1951 Victoria Allstar Soccer Team |
1951 Victoria Allstar Soccer Team |
This gutsy Victoria squad pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Canadian soccer history. In the evening of June 7, 1951 the Victoria All-Stars defeated Fulham FC by the score of 1-0 at Royal Athletic Park. It was the first time everthat a Canadian football team had beaten a touring English professional side and the first time that a top-flight English side had failed to score a goal in a football match played on Canadian soil. Also, Fulham substituted a player late in the game - despite having reluctantly agreed to the use of subs during protracted and prickly pre-game negotiations - for they saw defeat staring them right in the face. Therefore, an historic victory and shutout won by our amateur rep side and the lone substitution of the match born out of ironic necessity by an overconfident Old Country pro club made Canadian and English football history and fascinating trivia to boot.
The Victorians truly shocked the soccer world. "For those of us that are left, from those who were there that evening, there will never be anything in soccer to quite match what happened that night in Victoria's Royal Athletic Park". The history-making Victoria side under the direction of George KuIai, Tom Restell and Earl Barnswell played with a spirited display of dogged tenacity to shut out the visitors. The headliners of the night were a pair of brothers. Joe Travis was brilliant in stopping everything that came his way while Ab Travis fIrst-timed a Bobby Allen comer kick for the historic game-winning goal. The AIl-Stars starting line-up in the famous win over Fulham included Bobby Allen, the Travis brothers, Joe Robbins, Herman Henry, Jack Robbins, John Pickbum, Ken Williams, Stan Bob, Wallace Milligan and Denny McGee. In reserve were Ced Robb, Don McGee, Sid Robbins and Ed Hardy.
N.B. In 1951 Fulham was classified as an English First Division club but in today's terminology that club would have been described as an English Premier League club.
Wes Byrnell taping up a player |
Wes Byrnell is a name synonymous with sports therapy, not only in Victoria but also across the country. He was never afraid to try new ideas and was among the best in the business. He became a recreation instructor in the Canadian military and in 1974 transferred to Royal Roads Military College as its new physical education and recreation instructor. What a stroke of luck for Victoria sporting teams to have his talent and expertise in their dressing rooms. Wes became heavily involved as trainer with the McDonalds junior lacrosse team, Cougars major-junior hockey team, Shamrocks Lacrosse and London Boxing Clubs. He also worked with local recreation centres. Wes was chosen as the trainer for the Canadian national soccer team competing in the 1975 Pan-American Games in Mexico City and for the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. He declined the latter because of family commitments but came back with the national side in the 1980s for some exciting World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches.
Search For an Inductee
