After 85 seasons of soccer on Vancouver Island, the London Boxing Club brought the first national men's soccer title to Victoria.

With the fight club branching out to other sports in the 1960s, Boxers soccer teams enjoyed some success early on. Led by such young stars as George Pakos, Brian Robinson and Bob Bolitho, the top-level LBC side was a powerhouse by the mid-1970s and captured an Island Premier Division crown in 1974-75.They also won the Jackson Cup that season to make the B.C. playoffs and beat North Shore Paul's 4-1 to capture Victoria's first-ever Province Cup.

The Boxers weren't done, however. After downing Winnipeg in a qualifier, they travelled to Calgary for the Dominion Challenge Cup tournament, where they dispatched Edmonton Italia in the semifinals and St. John's Laurentians in the championship match.

The Canadian win was the first for an Island team in 48 years and helped put Victoria on the national club soccer map.

SPONSORED BY BRIAN ZELLEY ACCOUNTING

A city boy who honed his chops playing with the Vic High Tyees, Brian Robinson was destined for greater things in soccer. A Vic West club player who toiled in the summer Pacific Coast League for Victoria United, later the Victoria O'Keefes, Robinson got his first taste of international soccer at age 16 in 1969 when the O'Keefes hosted West Bromwich Albion from England's first division. He graduated through the ranks, from the Victoria Royals semi-pro side to the B.C. Selects and finally hooked up with the Canadian national team. The speedy midfielder earned his first cap in 1972 in an Olympic qualifying match against Mexico and would be capped 40 times. After helping Victoria's London Boxing Club win a Canadian title in 1974, he played a pro season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. But injuries cut his season short and he came home to coach the Victoria Athletics. He wasn't done playing, however, and in 1978 rejoined the national team as they competed in the World Cup qualifier. He was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006.