Robertson was the last Monarch standing

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This article was published 25/01/2021 (1899 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans lost their last connection to one of our province’s most beloved hockey teams when George Robertson died on Jan. 9, owing to COVID-19.

Robertson, who was 93, was the last living member of the Winnipeg Monarchs team that won the Canadian junior hockey championship and the Memorial Cup in 1946. Underdogs going into the best-of-seven final in Maple Leaf Gardens, the Monarchs beat the best in the east, Toronto St. Michael’s College, in seven games. In the deciding contest, which the Monarchs took 4-2, Robertson scored the winning and insurance goals in the third period.

St. Mike’s was loaded with future NHL players including Red Kelly, Tod Sloan, Fleming Mackell, Ed Sandford, and Ed Harrison. Les Costello, who later chose the priesthood over pro hockey, was one of the team’s leading scorers.

But Manitoba hockey fans knew that the local team also had plenty of talent. In an interview with Ty Dilello for his 2020 book, Manitoba Hockey: An Oral History, Robertson said, “One of (the) things that put us where we were had to be the play of Red McRae and Harry Taylor. And guys like Bill Tindall and Tom Rockey were pretty good too.”  

Robertson could have included himself with his linemates McRae and Taylor, as the trio did most of the Monarchs’ scoring in the series. The talent also included a second line of Clint Albright, who played 59 NHL games for the New York Rangers, Gord Fashoway, who had 13 NHL games with Chicago during his 17 pro seasons, and captain Al Buchanan, who had four games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and a long senior career in Ontario.

Robertson (who played 31 NHL games with Montreal), Taylor (66 NHL games with Toronto and Chicago) and Rockey also had pro careers.

McRae, whom Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe called the best left winger he had seen all season, and Tindall, considered by many to be the best junior defenceman in Western Canada, chose not to play pro. Tindall had turned down a chance to join New York when he was only 17 and attending Gordon Bell High School.

The national final was a back-and-forth affair. The Monarchs won game one 3-2 with Robertson scoring the winner, but St. Mike’s took the next two 5-3 and 7-3. Taylor had the winning goal when Monarchs tied the series 4-3, but Sloan scored five in game five as St. Mike’s won 7-4. Albright, who missed the loss due to an injury, returned for game six and led Monarchs to a 4-2 victory with a goal and an assist. That set the stage for Robertson’s seventh-game heroics in front of a record amateur hockey crowd of 15,803.

For the playoff run, teams could dress 12 skaters and Monarchs coach Walter Monson often elected to go with just Rockey, Tindall and Laurie May on the blue line. Dunc Daniels, Cam Millar and Tank Kummerfield were the other defencemen. Hy Beatty, Ed Marchant and Gordon Scott also saw action up front. Jack Gibson was the starting goalie and Ted Chitty the backup.

To win the provincial championship that season, the Monarchs eliminated the St. James Orioles and the Brandon Elks, who hammered them 12-3 in the first game of the provincial final. Don Raleigh, who had been with the Monarchs the previous season, scored three times. Monarchs then won four straight. Raleigh led all scorers with 11 points and you can only speculate how much stronger the Monarchs would have been if the future New York Rangers star had remained with the team rather than go to Brandon to attend college and play for the Elks.

Getting out of the west was a similar story. In series with the Port Arthur Flyers and then the Edmonton Canadiens, the Monarchs lost the first game and then took four straight.

The triumph in Toronto was our province’s fourth Memorial Cup win since 1941, when the Winnipeg Rangers took the trophy. Portage la Prairie Terriers won the next season and the Rangers were back on top in 1943 when Tindall was with them. Manitoba then had to wait 11 seasons for another Cup when the Flin Flon Bombers won.

Our last victory came in 1959 when the Winnipeg Braves proved to be the best junior hockey team in the country.  

Memories of Sport appears every second week in the Canstar Community News weeklies. Kent Morgan can be contacted at 204-489-6641 or email: sportsmemories@canstarnews.com