BCMCL

Historical records indicate Brockton Point Cricket Club was one of the 7 founding member clubs of the B.C. Mainland Cricket League in 1914. The club, without argument, is the pre- eminent cricket club in British Columbia, some would say Canada, as evidenced by the club accomplishments on the field and its members contribution to the game, off the field.

A.L.D. Taylor Cup: Champions 1st Division B.C.M.C.L.


Presented by Ex-Vancouver Mayor, L.D. Taylor, when the B.C. Mainland League was formed in 1914, for the winner of the league games. When two divisions of the league were formed, the Cup was presented to the winner of the First Division. Vancouver C.C. was the first winner of the Cup in 1914, Brockton Point C.C. last won the Cup in 1993 on which date, as far as Brockton is concerned, time stopped to be reactivated when they win the league again.

1914 Vancouver 1915 Burrard
1916 Vancouver 1917 Vancouver
1918 Brockton Point 1919 Brockton Point
1920 Burrard 1921 Can Pacific Railway
1922 Can Pacific Railway 1923 City
1924 Brockton Point 1925 Can Pacific Railway
1926 Aurora 1927 City
1928 City 1929 Burrard
1930 City 1931 Aurora
1932 Aurora 1933 Brockton Point
1934 Aurora 1935 Aurora
1936 Brockton Point 1937 Aurora
1938 Brockton Point 1939 Aurora
1940 Varsity 1941 Brockton Point
1942 Rowing Club 1943 Brockton Point
1944 Rowing Club 1945 Burrard
1946 Brockton Point 1947 Rowing Club
1948 Rowing Club 1949 Rowing Club
1950 Burrard 1951 Burrard
1952 North Shore 1953 South Hill
1954 North Shore 1955 Burrard
1956 South Hill 1957 Brockton Point
1958 Brockton Point 1959 Brockton Point 1960 Brockton Point 1961 Brockton Point
1962 Varsity 1963 Burrard 1964 Kerrisdale 1965 Seattle
1966 Seattle 1967 Pitt Meadows 1968 Burrard 1969 Brockton Point
1970 Burrard and Cosmos 1971 U.B.C. Occasionals 1972 Rowing Club 1973 Caribe
1974 Rowing Club 1975 Rowing Club 1976 Rowing Club 1977 Rowing Club
1978 Brockton Point 1979 Brockton Point 1980 Brockton Point 1981 Rowing Club
1982 Rowing Club 1983 Vancouver CC 1984 Brockton Point 1985 Brockton Point
1986 Brockton Point 1987 Brockton Point 1988 Brockton Point 1989 Brockton Point
1990 Brockton Point 1991 Meralomas 1992 Meralomas 1993 Brockton Point

An Extract from Cricketers in Vancouver(1889-1988)from BCMCL

Cricketers of Vancouver (1889-1988)

It is the intention of this article to document some of the history and highlight many individual performances that have occurred over the 100 years of cricket in Vancouver.

Vancouver C.C. was officially formed in 1889 and thus officially cricket was begun in this area. In fact, cricket was being played here as soon as the British began to populate British Columbia in the 1850's. In "British Columbia: a History" by Margaret Ormsby, mention is made of cricket being taught the children in 1852.

Vancouver sides played Victoria, in Victoria, in 1884 and 1886. Mention has been made of the early years of cricket in Vancouver elsewhere in this program due to the efforts of people like Jerry Rogers (after whom Jericho Beach was named) who logged off the Brockton Point Ground in Stanley Park. This ground was fit for play in 1892 and the first match played there was against a team from San Francisco.

The British Columbia Mainland Cricket League, the body organizing and controlling cricket on the Lower Mainland, was formed in 1914.

Records show that Henry Kortlang, playing for the 6th Canadian Field Engineers, scored 1,260 runs in 16 inning with an average of 105 in 1918. Kortlang, an Australian who had his cricket career interrupted by the war, had played for Victoria State. He moved to New Zealand after the war and played for New Zealand in 1923-24.

