The Victoria Shamrocks are a Senior A
box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...
team, based in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. The team competes in the 7-team
Western Lacrosse Association
The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for ...
(WLA).
The Shamrocks entered the former Inter-City Lacrosse League, which is now the WLA, in 1950. The team became known as the Victoria Pay Less in 1982 to reflect a major sponsorship by Pay Less Gas. The team readopted the Shamrocks name in 1995.
The Shamrocks have won the
Mann Cup
The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associa ...
Canadian National Championship a total of 9 times; in 1955, 1957, 1979, 1983, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2015. They have won a total of 21 Provincial Championships.
Some of the greatest
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...
players in the world have been proud to wear the green and white, including
Jack Bionda, Rick Brown, Archie Browning, Fred "Whitey" Severson, Geordie Johnston, "Bobby" Monaghan, Kevin Alexander, both
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and
Gary Gait
Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...
, and
John Tavares
John Tavares (born September 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...
. The Shamrocks home arena features a "Wall of Fame" where many great players, coaches, trainers and managers who have been part of the team are enshrined.
On September 16, 2005, the Victoria Shamrocks won their 8th Mann Cup, defeating the Peterborough Lakers 4 games to 2 in a classic, hard-fought series. Shamrocks' goaltender
Anthony Cosmo was awarded the
Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy The Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of the Mann Cup competition.
The trophy is named after Michael Edward Francis "Mike" Kelley who was the owner and manager of the Hamilton Tigers lacrosse club in the ea ...
as the series Most Valuable Player.
Almost 10 years later, on September 11, 2015, the Victoria Shamrocks won their 9th Mann Cup, once again defeating the Peterborough Lakers 4 games to 2 in another hard-fought series. Shamrocks' forward
Corey Small
Corey Small (born March 23, 1987 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a Canadian lacrosse player who plays for the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League and formerly the Hamilton Nationals in Major League Lacrosse.
High school career
Small ...
was awarded the
Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy The Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player of the Mann Cup competition.
The trophy is named after Michael Edward Francis "Mike" Kelley who was the owner and manager of the Hamilton Tigers lacrosse club in the ea ...
as the series Most Valuable Player.
Current RosterCurrent WLA Scores and Stats
All-time record
External links
Victoria Shamrocks Official WebsiteKevin Light's Photos of Home GamesGary Woodburn's Photos of Home GamesWestern Lacrosse Association WebsiteVictoria Junior "A" ShamrocksVictoria Intermediate "A" Shamrocks
{{British Columbia Sports
Shamrocks
Western Lacrosse Association teams
Lacrosse clubs established in 1950
1950 establishments in British Columbia