Historic Mimico Lacrosse Club Honoured With Etobicoke Sports Hall Of Fame Induction
TORONTO, ON—The Mimico Lacrosse Club Board of Directors is proud to announce that the club will be inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame (ESHOF) at its annual induction dinner this fall. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone who has been a part of our club over the years.
The ESHOF will introduce the 2023 inductees at its annual Beer, Wine and Cheese event on Thursday April 27, 2023 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Ford Performance Centre. The 2023 class will also see former Mimico Lacrosse coach and Canadian lacrosse icon Paul Suggate inducted in the athlete category.
The Mimico Mountaineers, as our teams are affectionately known, have a storied past. The hallowed Mimico Arena has been a fixture in the community since 1931 when the Mimico Lacrosse Club built its historic outdoor predecessor the “Drummond Street Bowl” at the corner of Royal York Road and Drummond Street. It had a dirt floor, and old railway boxcars for dressing rooms. Outdoor games at night in front of thousands were the norm for our club in the golden age. The roar of the crowd and the announcer’s call of the game could be heard all over town.
The Mountaineers brought recognition to the town more than any other sports team. In WWII, Conn Smythe's 30th Light Anti-aircraft Battery, dubbed "The Sportsmen's Battery" included every member of the Mimico Mountaineers who won the 1942 Mann Cup. After vigorous training and an extended stay in England, the battery landed in Normandy on July 9, 1944, where they saw immediate action and sustained heavy casualties. When Smythe’s participation in the war ended, he was famously quoted saying that if he had to go to war again, he would bring lacrosse players.
At one time, Etobicoke was home to several thriving lacrosse associations, including Mimico, Etobicoke, Rexdale, Long Branch, and Alderwood. However, as participation in the sport dwindled in the late 1970s and 1980s, only the Mimico Lacrosse Club managed to survive — thanks largely in part to the dedication of volunteers like the late Ruby Lang and Barb Cormier, who remained committed to preserving the history and tradition of the club and kept it afloat.
In 2008, the Matriarchs of Mimico Lacrosse were honoured by the City of Toronto for their contributions to Mimico Lacrosse with streets in Mimico named in their honour. Always together, and rarely apart, City Councillor Mark Grimes made sure that the streets Barb Cormier Heights and Ruby Lang Lane intersected.
The Mimico Mountaineers returned to the ranks of junior competition in 1993, when a group of former players decided that it was time for Mimico players to stay at home to play. The Junior B Mountaineers helped reignite interest in lacrosse in the community and in 2015, the club was awarded a Junior A franchise for the first time in over thirty years. The move came as Mimico Lacrosse began hanging more and more ‘A’ banners at the minor level underneath those of Minto and Mann Cup Championships almost an entire generation before.
With more and more alumni returning to coach, Mimico Lacrosse experienced a resurgence in the early 2000s and has become one of the most significant associations in Ontario with a local box lacrosse league, rep box and field teams at each age division, and a thriving women's field lacrosse program.
In 2010, Mimico Lacrosse established its first-ever women’s field lacrosse team with Ontario Women's Field Lacrosse. It started with an enthusiastic group of lacrosse sisters that made up the core of the team and in three short years, the club offered women’s field programs for under-eleven to under-nineteen and senior.
Committed to breaking down barriers and growing Canada’s national summer sport, Mimico Lacrosse introduced a free entry level lacrosse program for the youngest divisions in 2018 in partnership with long-time sponsor Andy Suboch and Suboch Law. The free program for 3 and 4-year-olds resulted in a significant spike in registrations, not just for the free program but eventually the older divisions where the club has implemented a 3-on-3 mini version of the game that is not only more affordable but allows the club to take in more participants.
Mimico Lacrosse today owes our success to those who came before us and laid the foundation for 133+ years of memories. We are grateful to all the players, coaches, volunteers, and builders of the game from our community who have contributed at the local, provincial and national level. We are humbled and honoured to be inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame alongside other outstanding athletes, teams, and organizations.
We are proud to be the oldest and largest lacrosse club in the City of Toronto and look forward to many more years of promoting the sport and the teams we love.
For more information, visit mimicolacrosse.com or follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @MimicoLax.
For media inquiries, please contact Colleen Grimes at colleengrimes@mimicolacrosse.com
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About Mimico Lacrosse
Since 1890, Mimico Lacrosse has provided a fun, safe and inclusive lacrosse program that is open to players of all ages and skill levels. With a wide range of programs for boys and girls, we are proud to offer a comprehensive experience for kids to learn and play Canada’s national sport in the nation’s largest city.
About the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame
Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame exists to honour, for all time, those athletes, administrators, officials, media, and organizations who have achieved the highest standard of excellence in sport. In perpetuating the deeds of those Honoured Members, the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame seeks to encourage and inspire excellence in all fields of athletic endeavour within our community.
