St. Paul's High School Archives: Moments of Victory

1949

Though no video exists in the archives for the 1949 championship, St. Paul's did begin filming games for the first time in the 1940s. Click the image above to watch highlights from the 1945 championship, in which the Crusaders also won the provincial title.

An Upset

In 1949, the Crusaders beat out Daniel Mac 13-0 to win their 7th provincial title.

Although the Crusaders had become an increasingly strong team, Daniel Mac didn't see them as a threat and were surprised when the Crusaders shut them out. Only once, in the fourth quarter of the game, did the rival team even come close to scoring against St. Paul's. 

Image: Winnipeg Tribune, Nov 11, 1949.

Champions Twice Over

St. Paul's had also won the MSRL title this year, beating Kenora 15-6 as they "literally swam" through a mud-soaked field. This was the 13th time the Crusaders had won the title in only 18 years of play.

Image: Crusader newspaper, Christmas 1949. St. Paul's High School Archives.

Slamming Stan

Though, as the student newspaper cautions, "no one man ever made a football team," much of the Crusaders' strength in the 1949 season can be attributed to Stan Kaluznick, a near-unbelievably talented player who went on to play in the CFL at only 17 years old. Kaluznick, known by a number of nicknames including "Chunky Stan, Squat Stan, Peerless Plunger, Slamming Stan, Plunger Boy, Human Tank, the Stanley Steam," and "Pay-off Stan," had been capturing the attention of local sports fans since 1947. But by his final year in 1949 he had become truly impressive. Kaluznick was a modest, likeable player, "an easy-going guy who would lay you low with a 190-pound block and then smilingly help you up."

Left: Crusader newspaper, Christmas 1949. St. Paul's High School Archives.

Right: Winnipeg Tribune, Nov 6, 1948.

Lefty and The Touchdown Twin

St. Paul's was already beginning its tradition of stellar coaches in this period. In addition to new head coach Eddie Meagher, leading the Crusaders to victory were Larry "Lefty" Desjardins and George Depres. Both were former professional football players with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Depres, also a St. Paul's alumnus, had been half of the team known as the "Touchdown Twins" (alongside Paul Cholakis) during his time at the school.

Image: Crusader newspaper, Christmas 1949. St. Paul's High School Archives.

Celebrating Victory

Fans and players celebrated the win by marching from Osborne Stadium (situated where the Canada Life building is today) to the St. Paul's College building on Ellice. They were confident, particularly with the school's new junior varsity teams training new players, that this was only the beginning. 

However, St. Paul's had perhaps overestimated their abilities: shortly after this victory the Crusaders were accepted into the City League, where they hoped to face greater challenges. Indeed they did - the teams in the city league posed such a great challenge that the Crusaders did not win another provincial title for over thirty years.

Image: An unknown football game being played at Osborne Stadium, 1949. Photograph taken by Yosh Toshiro. Portage Collegiate Institute Archive.

1975

Click the image above to watch highlights from the 1975 championship game and to hear Eddie Cass - St. Paul's first athletic director - giving the players a pep talk.

Turning things around

In 1975, the Crusaders won a league pennant for the first time since joining the city league. While they didn't win the provincial title, this signalled to the team that they were getting closer - that winning was no longer an impossibility.

Image: Crusaders 1975 group photo. St. Paul's High School Archive.

Switching Leagues

In the 1940s, the Crusaders had begun petitioning to enter the Winnipeg High School Football League (WHSFL) rather than the Manitoba Schools Rugby League (MSRL). The Crusaders had easily dominated the MSRL, and its teams seemed no longer to pose an appropriate challenge to St. Paul's. Moreover, MSRL games were often poorly attended in comparison to those played by the city high school teams. A 1947 edition of the student newspaper dramatically proclaimed: "ST. PAUL'S HAS HAD 12 YEARS...HOW MANY MORE?"

Image: Crusader Newspaper, 1947. St. Paul's High School Archive.

"Heavy" Competition

In 1954, the Crusaders were finally accepted into the city league. There followed a long period of defeat. Although solid players and dedicated coaches had kept the Crusaders competitive throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s, capturing the ultimate prize seemed impossible. For one thing, the WHSFL had no age limit. At St. Paul's, where there was no Grade 12 program at the time, most players were 15 or 16. In the city league they frequently played against athletes who were 17, 18, or even 19 years old. Even the Winnipeg Free Press noted that the Crusaders were the "smallest team in the league," with their players typically outweighed by 25 lbs or more.

