club's fortunes have in fact revolved around the city's economic situation and a consistent fact has been the loss of young players to university.
Ask any "Old Boy" about the Timmins tournament. We won!
The high schools in Barrie have provided superbly trained players for both the club and Canadian universities (e.g. UNB, UPEI, Queens, York, Toronto, Western, McMaster, Waterloo, Lakehead). One year in the mid-80's the Ont University final featured 13 (of 30) Barrie players! On another memorable night the club received a phone call from Edmonton where 15 Barrie players had gathered to play or watch a tournament.
{This was the national final between BC & ON [The AB team, with a significant Barrie presence lost to BC in the semi-final. The score was 12-9 and AB had 2 tries called back in the last 5 min.] The game was televised on CBC and the Barrie contingent held up "Hello Rob Avery" signs for the cameras!}
One of our farthest ranging players was Bernie LeSage who has played extensively in ON, Western Can, Europe and other hidden spots around the world. Bernie also played against Scotland and was part of a renowned invitational team in Belgium {The [Belgian RFU] President's Selects}. Bernie is the son of Jack LeSage, one of the club's co-founders. Bernie's brother Mike served as Barrie's scrum half for a number of years.
The '80's brought a new era to the club. A host of Barrie-trained athletes, most with university experience, took over led, in the beginning, by Brian Bainborough, Tim Gleason and Laurie MacFarlane. The present wave of players such as Dave Barriault, Dave Britnell, Ralph Engel, Glenn Gould, Peter and Paul Lemmon, John "Gino" Mulhall, Steve Sclater, Dave Stephens and Al Zaba illustrate the potential for this club.
The future of the club appears to depend on two things. First, a strong organization, which looks to be solid under the leadership of Pres Ralph Engel, and second, the ability to secure a field of our own. For years now the club has bounced from place to place with no consistency in playing, changing or celebratory venues. A new committee has been struck to secure a field in 1995, to be available for play in 1996. Hopefully the success of this committee will lead to a more vibrant club and it will Phoenix-like arise even stronger.
The 1995 Barrie RFC had some erratic play but, for those lucky enough to catch some games in May & June, it was quite likely that you saw a club playing the best rugby in its history. Almost all players learned their rugby in Barrie, refined it in university and continue their enthusiasm for the game as club players. The future looks bright!
In 1997 a woman's team was formed. It was coached by Jim Hamilton and captained by Tracy Forrest.
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