This Day in History, 1891: Rough, tough lacrosse players upset by 'blackguardly language'

Vancouver Sun

26-04-2025

On April 28, 1891, the New Westminster lacrosse club failed to show up for a championship game in a tournament against Vancouver.
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A small item on the front page of the Victoria Colonist the same day said New West would default.
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'While the match was going yesterday (April 27), the usual blackguardly language was turned against the New Westminster players by the crowd, and as our men don't care to put up with this kind of thing, they prefer not to play,' said the Colonist.
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'The dispatch is absolutely untrue; there was no rowdyism nor any blackguardism, and the fact that the gentlemanly players from Victoria and Calgary were highly pleased with their treatment, is of itself sufficient evidence of the way the Vancouver lacrosse team entertain their guests.'
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The World thought the New West team had 'fluked' the game 'to prevent being laughed at as arrogant cowards.' It said the New West players should 'stop acting like small boys' and 'take a licking like gentlemen,' rather than 'put on their mask of falsehood and claim they were abused here.'
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The lacrosse tournament was held to mark the arrival of the Empress of India from Yokohama, Japan, on April 28, 1891, the first Canadian Pacific steamship to cross the Pacific Ocean.
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The Empress of India had been slated to arrive April 14 but was delayed, which allowed the City of Vancouver time to put together a 'grand celebration' with a lacrosse tournament on the Brockton Point athletic grounds in Stanley Park.
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Teams from Calgary, Victoria, New Westminster and Vancouver were invited to compete April 27 and 28, with the winner to receive a 'handsome trophy.'
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Alas, it rained in the days before the tournament, and the field at Brockton Point became so mushy the games were moved to the Cambie Street grounds, today's Larwill Park.