MSL represented in Fourteen 2019 Hall of Fame Inductions

The 2019 year has seen numerous personnel with connection to Major Series Lacrosse inducted into various Sports Hall of Fames.  In total, 13 individuals and one team connected with the MSL have seen induction into a Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.  A total of 5 Lacrosse Players and 6 Lacrosse Builders along with 2 individuals into the Veteran category and 1 team have been rightfully acknowledged.

1)  George Burrows – Builder Category - Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame  - George “Potsy” Burrows was both a field and box lacrosse player.  Currently, 101 years of age, he was a goaltender who had a lengthy career of more than 20 years with Brampton lacrosse.  Mr. Burrows served as a member of the Royal Canadian Airforce including World War II.  In 1965, he was a founding member of the Lakeshore Minor Lacrosse League.  In addition, he was a referee in the OLA at Minor and above level.   Mr. Burrows has been previously honoured for his dedicated and long-term efforts to lacrosse.  He is a life member of the Brampton Excelsior Lacrosse Club, has been inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

2)  Mark Evans – Builder Category – Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Mark Evans has been involved with Brampton lacrosse for decades in the capacity of Coach, Executive Member and Historian.  On an interim basis, he coached the Brampton Excelsiors Jr. “A” team in 1982 becoming full head coach in 1984-85. In the 1990’s he coached minor lacrosse in Brampton and became the first recipient of the Brampton Minor Lacrosse Association’s Revis Bennett Coach of the Year Award.   In 2001 Mark Evans also coached field lacrosse in England at York University while completing his doctoral studies. Upon returning to Canada, he continued to coach for Brampton in the Bantam and Midget levels between 2002 and 2004, earning the Minor Field Lacrosse Jim Bishop Coach of the Year award. In 2005, once again, Mark became an assistant coach for the Brampton Excelsiors Junior “A” team.  In 2006, he was awarded the OLA Junior “A” Coach of the Year Award.   Mark has been involved as a board member for Brampton Minor Lacrosse (1997-2003) and the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club (2008-2011). Mark Evans is writing a book examining the history of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse in Brampton.

3) Michael Hasen – Builder Category - Brampton Sports Hall of Fame  - Mike Hasen has had incredible success both as a player and Coach in lacrosse (and he is still active).  During his playing career Mike established himself as a great defensive lacrosse player spending his entire playing career as a Brampton Excelsior.  He was a player on two Mann Cup champions. Mike also dominated the defensive side of the ball in the National Lacrosse League for 13 years. He won Mann Cups along with Champions Cups in the NLL both as a player and head coach in both leagues.  More recently, Mike Hasen has been the Head Coach for the Peterborough Lakers and has guided the Lakers to back to back Mann Cups in 2017 and 2018.  He remains Head Coach of the MSL Lakers and is an Assistant Coach with his hometown OLA Junior “A” Brampton Excelsiors.  He also coaches in the National Lacrosse League.

4)  Duane  Jacobs – Player - Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Duane “Dewey” Jacobs had a lengthy career.  He was awarded the Outstanding Rookie in the OLA MSL in 1988.  was the assistant captain of the Ontario Lacrosse Association Major Series Six Nations Chiefs when the team won 3 Mann Cup championships in a row in 1994, 1995 and 1996. As a member of the National Lacrosse League’s Rochester Nighthawks he won the Champions Cup in 1997. He also won a Presidents Cup with Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in 2003.   A talented offensive player, Jacobs tallied 591 total points in 194 regular season Senior “A”, Major and professional games, and 185 points in 78 playoff games. He was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.  Since 2009, he has been a Coach and or General Manager of the Six Nations Chiefs of the MSL. 

5)  Ken Lotton – Veteran Category – Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Ken “Scooter” Lotton  has dedicated over 60 years to the game of lacrosse.  His career as a player included the Oshawa Green Gaels from 1953 to 1957 – a team that won the League two years running in 1954-55.  Lotton played Senior “A” lacrosse for the Brooklin Redman for eight years, 1961-1968, where he was part of championship teams in 1963, 1965 & 1967.  Ken Lotton’s coaching career began with the Mimico Mountaineers in 1959.  Later taking on the dual role of playing and coaching with the Brampton Excelsiors from 1971-1976, he won a Presidents Cup in 1972 and had a Mann Cup finalist appearance in 1975.   He also coached the Calgary Legionnaires Junior team in 1979 and the Calgary Shamrocks Senior team from 1980 to 1986 in Alberta.

