The Post War Years
There can be little doubt that World War II did tremendous harm to soccer in Hamilton. Not of course in the conflict itself, but in the fact that in those six terrible year slmost all that was built up prior to 1939 was completely destroyed.
Not until 1948 did the game show any real signs of coming alive again. By that time most of the previous administrators and clubs had died or in the case of the officals had been overtaken by old age. However, there was one man who remained from the pre-war era and he was to play a leading role not only in the resurrection of socer in Hamilton, but also in Ontario and Canada. This was Arthur 'Pop' Arnold, who owned and operated a steel fabricating firm where Bay street met York boulevard.
Mr. Arnold had been involved with the National League before the war and as a result of the Ontario Football Association (now the Ontario Soccer Association) being disbanded during the war was called upon after the war to get Ontario soccer on its feeet again. 'Pop', at the urging of the then Dominion of Canada Football Association (today's Canadian Soccer Association), headed up the Ontario Soccer Commission for four years before the Ontario Football Association was reformed in 1952. At that meeting he was elected President of the OFA and when he resigned at the annual meeting in 1958 had served for an unprecedented ten years, most of it through some very tumultuous times.
Back in 1948, Arthur Arnold had an ally in Hamilton by the name of Matt Dunn. An outstanding player with the Thistles in the early 1930's. Matt had returned to his native England later in the decade for a trial with Darlington. He served in the British Arned Forces during the war before returning to Hamilton. Asked to form a Hamilton team to compete in the national League, Matt gathered together a group of players who were working for Westinghouse, but found they had no equipment and no money with which too buy any . So, he turned to the company, which generously donated the money, and the famous Westinghouse name was back in the soccer business.
In fact first year the team won the championship of the Natiuonal League Western Division, but lost in the overall final to the Eastern champion Montreal Carsteel. Known far and wide as the 'Hoose', the team went one better the following year and reached the national final, the first Hamilton team to do so since, yes you've guessed it, the Westinghousle team of 1920.
On the road to the final, which was to be played uin Calgary, the team was reqired to travel to Manitoba to take on Winnipeg Scottish. It took threee games, all played in the Manitoba capital to decide who was to advance to play Vancouver North Shore United at Calgary's old Mewata Stadium, before Westinghouse triumphed.
The team didn't have time to return home before the final and headed farther west for the showdown. In the first game North Shore scored four goals without reply against a tired Hamilton team. However, Westinghouse refused to roll over and came back to win the second game 2-1 on goals from Johhn Burgoyne and Alex Murdoch.
Candian press writer Ken Metheral wrote of the game. 'Hamilton Westinghouse's fast, aggressive 11 ran North Vancouver's vaunted North Shore club into the ground...Hamilton's light forward line took command of the play from the opening whistle and never appeared close to defeat ... They tackled their heavier opponents with a zest that brought roars of approval from the non-partisan crowd... Only the spectacular play of goalie Frank Ashdown held Hamilton from running up the lopsided score'.
But in the final analysis the fates were against the 'Hoose'. Within five minutes of the kick off of the third and deciding game they were one down as the result of a highly controversial penalty. A Vaccouver shot appeared to be harmlessly crossing the Hamilton goal line for a goal kick when referee Mr Archibald of Lethbridge pointed to the penalty spot. The referee apparently judged that Hamilton centre half Billy Burgoyne had assisted the ball across the line with his hand. Burgoyne claimed that the ball was already across the line when he handled it, a claim that he and the rest of of the Westinghouse player still make to this day. The Vancouver players, however, claimed otherwise, saying they would have scored had Burgoyne not handled the ball.
No Matter, the penalty was duly taken and scored from, and although Hamilton was said to be the best team in the first half that penalty undoubtedly took a lot of he heart out of the 'Hoose'. But it was not until 23 minutes of the second half had elapsed before Vancouver scored again to clinch the title.
Mass immigration, as families sought to leave the devastation that the war had brought to Euroup, began to change the face of teh game in Hamilton and throuhout Canada in the 1950's. The traditional influence of the English and the Scots began to wane as immigtrations poured into Canada. The change is reflected in the names of the winners of the Spectator Cup - Ukrainian Dnipro, Hungarian Turuls and Germania.
The Influx of new nationalities led to the formation of the International League which eventually became the very successful Inter-Cities League. At the same time, the Southern Ontario League was operating and the two leagues functioned side-bny-side until well into the 1980's and included many fine teams from Hamilton and district.
The first European team to visit the city after the war were the Swedish champions A.I.K. Stockholm, who played here in 1951 and defeated the Hamilton all-stars 2-0. Then came a team from the Irish F.A. in 1953 to defeat Hamilton 4-1, and one year later Glasgow Rangers retuned for the first time since 1930 to win 6-0.
It was turn of Huddersfield Town to visit Hamilton in 1955. Then a power in English soccer, Huddersfield put seven goals past Hamilton goalkeeper Jimmy Nicholl while the local team got a lone consolation goal from Max Johnson. During his short stay in the city, Nicholl, a goalkeeper with experience in the Irish League, became the father of a baby boy. Shorly afterwards the family returned to Belfast, where young Jimmy grew up and learned to play the game.As a teeenager he was signed by English giants Manchester United and went on to play for Sunderland and Glasgow Rangers and to represent Northern Ireland 73 times in international competition. Jimmy returned to Canada in 1982 to play three outstanding seasons for the Toronto Blizzard in the North American Soccer Leeague.
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