The Crescent Club Has a Long History of Sponsoring Sports in Owen Sound 

The Crescent Club has a long history of sponsoring sports teams and leagues in Owen Sound providing consistent management and financial assistance to athletics.

the-great-lakes-raconteur-200


subscribe free or become a member

The Great Lakes Raconteur

GET IT! -->

During the first part of the 1900s, sporting activities were a central feature of life in Owen Sound. 

Unfortunately, there was little continuity in team ownership and support for local athletes. Sponsors and ownership groups seemed to change with the season. 

Frustrated athletes were often kept wondering if they would have a team, or even a league, in which they could compete. Some of the sponsors were truly committed, while others often lost interest or business circumstances making it impossible for them to continue spending time and money on sporting endeavours. 

In December 1920 a meeting was held in Owen Sound which would have ramifications for sports in the community and surrounding area for many decades. The meeting brought together two groups who had supported hockey, basketball, and baseball in Owen Sound beginning in the years leading up to the First World War. 

The first group, the M.D.S. club, was comprised of 14 young men who played most sports. The other organization was called the Midnight Crew. They were not all athletes, but their love of sports led them to support area athletes and teams. This enthusiasm led to the formation of the Crescent Club. 

At the 1920 meeting the two groups originally amalgamated under the name Scenery City Athletic Club. However, the M.D.S. members, whose teams had always been called the Crescents, did not want to give up the name. Consequently, the new organization changed its name to the Crescent Athletic Club. 

The first executive of the Crescent Club was elected in 1921. The members included: Bob Wilson, president; George Thompson, vice-president; Earl Williams, secretary-treasurer; and a sports committee of Leslie McDonald, Earl Pratt, Bud Kreutzweiser, Tom Young, and Floyd McDonald. 

The first sports venture of the new organization was to sponsor a team in the city hockey league. The Crescents expanded their hockey interests when they stepped in to back the Greys. 

During the Crescent Club's first season of sponsorship of the junior team, the 1927 Greys won their second national championship. 

Soon after its inception, the Crescent Club began to sponsor and promote baseball. After almost a decade of supporting baseball, in 1932, a decision was made to back a junior baseball team in the newly organized junior division of the Grey County League.

Under the leadership of coach Bill Garbutt, the Owen Sound nine, won the league title in their first year of competition. However, they were defeated in the first round of the Ontario championships by the Galt Pups, who went on to win the provincial title. 

From this successful first season, the Owen Sound junior team, under the tutelage of Garbutt and Harry Dane, went on to build a reputation in baseball circles for many years. With the emergence of softball as a popular sport, the Crescent Club also sponsored a team in competition. 

Although lacrosse had been played for decades in the area, during the 1920s it had fallen out of favour with many area athletes. In 1927 the Crescent Club, in an attempt to resurrect this great sport, entered a team in a league with Southampton, Hanover, and other area communities. This marked the beginning of a long association between the Crescent Club and Canada's national sport of summer. 

Also, in 1927, the Crescents entered a soccer team in the senior division of the Western Football Association. In their first year the Owen Sound team won the championship. 

Three years later, rugby drew the attention of the Crescent Club. In 1930 a team comprised of former players from the OSCVI was entered in the Ontario Rugby Football Union against teams from Penetang and Camp Borden. This project was short-lived. A lack of public support and the expense of travelling, forced the rugby team to fold after one season. 

The Crescent Club has a long history of sponsorship of sports in Owen Sound. What began with a group of sports-minded individuals hoping to achieve continuity by promoting a few teams — and later leagues — in the city, grew to an organization which became a central focus of athletic endeavours in a community which was extremely sports- oriented. 

A version of "The Crescent Club Has a Long History of Sponsoring Sports in Owen Sound," originally appeared in my Local History column in the March 10, 1997 edition of the Owen Sound Sun Times.

   Get The Great Lakes Raconteur  -->   

SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Share this page:

More Great Information Pages
About Owen Sound Hockey History

The 1920s Owen Sound Hockey Stars made there mark in amateur ranks and then many of them went on to careers in the NHL and other professional hockey leagues.

The 1927 Owen Sound Greys with a priest serving as coach named Jack Spratt and not one experienced defenseman were an unlikely Canadian National Hockey Championship team.

Benny Grant: Memorial Cup Champ grew up in Owen Sound and enjoyed a hockey career, which included a surprising turn of events that led to a stint in the NHL.

