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1960, the final year of the St. Croix dynasty, saw the team named Border League Champions, take the provincial semi finals from Grand Falls, the finals from Chatham, and the Maritime Championship from Amherst, Nova Scotia. The St. Croix decisively won the three-game series 14 - 6 and 8-2.Without doubt some of this team's success can be attributed to the contributions of a couple of veterans from St. Stephen's 1931 to 1939 championship teams. Arlo Hayman, manager of the St. Croix (1957 to 1960) was also manager of the St. Croixs of 1938 and 1939.
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Phil McCarroll, outfield 19571936
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Phillip "Sweet Pea" McCarroll, who played outfield for the 1957 St. Croix during their first championship year, had been the second baseman for the Kiwanis (1935) and for three years with the St. Croixs (1936 to 1939). The press of the 1930s loved McCarroll, "dubbing him Sweet Pea after the Popeye comic strip character" and marvelling "at his quickness. . . and enthusiasm." (Even the Babe. . . by Robert Ashe) Team mate Roy Boles writes Sweet Pea "came to the team (Kiwanis) . . .and replaced Bill MacIntosh at second after MacIntosh retired . . . filling his shoes to perfection, hard to pitch to and a good base runner". In 1957, the Courier reported that the veteran player "seems to be improving rather than otherwise as time goes on. Back in 1939 . . .Phil was bouncing around second. This year, when the provincial laurels came here again, he was guarding the right field, his favourite spot in recent years." Phil retired after the 1957 season with the St. Croix, settling in St. Stephen to raise his family, remain a staunch supporter of baseball and developing a love of golf. He died in 1989 of Lou Gehrig's disease.The St. Croix, in addition to the experience of the past, also had outstanding new talent on the roster.
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Marysville Royals1948
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Dick Canavan - Pitcher 1957 to 1960By the time Dick was on the mound for the St. Croix, throwing "blazing fast balls with his tireless iron arm", he had already demonstrated his athletic prowess on other diamonds and on the basketball courts. Born in Waterville, Maine, in the mid-1920s, Dick first rose to prominence in 1944 as a member of the "Whiz Kids" of Waterville, the only Maine team ever to win the New England high school basketball title. In the same decade, he became a baseball idol in Marysville, NB with the successful Royals teams of 1947 and 1948.
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Saint Johns Basketball Team1949
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Dick hit the hardwood courts again in the fall of 1948, an imported player for the Saint Johns, an amazing team in the senior basketball league. Doug Costello, owner - founder - manager - coach of the team wrote that Canavan "was only a kid of 22 when he came to the Saint Johns. . . but he was a blazing, streaking kid, the super offensive guard of that generation. (He). . .came into a lineup of stars. . . but he was one of those who lit up the sky. . .in New Brunswick, Maine and other places."21
Maritime Basketball Chmapions jacket1949
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The Saint Johns of 1948-1949 were the city, provincial, maritime and Maine-New Brunswick League champions as well as finalists for the national title which, sadly, eluded them. He then moved back to the border communities and was captain of the Calais Chiefs who were, ironically, arch-rivals of his former team in Saint John. Dick's winning years with the St. Croix were a glorious, and fitting, end to his career as an athlete. He settled in St. Stephen, working in Maine, and raising his family, until his untimely death. A victim of a heart-attack, he died in 1985 at only 59 years of age.23
Saint John Basketball Club1999
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Dick, and his teammates from the Saint Johns basketball team, were elected to the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.25
Francis McHugh, outfield, 1958 to 19601997
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Francis McHugh - Outfielder 1958 to 1960Fran joined the St. Croix after his graduation from St. Stephen High School where he had already established himself as an outstanding athlete in track and field and basketball. His years with the St. Croix added provincial and maritime baseball championships to his list of honours. Pursuing a degree in Physical Education from the University of New Brunswick at the same time, Fran was awarded the H. Kenneth Corbett Gold Medal (now called the Copeland Medal) in 1961, his senior year. This medal was presented annually to the outstanding, all-round athlete at UNB, Fran being honoured for his achievements in basketball, track and field and soccer. Since his graduation, more than 40 years ago
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selection of Fran McHugh items1997
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