The 1920's

After the First World War, Vancouver cricket began to flourish. A Junior Cricket League was formed in 1920 and the products of this League began to foster cricket in the area.

Players such as Harry Warren (1921 captain of first Junior intercity match with Victoria (Reg Wenman, Victoria Captain), M. Berridge, S. Smith and M.J. Crehan developed from the Junior League and represented B.C. in 1929. Looking into the records shows that Tom Reid and Percy Broadfoot were the mainstays of Auroras, Chris Addie from Army and Navy and E.S. (Stan) Bullen consistently made the averages throughout the 20's and 30's. Terry Rivers, a left arm bowler, consistently obtained five to nine wickets per game.

The 1930's

Bob Quinn, a tremendous hitter of the ball, formed the Vancouver Juniors in 1930. While playing for City vs. North Shore in 1927, Quinn scored 142 which included 12 sixes and 11 fours. He did the trick again in the same summer scoring 153 in just over an hour.

In 1930 George Berridge, aged 20 and a product of the Junior League, represented B.C. at the Western Canada Cricket Tournament held at Calgary, Alberta. Berridge, an all rounder who played for Brockton Point, Burrard and then the Bank of Commerce, was a consistent performer throughout the 1930's.

In 1932 the Australian Test side made a goodwill tour of Canada with Donald Bradman as Captain and Arthur Mailey as Manager. A B.C. Mainland side (of 15 batsmen) defeated the Australian Test Side by 18 runs in one match. However, Australia came right back in the second match with Bradman scoring 186 to easily defeat the Vancouver XI.

Throughout the 1930's cricket was one of the most popular games in Vancouver. Crowds of over 200 people were at all regular league games and crowds ranging from 2,000 - 3,000 came out to watch the Australians and MCC sides.

Players of the 1930's some playing in both the Saturday League and the Wednesday League (in those days most people worked Saturday mornings and therefore received Wednesday afternoon off), amassed some outstanding statistics.

Norman Pearson, 17 years old at the time, scored 1,023 runs in 12 innings for an average of 85.25 in 1934 before leaving for England on a tour with Kitsilano Boy's Band. Pearson scored 223 runs in two hours in a game in 1938 - a Canadian record for the greatest number of runs in the shortest time.

Arthur Salt, aged 18, scored 2,004 runs in the 1936 season playing in both Wednesday and Saturday Leagues (38 innings), and Basil Robinson, 17, scored 1,533 runs and took 182 wickets in the 1936 season while playing in both Leagues. Robinson later became a Rhodes scholar, and also had the distinction of being the only Canadian ever to be awarded a Blue for cricket at Oxford University.

Other outstanding players of this era were Walter Scott who combined with Pearson for a first wicket partnership of 238 runs in 1938 (Scott 100; Pearson 122). Scott, selected to tour England with the Hon. R.C. Matthews Canadian Team in 1936, was another outstanding all rounder.

The 1940's

As a result of the Second World War, the Vancouver League fell to eight teams during the 1940's. However, players like Bill Hendy, along with many of those mentioned from the 1930's continued to make cricket one of the dominant games in the area.

Hendy, considered as the best all rounder of the time and a mighty hitter of the ball, dominated Vancouver cricket for a number of years. During the 1943 season, Hendy took 127 wickets and scored 1102 runs while taking part in 26 matches. On September 1, 1945 Hendy scored 125 runs N.O. and then took 10 Vancouver C.C. wickets for 12 runs while playing for Vancouver Rowing club.

Hendy was at, or near the top of the averages throughout the 1950's while other players began to emerge as stalwarts for their clubs.

Robin Johnston of North Shore, Noel Buckley of Brockton Point, Basil Robinson of Varsity, Sandy Dickson and Harry Booth of F.A. Barr's XI continually made the averages in the post war years.

