|
Honors
All-League
1953 Players:
Lorne Cullen
Bob Redkey (American import)
Wendell Green
Bob Sikorski
Vic Chapman - PK/WR
Norm Fieldgate
Peter Smith
Lorne Reid
Marv Cross (American import)
Ray Willsey
Arnie Hallgren
The Vancouver Cubs were the foundation for the BC
Lions founded by Annis Stukus in 1953 and entered into the CFL in 1954.
The Cubs would be the "official" feeder team for the BC Lions through
1955 allowing young players to gain valuable experience.
The Cubs and Seattle Ramblers played with unique
rules in place for their matchup in 1953 using Canadian rules in the
first half and American rules in the second half.
The Cubs became the "uncrowned" champs of the B.C.
Intermediate football league with their second win over Oak Bay and 5th
Consecutive. The Drakes, however, refused to put up their crown in
the match.
Arnie Hallgren, Pete von Harten, Bill Stuart and
Cliff Miller accounted for the Cubs' scoring. Hallgren and Miller
each scored twice.
Norm Fieldgate, cut by the Saskatchewan
Roughriders, came out west and played 4-5 games with the Cubs before
returning to Regina for the winter. When the Cubs were elevated to
BC Lions in 1954, Norm "The Mouse" was the first player signed. He
played 14 years missing only 1 game. 56 years after signing with
BC, Fieldgate is still working with the Lions.
Ron Waters scored 2 TD's while QB Tommy Smith and
HB Dick Young and Jack Whitty accounted for the other scores in a 29-0
rout of Kamloops (Oct. 22, 1955). Bill Stuart kicked all four
conversions.
The All-Star game scheduled for Dec 26 had to be canceled due to frost
killing the UBC turf and officials not allowing play that would
permanently damage it.
1955 Players:
Chuck Dubuque
Bill Stuart - PK
Ed Hamilton
Lorne Cullen - QB
The Lions dropped their sponsorship of the Cubs in
January 1956 when executives decided the younger players were not ready
to make the move to the pros and decided importing American talent was
the better way to go. Keeping the Cubs was not worth the expense
to them instead wanting to invest in the junior programs. |
