WHILE teams from the Lakehead over the years have won a record 10 Allan Cups, emblematic of Canadian senior hockey champions, many others won titles, but fell just short of a national crown.
From 1953 through 1991, the Patton Cup, was awarded to the Western Canadian senior champion.
In that time frame, 11 clubs from the city competed in the western final and went on to win six of them.
In the initial run to the Patton Cup, the Fort William Beavers advanced all the way to the west final in ’53, but were doubled up 4-2 by the Penticton Vees from B.C., in a best-of-seven affair.
Two years later the Beavers were back in contention and began their quest by finishing first in the three-team Thunder Bay Senior Hockey League with a solid 38-9-0 record.
In TBSHL semifinal action the second place Fort Frances Canadians, who won the Allan Cup in 1952, knocked off the Port Arthur Bearcats to book a meeting with Fort William.
That series was all Beavers as they swept the Canadians in four straight by scores of 5-4, 9-4, 8-1 and 5-2.
Moving on against the Winnipeg Maroons, in a first team to eight points affair, the Lakehead side was all business again as they toppled the Maroons by taking the first three outings (9-2; 4-2; 3-1) before playing to a draw (5-5) then closing out the match-up with a shutout (3-0) in the finale.
Earning their way to another Patton Cup Final, the Beavers would once again compete against another B.C. side, with the Vernon Canadians providing the opposition.
There, Fort William kept rolling and beat Vernon 2-1 and 3-1 to open the series.
After the Canadians took Game 3 by a 7-3 count, the Beavers countered with a 4-1 triumph in Game 4.
Vernon then won 7-3 again, but Fort William closed it out with a 3-2 victory.
Led behind the bench by Joe MacArthur, who himself won an Allan Cup with the 1939 Port Arthur Bearcats, the Beavers moved on to national final with a match-up vs. the Kitchener Dutchmen.
After splitting the opening two games, the Dutchmen took the opener 3-2 before Fort William evened the series with a 6-4 triumph. From there though the Dutchmen won three straight (6-2, 7-6, 5-3) to win the 1955 Allan Cup.
One of the keys in the Kitchener line-up was their goaltender, Denis Brodeur, the father of future Hockey Hall of Fame netminder Martin Brodeur.
With the win, the Dutchmen went on to represent Canada at the 1956 Winter Olympics where they won a bronze medal.
Ironically, this was the second time MacArthur missed out on a chance at going to the Olympics.
The other time was with the ’39 Bearcats who were to play for Canada at the 1940 Winter Games, but that was called off due to the outbreak of World War II.
From there, it was a Patton Cup dry spell for senior clubs from the Lakehead, before the powerful Thunder Bay Twins went on to rack up five western titles and as many Allan Cups.
Prior to that, over earlier five decades of competition, 11 more local teams lauded western laurels.
After the Port Arthur Seniors won back-to-back Allan Cups in 1925-26, the interestingly-named Fort William Thundering Herd saw a local bid for a three-peat fall short as they lost out to the University of Toronto in 1927.
The Bearcats then were defeated by teams from Montreal in 1929 and ‘30.
A couple of years later the Fort William Blues won the west but were bested by a Toronto side.
More western accolades came for the Beavers and Bearcats in 1934-35 respectively, but could not beat clubs from the Maritimes.
After Port Arthur took it all in ’39, they were clipped by the Ottawa Flyers in the 1942 Allan Cup final.
Meanwhile, playing in the 1911 Allan Cup, the Kenora Thistles lost to the Winnipeg Victorias.