The 1950's and 1960's

In the late 1940's and early 1950's names such as Stan Hansen, Tom Brierley, Jack Kyle, George Nugent, Peter and Alan Stead, Peter Darling, Bob Quintrell, Ken Akroyd, J.W.S.(Wally) Tait began to appear consistently in the top batting or bowling averages.

In 1951,the MCC captained by R.W.V. Robins, were defeated by a B.C. Mainland League team by 28 runs and four B.C. players were selected to tour England with the Canadian team in 1954. Members chosen were Tom Brierley, Bob Quintrell, Bill Hendy and Peter Stead.

Brierley of Varsity led the League averages in three years and was either second or third for another three years in the early 1950's before moving to Vancouver Island.

Stan Hansen, a superb all rounder who played for South Hill, figured in the top ten batting every year from 1950-1959 and captained most B.C. sides and Vancouver representative sides during the late 1950's and early 1960's.

Unfortunately for most other teams, two of the most outstanding cricketing careers that Vancouver has ever seen began emerging in the early 1950's when Jack Kyle and George Nugent combined their batting and bowling talents for Brockton Point C.C. The result was five consecutive First Division championships from 1957- 1961.

Jack Kyle made his debut into the batting averages in 1951 and began what has been up to this point the most outstanding batting record of any Vancouver cricketer. Kyle became one of the most prolific run scorers appearing in the batting averages in 17 consecutive years until 1968. In that time Kyle won the batting championship eight times!

Meanwhile his outstanding teammate, George Nugent, was beginning an equally outstanding career. Nugent first appeared in the bowling averages in 1952 and over a 25 year period he was in the first or second division averages 18 times. Nugent consistently averaged below 10.00 per wicket and was usually one of the top three wicket takers each year.

Another dominant bowler of that time was Peter Stead of Burrard C.C. Stead and Nugent battled for the bowling championship for two and one half decades. Stead first entered the averages in 1952 and over an illustrious career figured in the averages or was the top wicket taker in 15 of those years. Along with his brother Alan Stead who bowled for both Burrard and Vancouver, the Stead family was a household word throughout the 1950's and 60's.

Combinations of players seemed to be abundant in these years as another pair R.N. (Bob) Quintrell and Peter Darling of North Shore constantly appear in both bowling and batting averages.

Quintrell, a pace bowler and fluent batsman, topped the batting averages twice during the 1950's and made the averages six times from 1952-1961. After a short time away to his native Australia, he returned and again figured in the batting averages in 1967 and 1968 while playing for VRC and West Vancouver.

Ray Robins, a solid and steady batsman for West Vancouver figured in the averages eight times from 1957-1968 and topped the first division averages in 1963.

M.C.P. (Mike) Livingstone, a heavy stroker of the ball achieved the batting averages eight times while playing for U.B.C. Occasionals from 1957-1985.

Euan Kirkwood of Burrard, a strong hooker of the ball, was a consistent performer from 1959-1971. Kirkwood, also a wicketkeeper of note, figured in the averages eight times.

Meanwhile during the mid fifties, a hard hitting Canadian called J.W.S. (Wally) Tait came on the scene. A quick scorer with an outstanding eye. Tait appeared in the averages 10 times from 1955-1975. Tait won the Bradman bat twice in his illustrious career and scored a quick century playing in a Canada-U.S.A. test match.

Other solid players of the 1950's and 1960's included Ken Akroyd a stalwart bat and bowler for Burrard, South Hill and Vancouver Rowing Club; Rodan Singh, a middle order batsman for Brockton Point; Frank Sealy, a quick opening bowler and fluid batsman for Varsity and D.M.K. (Dave) Foster, and outstanding wicketkeeper batsman for Kerrisdale. Each appeared in the batting averages five times during their cricketing careers.

