By Horrie Webber Published Posthumously with Editing and Additions by John Nolan Melbourne 2015
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THE 1959 AUSTRALIAN MEN’S LACROSSE TEAM vs WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY/ UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA By Horrie Webber Published posthumously with editing and additions by John Nolan Melbourne 2015 The season of 1959 is one that will be long remembered by those who took part in it, to be viewed almost with awe by those who have come after. Australia earned for itself the right to be considered a major lacrosse nation, whether it eventually fulfilled the high promise of 1959 remains to be seen, but the visit of teams from the United States of America to Australia was an event of national importance. The 1959 tour of an American team toAustralia was conceived by Gene Corrigan, lacrosse coach at the University of Virginia, in early 1957. Gene Corrigan was head lacrosse coach at Washington & Lee University from 1956-58 and at University of Virginia from 1959-67.Gene Corrigan had taken the Washington & Lee team to England several years before and had alsoreceived reports of Australian lacrosse from members of the U.S.A. Olympic field hockey team that participated in the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, and contacted the controlling bodies of lacrosse in Australia. From that time he worked unceasingly towards the fulfilment of his idea. Unfortunately prior to the Australian tour Gene’s wife Lena was expecting another child and was having some health issues so it was not possible for Gene to participate in that tour. As Gene explained in 2018 “Mybrother George had been an All- American player at the University of Maryland and had kept involved with the game as a graduate. When I could not make the trip I asked him to take my place, he knew all about the players from both teams and they knew what a terrific person he was. George was involved in a business at that time and he left that position against the wishes of his partners, costing him a position when he returned. He succeeded in business as we all expected him to do during the rest of his life! I cannot imagine anyone doing what he did to make that trip possible. Anyway, thank goodness he was willing to take on the trip and I doubt there could have been a better person to make this trip such a great event for the team than he was.” The team had two playing coaches - George Corrigan who was taking the place of Gene Corrigan representing UVA, and Robert McHenry who became coach of Washington & Lee following Gene’s appointment as coach at UVA. Robert McHenry had been a player at Washington & Lee while Gene Corrigan was coach. The American team was billeted by Australian players and supporters throughout the tour, which started in Perth, then on to Adelaide for more warm up games and finished in Melbourne through participation in the Australian Carnival matches and culminated in the test match at the MCG. Clearly it was an extremely well organized tour from both ends and as can be seen from the souvenir programme for the Australian championships and the test match between Australian and the USA, there was a lot of support from many people and companies in Australia, including General Motors-Holden, which had only been established in 1948, the Melbourne Cricket Club, the Myer Emporium, Ansett - ANA and many small businesses and supporters. The Prince of Wales Hotel in St Kilda was also a sponsor and the South Australian team stayed at the hotel for the carnival. “Thanks must be given to the late I. J. Taylor, Carl Schulz of South Australia, and the present secretary of the Australian Lacrosse Council, Mr Algy Taylor, for their untiring efforts to make this tour possible and I feel that the Executive Officer of each state will join with me in thanking them for their sterling efforts.” The Victorian Amateur Lacrosse Association had already committed itself heavily to provide money. It then set about arranging the details of the visit of the Americans to Australia. The American team would be drawn from the Universities of Virginia and Washington and Lee. It should be understood that it was only in the universities of the United States, that the gamewas played under amateur conditions. The visit therefore was one in which American amateurs would compete with amateurs in the southern states of Australia. The task of preparing for the American visit was complicated by the circumstance that in 1959 Melbourne was the venue for the nationalcarnival. The carnival in itself required much pre-thought and careful administration, but the task became gigantic when the responsibilities of an international visit were also undertaken. The Victorian Amateur Lacrosse Association promptly set itself to the task. At the first meeting it was decided to appoint a series of sub-committees to make arrangements for every contingency they could foresee. It was decided that for each sub-committee a senior member of the Executive should be appointed, to be known as the convenor and chairman. All sub-committees were empowered to co-opt such colleagues as they thought suitable. Each sub-committee should report at least once a month to the Executive Committee. The following sub-committees were set up: 1. Billeting: Noel Jeffrey (Convenor), MaxKindermann to be the elected member, and NoelJeffrey was to nominate the third member. 