6)  Bob McMahon – Builder Category- Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame  - Bob (Slip) McMahon’s dedication to lacrosse has spanned over 50 years in the roles of player, coach and executive member. He played his Junior lacrosse in Mississauga and Senior lacrosse in Windsor and eventually for the Orangeville Northmen from 1980-1988.  He was part of three Presidents Cup championship teams as a player.

Bob McMahon’s has coached at all levels from minor lacrosse to the National Lacrosse League.  He coached for the Brampton Excelsiors Major team for the period 1994-2000 winning a Mann Cup in 1998; the  Orangeville Senior Northmen in 1989 and Orangeville Minor Lacrosse 1990-1993. 1998 and 2001-2006-2011.

In addition, Bob McMahon coached for Team Canada World Indoor Lacrosse team in 2003 and the Team Canada Heritage Cup team in 2002 and 2004.  Coaching in the NLL since 1992, he was voted Coach of the Year in the NLL in 2002.   Bob McMahon has been successful winning championships including recently the 2019 Champions Cup with Calgary. Staying with his involvement to minor lacrosse, he has been a long-time coach with Team Ontario since the initial Peewee Team Ontario in 1994.  In 2018, Bob McMahon became the Team Ontario Director of Scouting and Player Development.

7)  Chuck Miller – Builder Category – Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Chuck Miller has been a long-term active Builder in lacrosse.  This includes an almost three-decade commitment to minor lacrosse in Guelph, Ontario as a coach, referee, tournament convener and fundraiser from 1972 to 2000. In addition, in the 1980s through 2001, Chuck Miller founded the Royal City Regals Lacrosse Association, a Guelph Junior team, and operated an Under 20 Womens lacrosse program.  During the same period, Mr. Miller was  the Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Vice-President of coaching and then VP of officiating.  From 1994 to 2003 he served as both a Director of the Canadian Lacrosse Association and President of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. In 2003 he chaired the Minto Cup and in 2005 Chuck Miller was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award for his contribution to lacrosse and the development of young Canadians.  Mr. Miller’s commitment to lacrosse has had a residual impact on the development of MSL.

8)  Lewis Mitchell – Player - Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Lewis “Louie” Mitchell  was seventeen years old when he first started with the Akwesasne Junior Lacrosse Team.  As one of the youngest players on the team, was voted team captain, a title which he held for all four years of his junior lacrosse career. After a glorious junior career, he became a formidable senior player with the Akwesasne Warriors winning the President Cup Championship in his first year. Lewis was also selected to play for the Iroquois National team at the first World Box Lacrosse Championship held in Vancouver in 1980. After his senior box lacrosse playing days were over, Lewis moved onto play Masters Lacrosse, playing for the Akwesasne Masters Lacrosse Team winning a number of national championships. Lewis was a leader on and off the floor, and was a community leader in Akwesasne as the Chief of Police for the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Force for almost 15 years. Lewis also became a wooden (hickory) lacrosse stick maker.

9) Dan Teat - Player - Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Dan “Teeter” Teat was an outstanding Minor, Junior and Senior lacrosse player during his entire career in Brampton, Ontario. A skilled playmaker, Teat was usually in the top-ten scoring every season. Teat was a member of the Mann Cup winning Brampton Excelsiors in 1993, 1998, 2002, 2008 and 2009.  In 2011 he added a sixth Mann Cup as an assistant coach.  Dan Teat played 14 seasons in the National Lacrosse League and won the Champions Cup with the Rochester Nighthawks in 1997. In 297 Major Series league and playoff games from 1993 to 2009 he tallied 1,241 total points. He scored 52 total points in 35 Mann Cup games and in 211 NLL games he counted 670 total points.  He coached the Brampton Excelsiors Junior “A” team to the Minto Cup finals in 2018.  Beginning in 2019, he became the Head Coach of the MSL Brampton Excelsiors.