"Buck" Jones, like most Canadian boys, dreamed of playing in the NHL. Little did he realize that one day he would wear the sweater of an NHL club and would be the idol of youngsters like himself!

The Chin Brothers dominated in their hockey league which drew attention from the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ralph "Cooney" Weiland skated from a Memorial Cup championship in Owen Sound, to a Stanley Cup in Boston to fame as a U.S. college hockey coach.

The Crescent Club has a long history of sponsoring sports teams and leagues in Owen Sound providing consistent management and financial assistance to athletics.

"Cyclone" Taylor was hockey's first superstar. Born in Tara Ontario, he was involved in a controversy in Ottawa which still has not been resolved.

Doug Brindley: From Maple Draft Choice to a role in Slap Shot: a Memorial Cup champ; coached by Don Cherry; and he played in the WHA; what more could a Walkerton Ontario native ask for in a hockey career?

The Durham Yellowjackets hockey team was a force to be reckoned with in Ontario Intermediate hockey in the 1930s.

Goalie "Red" Henry: An All-Star Netminder: Another great Owen Sound goalie who played for the love of the game.

"Hap" Day was a Hall of Fame hockey player, coach and general manager as well as a life-long Toronto Maple Leaf.

Norm Locking Chicago Black Hawks & Former Owen Sound Grey was known for his hard and deadly shot in Al Capone's Chicago.

Harry Lumley spent his Hall of Fame hockey career tending the nets for four NHL clubs and he spent one period of a hockey game goaltending for a fifth NHL team.

Henry Kelso: Owen Sound Sports Legend not only contributed to the sporting life of his students, he also had a significant influence on the rest of their lives.

Junior Hockey Commentary: Should there be controversy about the use of non-local hockey players? This article was written in 1998 in response to a letter to the editor in the Owen Sound Sun Times.

Meaford Knights Hockey: The 1953-54 Championship Knights' line-up had of several pairs of brothers. Many felt that the brothers made a winning difference.

Newspaper Sports: Owen Sound Hockey History was detailed in the pages of the Owen Sound Sun Times in detail in the days before the radio and television eras.

Owen Sound Hockey's early history some references suggest started in the 1880s. However there are records of organized hockey teams beginning in the early 1900s.

Owen Sound was a Hockey Hotbed in 1950-51: Their fans were hockey crazy during this OHA Senior A Championship season as their star-studded team marched to an Allan Cup victory.

The 1959-60 Owen Sound Greys: A Tough Act to Follow: Tragedy struck this hockey team of young men, yet they persevered.

The 1960s Owen Sound Greys Stars who went on to NHL action including Brian Perry, Doug Brindley, Jim Schoenfeld, and Jack Lynch brought Owen Sound a reputation as a hockey hotbed!

Owen Sound Attack: The arrival of this new OHL team is the latest chapter in the Owen Sound region's rich hockey history.

Owen Sound Goalies: Why does Owen Sound produce so many fine goaltenders? There must be something in the water! 

Some Great Owen Sound Greys. The history of this hockey team is a story of players who were not only local boys, but came from many locations to hone their skills.

Owen Sound Hockey Heritage stretches from rural farmhouses on Saturday night to backyard rinks to cheering for local hockey successes and hockey heroes.

Owen Sound Junior Hockey History began almost one hundred and twenty years ago and is rich with championship teams, great players, and dedicated fans. 

Owen Sound's New Arena in 1938 opened a new era in Grey and Bruce counties with the first artificial ice making machine in western Ontario north of Kitchener.

Owen Sound Platers: Ray McKelvie the quiet and knowledgeable leader behind the success of the 1999 hockey team.

Pat McReavy enjoyed a long hockey career which brought him three championships, the Stanley Cup, the Allan Cup and a World Hockey Title.

Paul MacDermid, born in Chesley Ontario, through hard work and determination enjoyed a 12 year NHL career, before keeping junior hockey alive in Owen Sound by working with a group citizens to purchase the Attack OHL franchise.

"Red" Armstrong, a fiery spirited hockey player, known more for his fierce checking than his scoring prowess surprised even himself on his first NHL shift.

Red Leckie was more than a good hockey player. He played for the team, not for himself. Outside hockey, he responded when he saw a need in his community.

Southampton hockey history in the early years featured a distinct line of defense in the local arena, and stories of interesting "road" trips.

Tommy Burlington: the Greatest North American Never to Play in the NHL captured scoring titles in every league that he played, bringing comparisons to NHL greats.

Owen Sound Hockey History is rich with stories of championship teams, star hockey players, and community support.