A Slice of Redmen History · The "Dynasty" Years
The 1985-1991 Brooklin Redmen were a machine in Ontario winning the east seven years in a row while winning four Mann Cups in 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990.
In 1985, the Redmen travelled to the west coast to take on the mighty New Westminster Salmonbellies and were quickly down 3 games to none. For the only time in Mann Cup history the Redmen came back to win 4 straight games and claim the national title. Goaltender Wayne Colley led the Redmen to victory and was awarded the Mike Kelly Award for Most Valuable Player. During those 7 years, three Redmen won the Mike Kelly Award (Mann Cup MVP); Wayne Colley (1985), Jim Meredith (1987) and Paul Gait (1990).
If winning the Mann Cup wasn’t enough, the Redmen were noticed at home for their achievements. The Bucko MacDonald Trophy for the Major Series scoring champion was given to a Brooklin Redmen player all seven years of the championship reign; Gil Nieuwendyk (1985), John Fusco (1986), Derek Keenan (1987 & 1988), Gary Gait (1989) and Peter Parke (1990 &: 1991). The Redmen also dominated the Jim Murphy Trophy for the Major Series Most Valuable Player award winning it six times; John Jordan (1985), Derek Keenan (1987 & 1988), Gary Gait (1989), Peter Parke (1990) and John Fusco (1991). Two Redmen defensive players, Kevin Antram (1987) and captain Blaine Harrison (1989) were recognized for the top defensive player award while goaltenders Wayne Colley, Ted Sawicki, Ken Passfield and Chris O'Reilly's names appear on the Harry Lumley Award for top goaltenders from 1987-1990.
To this day, two Brooklin Redmen appear on the top 50 all-time list that covers box lacrosse dating back to 1931, John Fusco (8th) with 832 assists and Tom Wreggitt (9th) with 831 assists, as top playmakers in the all-time record books.
This team went through the entire 1987, 1988 and 1989 season without incurring a single loss. A record 84 straight wins until finally losing a playoff final to Peterborough Lakers on August 26, 1989. Peter Vipond, the winningest coach in Senior A/Major Series Lacrosse history, was the coach for all those years while Mike Gray followed by Bob Duignan were the genius General Managers behind the dynasty.
Footnote: In 2006, this Redmen team was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame under the Team Category.