10)  Evan Thomas –Player - Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame  - Evan “Levan” Thomas played 21 years of Senior Box Lacrosse. He started his senior career playing two years with the Fort Erie Hawks in 1968 winning the North American Lacrosse Association Championship both years. Evan then moved to the Six Nations Braves for two years where they won the Can-Am Championships both years. He then moved to the Six Nations Chiefs and played there from 1972-1978, where they won three championships before moving to play with the Six Nations Warriors in the OLA Senior “B” league from 1979-1983. Evan then played from 1984-1988 with the Caledonian Chiefs winning one Can-Am Championship. Throughout his career Evan was a league and team high scorer seven times, was a team MVP seven times and a team captain eight times.

11)  Jim Veltman - Player - Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame - Jim "Scoop" Veltman played five full seasons of OLA Junior “A” lacrosse for the Brampton Excelsiors, winning the MVP award in 1987. He followed this with seven full seasons of OLA Major Series lacrosse, winning three Mann Cups with Brampton and a fourth Mann cup with Victoria in 2003 of the Western Lacrosse Association. Jim played four seasons with the Ajax-Pickering Rock Senior “B” team winning a Presidents cup in 2007. In addition, Jim Veltman played 16 seasons in the National Lacrosse League, winning eight NLL Championships, three with Buffalo and five with Toronto. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.  He played for the gold medal winning Team Canada squad in 2003 at the World Indoor Box Lacrosse Championship. Jim was named Captain of the team. Jim Veltman was always considered one of the top defensive players and was amongst the very best defenders on every team he played for, particularly in regards to loose balls. Jim was considered one of the greatest ambassadors lacrosse has had, he was always a fan favourite who was an unselfish player who played with grace and dignity and was considered a great leader on and off the floor

12) Mark Vitarelli – Builder - Peterborough Sports Hall of Fame - Mark Vitarelli grew up as part of a legendary lacrosse family (His brother Lee and Uncle Ned are in various Halls of Fame).  As a player, Mark played on four consecutive Minto Cup Championship teams 1972-75. After a knee injury ended his career as a player, Mark started his coaching career as an assistant coach in 1977 and went on to coach Peterborough junior teams to 4 Minto Cups 1981-1983 and 1989. He was the head coach for the Senior Red Oaks from 1984-1986 winning the Mann Cup in 1984. The Canadian Lacrosse Association appointed Mark as a co-coach of the Canadian National team for the 1985 box lacrosse world championships. In the early 1990s, Mark took up coaching minor lacrosse, winning four provincial championships with tykes and novice teams. He returned to coach the Junior Lakers in 2008. He coached at the professional level in 1991 with Guelph Power in the National Lacrosse League, winning the Nations Cup and a decade later in 2000, was the coach of the NLL Ottawa Rebel. Mark was awarded back to back OLA Junior “Coach of the Year” in 1982 and 1983 and was the recipient of the Major Series “Coach of the Year” award in 1999. He has been involved as a builder in lacrosse for over 40 years and continues to make a contribution to the game with his current role as an executive member with the Peterborough Lakers. Mark was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2018.

 13)  Dave Wilfong – Veteran Category – Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame  - Dave Wilfong was a tough two-way player who excelled offensively and defensively.  He has been acknowledged for his stellar career as the recipient of several awards.  Early in his career, in 1968 he was awarded the MVP for the Junior “A” Brampton Excelsiors.  In 1969 as a call-up from Junior, he was part of the 1969 Peterborough Lakers championship team. Dave won a President’s Cup with the Brampton Excelsiors in 1972, a Nations Cup with the Rochester Griffins in 1974, and a Mann Cup with New Westminster in 1976. Dave Wilfong also played field with the Canadian national team at the World Championships in Australia in 1974. In his most prolific year, Dave scored 93 goals and had 62 assists with the NLL Long Island Tomahawks in 1975. In 228 Major, Senior and professional games he tallied 653 points.  After his career as a player, he gave back to the game coaching Junior, Senior and minor lacrosse. Dave Wilfong was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2011.

14)  Whitby Warriors Junior “A” team - The Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior “A” Whitby Warriors team of 1984 and 1985 were inducted into the Team Category of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame  This team won back-to-back Minto Cups.  Many players of these Minto Cup championship teams went onto to play MSL lacrosse.