2. Entertainment: Bill Gray Snr (Convenor), Phil Humphreys, Charlie Middleton and RoyReddaway elected members. 3. Publicity: Bert Sterck (Convenor), Maurie Aitken, R. Goslin and J. Hughes elected members. 4. Finance Officers: Frank Lansbury was appointed Finance Officer for the carnival and US visit, with Alan Bamford to assist. 5. Ground Arrangement: R. Goslin (Convenor), Jim Daw Senior and John Tomlinson elected members. The senior selection committee consisted of A. Bamford, W. Logan and C. Middleton. The junior selection committee consisted of K. Claus, W. Gray and C. F Lansbury. The senior interstate coach was Mr C. Middleton and the junior coach Mr F. Moore. At the Executive Committee (1 April 1959) the reports from the sub-committees were received. A verbal report was received from the Publicity Committee which revealed that advertising space in Batman Avenue had been reserved for four weeks. A budget of the estimated expenditure for the carnival and the visit of the American players would be presented at the next meeting. The Billeting Committee reported that it felt confident that there would be sufficient response. The offers would probably exceed the demand and selection might be necessary. To ensure that guests and hosts would be compatible, Mr Corrigan had been asked to furnish as soon as possible information on each visitor stating: Name Age Course of study Special Interests Any aspect of Australian Life interested in Religious denomination A questionnaire was then issued through the clubs along the following lines: “I would be glad to billet etc. “ Name Address Club Occupation Phone (Business and Private) Type of accommodation (E.g. Single bed in separate room, share bedroom, divan bed in sunroom etc) Will accommodation be available for the full period of the carnival? Will accommodation be available for one or two days on the arrival of the visitors in Melbourne on 2nd July? Will you be at work or on leave during the carnival? Proximity of home to public transport? Could you provide transport to training, matches, sight-seeing, etc? Religious denomination? The questionnaire should be returned by 31 May. At the Executive Committee meeting (27 April 1959) the Entertainment Committee tabled its report. The estimates for complimentary tickets were based on the visiting teams, the Victorian senior team and their coach. It was moved that the President, the Executive and the Honorary Records Secretary, and their ladies, should also be on the complimentary list. The Entertainments Committee was allowed £650.00. The Publicity Committee presented its report which was received with approbation and an allowance of £160. Details of the conduct of play needed to be arranged. There were different interpretations of some rules in each state. The Victorian association recommended to the Australian Lacrosse Council that there should be a meeting between representatives of the three southern states to arrive at uniformity of the laws and their interpretation before the carnival and the arrival of the United States teams.It was decided to buy a stop watch as V.A.L.A property. The interstate selectors were requested to start interstate training, first by supplying the Hon. Secretary a list of 32 names for the senior training squad, by Monday, 25 May. Training would begin on the first Sunday in June, at Caulfield Park at 10 a.m. Clubs were asked to forward the names of players in the Colts team by the same date, with similar training arrangements. At the Executive Committee meeting on 25 May it was stated that a request had been made to the Commanding Officer of the City of Melbourne Regiment for the band to play at the international match to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. At a special Executive Committee meeting (7 June 1959) further activities of the Publicity Committee were outlined: Mr Sterck showed calico car-boot signs for the visit of the American players. The state coach was reimbursed the sum of £15 for T- Shirts for the interstate training squad. At the Executive Committee (22 June 1959) Mr C.F. Lansbury was appointed manager of the first and second Victorian teams, Mr P. Shappere, manager of the Colts team, andMr T. Allington assistant coach. A panel of Liaison Officers consisting of Messrs F. Durham, H. Wood, A. Bamford, K. Buchanan, N. Buckley, G. Knowles, M. Kindermann and B.