The 1960's and 1970's

The 1960's and 1970"s featured such names as Cliff Cox, Roger Cloy, Karam Gopaulsingh, Ellis Jorssen, Cecil Best, Darrell Winterlik, Mike Pearson, Bob Crawford, Stuart Beamon, Ben Seebaran, and Terry Parris. Each of these players dominated the averages during the 60's and some into the 70's and 80's.

Cliff Cox of Vancouver Rowing Club was a consistent performer from 1960 until 1978 appearing in the averages 10 times. Due to his and Cloy's efforts, VRC was a dominant force throughout the 70's winning the First Division title five out of six years from 1971-1977.

Roger Cloy, a member of Burrard and VRC, has been the most dominant bat in the League since Jack Kyle. Since 1966 the hard hitting Cloy has won the Bradman Trophy six times and appeared in the batting averages 13 times. His most notable achievement was in the 1978 season when he scored exactly 1000 runs in 19 innings for an average of 90.91.

Darrell Winterlik, an all rounder who played for Brockton Point and South Hill, came on the scene in 1967 when he made the averages for the first time. He continued to be one of the most consistent batsman of the 1970's and early 1980's making the averages 15 times and winning the Bradman Trophy once.

Ben Seebaran, an outstanding spin bowler and all rounder, appears in the bowling analyses of the first and second divisions eight times from 1962-1983. Seebaran, a natural wicket taker, consistently was at the top of the list.

During the 1960's a wicketkeeper for Burrard, Cecil Best, displayed a talent which impressed all those who played. Best won the Joe Killick Trophy on three separate occasions. His quickness behind the wicket was remarkable, but he was more noted for his zest and love of the game.

Karam Gopaulsingh, a solid opening bat for Brockton Point made the averages eight times. He was consistently selected for B.C. during the late 1960's and early 1970's. Armed with a solid defense, Gopaulsingh faced most provinces opening attacks with success and played for Canada vs. the U.S.A. on numerous occasions.

Ellis Jorssen, of Brockton Point and VRC was a fluid scorer of runs from the middle order and, from 1967-1975 made the averages eight times.

Mike Pearson, another cricketer who learned his cricket in Vancouver and played for West Vancouver, appeared in the averages six times. Bob Crawford, also of West Vancouver and Stuart Beamon of Burrard made the batting averages six times through the 1970's. Terry Parris of Varsity and South Hill, Dick Griffin of Vancouver Rowing Club and Lloyd Edwards of Varsity and South Hill consistently appeared in bowling averages.

The 1980's

Today, we have a number of players who consistently dominate either batting or bowling averages just as others have done in their time.

Players such as Dave Simmons of Vancouver C.C. an all rounder who has already made the batting averages eight times and the bowling averages nine times since 1974; Jeff Ryan, Anza- South Hill, who from 1975 has made the averages seven times; Steven Deare, Brockton Point, a superb fielder and all rounder, who has appeared six times in the bowling averages, four in batting, and has represented Canada.

Other consistent performers are Steve Miller and Frank Jarman of West Vancouver, Chris Van Twest and Martin Stead of Brockton Point and Gary Smee of Vancouver Rowing Club.

Under the captaincy of Van Twest and Stead, Brockton Point has once again as in the fifties become the dominant team in the First Division. They captured seven consecutive championships and surpassed the record of five consecutive titles their club produced in the late 1950's.

Cricket in Vancouver has slowly developed from four or five teams in the early 1900's to the present day when there are 43 teams playing in five divisions.

Time will obviously include more individuals on the long list of cricketers who have excelled on the field and who will be remembered in the future. Shown below are two of B.C. cricket's most loyal supporters over the last six decades. Mr. George Berridge (deceased) and Mr. Peter Molyneux not only ran the Vancouver Juniors C.C. but also supported all Junior Cricket Programs of the B.C.C.A. and B.C.M.C. L. It is through their efforts that many of the players mentioned in this article were given opportunities to play cricket in the Lower Mainland. Thank you for years of effort, devotion and your valuable guidance.