Image: 1975 yearbook photo. St. Paul's High School Archive.

The Golden Years

Len Sitter called the mid-1970s "the golden years," as the team transitioned from rebuilding to actually winning. And 1975 was an optimistic year from the start. Len Sitter had been named Coach of the Year in the WHSFL the previous year, and 14 of the players had attended a special football camp at the Internationl Peace Gardens in early August. 1974 had been the Crusaders' best year in a long time and many key players were returning, such as quarterback Kevin Cleghorn, as well as promising rookies like fullback Don Cantafio.

Image: Kas Vidruk puts together a "dream team" of high school players, including five from St. Paul's (starred). Winnipeg Free Press, Nov 5, 1975.

Win after win

The student newspapers from 1975 are full of celebratory front-page articles as the Crusaders went on to win game after game:

"CRUSADERS MAIM TIGERS IN SEASON OPENER"

"BULLDOGS FEEL THE LANCE 35-0"

"CRUSADERS SINK CLIPPERS 39-7"

The team's one loss, of course, was relegated to a small write-up on page 2.

Image: Crusader newspaper illustrating the Crusaders' victory over the Kelvin Clippers, Oct 8, 1975. St. Paul's High School Archive.

The Battle of the Saints

Having beat the Daniel Macintyre Maroons in semi-finals, the Crusaders moved on to the finals for only the second time since joining the city league. They played the St. John's Tigers at the Velodrome.

Image: Crusader newspaper notice for the championship game, Nov 5, 1975. St. Paul's High School Archive.

Accepting loss with grace

The Crusaders lost the big game, but the mood was still one of pride: "Crusaders Victorious," read the student newspaper. They had the best record of the league during the regular season, with seven wins to only one loss.

"In the eyes of almost every student, teacher, secretary and maintenance staff member, THE CRUSADERS WERE, AND ARE VICTORIOUS."

The editorial left the other teams with a warning: "BEWARE!! Next year, it's our turn."

Image: Winnipeg Free Press, Nov 3, 1975.

Click the image above to watch clips from the 1982 championship game.

1982

Since their near miss in 1975, the Crusaders knew that a championship victory was possible. Len Sitter continued to drive toward victory as head coach, and was helped by strong former players from the 1970s who came back to St. Paul's to mentor new players.

Image: Crusaders celebrate their championship victory, 1982. St. Paul's High School Archive.

The Underdogs

By 1982, it had been 30 years since the Crusaders had won a championship. Not only that, but their roster was only 29 players, smaller than most other teams, and several of their players had been injured. Planning realistically, head coach Len Sitter had made a 4-4 season his goal.

In short, the Crusaders were well and truly the underdogs, playing against the powerhouse Churchill Bulldogs who had brought home the trophy the previous year.

Image: Crusader Newspaper, Nov 2, 1982. St. Paul's High School Archives. Note: This image has been edited to highlight portions of the text.

Ending the Drought

With a minute left on the clock the Crusaders failed to make it the final few metres for an end-of-game touchdown, but it didn't matter: the score was 16 to 7 in favour of the Crusaders, and they had managed to run out the clock without giving ground to the Bulldogs.

Image: Len Sitter, Crusaders head coach, stands triumphant above a crowd of fans, 1982. St. Paul's High School Archives.

We're Number One

Fans rushed the field as the game ended, shouting "we're number one!" Kas Vidruk, a former Crusader himself and Grey Cup champion, presented Head Coach Len Sitter with the trophy.

Image: Len Sitter visits Fr. John Holland after the championship game, 1982. St. Paul's High School Archive.

Honouring the Past

The week after the game, the entire team made their way to Central Park Lodge, where they presented former athletic director Eddie Cass, then 89 years old, with a team sweater. They also visited Fr. John Holland, pictured above.

Image: Football signed by 1982 Crusaders. St. Paul's High School Archive.

The football above was signed by all the players on the team. It is possible that this is the game ball; our records also tell us that a signed football was presented to Pat Benson, one of the original Crusaders. In times of victory, the Crusaders have always honoured those who came before them.

1999

While 1982 had ended the Crusaders’ longest championship drought, it did not change their fortunes overnight. The Crusaders had had a number of strong showings through the 80s and 90s, but had not yet repeated the ’82 victory.

Building a Team

The team’s coaches began building this dream team in May of the previous school year with a two-week training camp, from which they chose a 45-man roster. Over half were strong, returning players.

(Nearly) Undefeated

In an early exhibition game, the Crusaders lost to their rivals the Oak Park Raiders. Both the coaches and the players realized there was work to be done, and got down to it. In regular play that season, the Crusaders were undefeated, with five shut-out games under their belt.

Getting to the Finals

The Crusaders met the Raiders again in the finals. The date was November 6, 1999 – 17 years to the day after the last championship win. Coincidentally, this season’s grade 12 players had been born in ’82.

Fan Support

Crusaders fans at the championship outnumbered Oak Park fans 7 to 1, with some 4,000 spectators in the stands. According to the Free Press, “There were people in business suits and high school boys with painted bare chests and faces racing up and down the sidelines. […] Fans packed the stands along the south and west sides of the field, sat on the turf on the sidelines and stood everywhere there was an open spot.”

Gus Bohunicky, who had played during the 1949 season at St. Paul’s, was one of these fans: “It’s the old college spirit of St. Paul’s. It lives from way back in the late 1940s when I went there.”

Nil-nil

By the end of the first quarter, no progress had been made on either side: the score was tied 0-0. The Crusaders’ famously strong ground game was shut out by Oak Park’s strong defense, forcing them to readjust and rely on their passing game.

Victory

In the second quarter, things picked up with the Crusaders finally scoring. Offering up an even stronger defense of their own, the Crusaders cruised into a 34-0 victory.

Ashton Poulin scored three touchdowns, while John Bracken was named MVP for his 44-yard touchdown and several key receptions.

Crusader Spirit

As the yearbook put it, “It was not the undefeated regular season. It was not even the championship. This season was much more than wins and losses. Our championship season has brought the ‘Crusader Spirit’ back to the forefront.”

2009

The strength of the Crusaders in the early 2000s was such that a championship was no longer a novelty. But even for St. Paul’s, the double victory of the AA and AAA teams was one to remember.

Image: The Crusaders playing at homecoming, 2009. St. Paul's High School Archive.

A Confident Team

The AAA team went into 2009 with a well-earned confidence: they had won three pre-season exhibition games without allowing a single point against them, and had come through the last four consecutive years undefeated in the regular season. The team included DJ Lalama, current CFL player.

Image: An injured Crusader is helped off the field by his teammates during the first game of the season, 2009. St. Paul's High School Archive.

Early Setbacks

However, the opening of the season went poorly. The AAA Crusaders lost their first game to the Oak Park Raiders, and then lost their second game to the Churchill Bulldogs, who had beat them the previous year for the championship.

Image: The AAA Crusaders scuffle with the Oak Park Raiders at the final, 2009. St. Paul's High School Archive.

Pulling Themselves Together

The Crusaders “pulled themselves together with a renewed vigor and hunger to make up for their losses thus far.” Making it to the playoffs, they won their rematch against the Bulldogs in the semi-final and began preparing for a rematch against Oak Park in the final.

Image: The scoreboard at the 2009 WHSFL final. St. Paul's High School Archive.

A Narrow Victory

The final was one of the most intense in WHSFL history. Winnipeg Blue Bomber Nik Demski scored six touchdowns for Oak Park, and the score swung back and forth with neither team gaining more than a ten point lead. In the final moments, the Crusaders managed to scratch out a 52-49 victory.

Image: The AA Crusaders playing Neelin High School, October 2009. St. Paul's High School Archive.

A Rookie Team

Meanwhile, the AA team finished their regular season with a respectable 5-2 record. The word on the street, though, was that they had no chance in the playoffs: they were a young team with 33 rookies, and the Grant Park Pirates had practically destroyed them in the 7^th game.

Image: The 2009 AA Crusaders celebrate with the Winnipeg Free Press Bowl. St. Paul's High School Archive.

More than an Upset

After a 24-20 upset against the Kodiaks in the semi-finals, the Crusaders went into the final against Grant Park with a “no expectations” attitude – for better or worse, they would do their best. By halftime, they already had a 27-0 lead, shutting down the Pirates’ best players; . In the second half, the AA team brought it home with a 32-2 victory. Justin Daman, who was on the team, says it was “more than just an upset!”