When your kid gives you homework: “What were the top lacrosse stories from the ‘70s?”
December 1, 2024
My son Eric called last week and explained that his company was hosting a big Christmas party – this year with a ‘70s theme. He said he had his tried-and-true Ron Burgundy (Anchorman) Halloween costume leisure suit as a fallback, but he wanted something with some lacrosse history.
I said, “First of all, kid, you gotta realize I was anywhere between the ages of 10 and 19 back then.” I mean, I started wearing glasses and got my braces when I was 10, and my biggest interest at the time was probably my G.I. Joe collection. Of course, by the time I was 19, I was a college sophomore and had all the answers.
We brainstormed for a few minutes – not unlike what you’re doing right now – and Eric acknowledged that he could probably just spend some time on the internet for some ideas, but before I tell you what I thought of, let’s hear it…
What would your answer be?
While you’re wracking your brain, I will say that my personal introduction to lacrosse took place in that decade, probably around ages 10-12? I played Lynbrook Titans lacrosse while most of my friends played Little League baseball, but that fact isn’t what Eric was looking for.
My scholastic lacrosse career is also in this ten-year window; I played junior high in the spring of ’75, JV in ’76, and varsity in ’77 and ’78 – but again, the only person who would care about that would be, um… me.
Oswego State’s men’s lacrosse program went from club status to NCAA in 1975, but that wouldn’t qualify as even the smallest blip on the lacrosse-in-the-‘70s radar.
My first thought?
The introduction of the plastic head, making all-wooden sticks obsolete in almost no time.
In fact, I learned to throw and catch with a wooden stick, but bought my first STX stick with a mustard-colored plastic head within my first year or so playing Titans. The complete stick cost about $30-$35, at Wolf’s Sporting Goods in Rockville Centre, if I remember correctly.
According to some Googling, the transition from all-wood to plastic heads was complete in about two years – approximately 1970 to 1972. As I recall, the first plastic Brine head was white, with red and blue stickered stripes on the sidewall. STX introduced the Sam and the Barney, and Brine followed up with its PL66 and PL77 models. The demand for all-wooden sticks dried up, and Native American stick-makers never got the chance to profit from the explosion of the sport’s popularity in that decade.
My second thought was Cornell’s dominance in ’76 and ’77 – two consecutive undefeated seasons and two national championships in the decade that saw the introduction of on-field, NCAA playoffs.
Before this happened, I explained to Eric, national champions were voted on at the end of the year. The first on-field championship – and NCAA championship – was played in 1971, when Cornell defeated Maryland (the previous year, in 1970, Cornell was the only undefeated team at the end of the year, but finished with only enough votes to finish fifth in the national picture!).
Of course, after working at Richie Moran’s Quik-Stick Lacrosse Camp for almost 20 years, you can’t help but be familiar with Cornell’s storied lacrosse history, and those remarkable seasons – as well as their stars. The Big Red’s attack was comprised of All-Americans Jon Levine, Mike French, and Eamon McEneaney – household names back in the day.
“What else, Dad?”
Well, the book Ten Bears describes the rise and fall of the men’s lacrosse program at Morgan State, with most of the tales occurring in the 1970s. The Baltimore HBCU team competed with the big boys of the day, and its roster was comprised of mostly Black student-athletes. The book is written by coaches Chip Silverman and Miles Harrison (father of JHU All-American and pro Kyle Harrison), and its backdrop is the turbulent ‘70s.
And in 1976, Bob Scott’s benchmark Lacrosse: Technique and Tradition was published. It wasn’t the first book written about lacrosse, but many will say it’s still the best. Scott was a former player, coach, and athletic director at Johns Hopkins University from 1950 until 1995. To call it “the lacrosse Bible” would not be wrong…
I guess you cannot mention the ‘70s and any sport without the inclusion of the passing of Title IX in 1972. I am no expert on women’s sports – or women’s lacrosse, in particular – but most everyone will agree that this landmark federal civil rights law denotes when the modern era of girls’ and women’s sports began.
OK – back to lacrosse…
In the summer of ’75, history shows, the National Lacrosse League professional box lacrosse organization had a team located on Long Island – I only wish I had gone to even one game. The Long Island Tomahawks played as the Rochester Griffins in 1974 and won the league championship. The '75 Tomahawks finished the regular season firmly in first place, but got knocked off in the playoffs, as the Quebec Caribous won the 1975 Nations Cup NLL championship (led by LaFayette Central School’s and Oswego State's Travis Cook, of course!). In 1976, the league folded.
According to the internet, Hall of Fame coaches Bill Tierney and Ray Rostan both played for the Tomahawks in that 1975 season.
Like I said, why didn’t I go to any of those games? I grew up 15 minutes from the Nassau Coliseum.
Here’s more:
In 1977, the NYSPHSAA (say it with me… New York State Public High School Athletic Association) sponsored its first boys lacrosse championship. Here are some interesting facts – the first three years featured all-Long Island championships, with Nassau vs. Suffolk County champions competing for the state title. In ’77, Elmont beat Ward Melville. In ’78, Ward Melville defeated Farmingdale. In 1979, Sachem bested Cold Spring Harbor (and that, readers, was why the 1980 title game – when Henninger defeated Yorktown – marked such a “growth of the game” moment).
In 1978, the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) had its third championship, again featuring just four teams (USA, Canada, Australia, and England). USA had won gold in ’67 and ’74, and Australia had won silver. But in England that summer, Canada defeated USA 17-16 in overtime to turn the international lacrosse world on its ear.
And in 1979? Well, that was my freshman year at Oswego State, but more importantly, it was the one year the NCAA rules committee decided to eliminate face-offs after goals were scored. That’s right, kids; the team that was scored upon would be awarded possession at the midfield line to re-start play. Face-offs occurred only at the start of each quarter.
The experiment apparently was a bust, however, as faceoffs returned to college lacrosse in 1980.
Ah yes… the ‘70s.
So, how about it, you Boomers and Gen Xers – what would your answers be?
Meanwhile, if anyone has an old LI Tomahawks, Quebec Caribou, or 1970s Cornell jersey laying around – or a circa-1970 Brine or STX stick – and you’d be willing to loan it to Eric for his upcoming Christmas party, let me know.
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In the meantime, please drive carefully, everyone. Put down those cell phones. Volunteer. Donate blood. Get your shots; get your boosters. Love your neighbor. Help someone in need, and always take care of your crew!
But most importantly, stay safe, stay smart, and stay kind.
- Dan Witmer
Dan is currently the author of four books. The Best of Road Trip Dad – The Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for www.JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. … and piles to go before I sleep – The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33-year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. His third book, The Best of RTD – A Lacrosse Coach’s Handbook contains more than 55 weekly Road Trip Dad blogs spanning 2012-2020, featuring Xs and Os, highs and lows, and even some Dos and Don'ts, and plenty of advice for coaches of all levels. His latest book, The Best of Road Trip Dad – On the Shoulders of Giants: Upstate’s Lacrosse Founders and Legends, profiles more than 50 icons who helped grow the game in Upstate NY. All four books are available at www.amazon.com.
Dan grew up in Lynbrook, NY before coming to Oswego State to earn his teaching and coaching certifications. He then taught English at Hannibal High School for 33 years before retiring in 2015.
In addition to coaching the Oswego State Laker men’s lacrosse team part-time from 1982-2010, Dan also coached JV and varsity girls’ soccer at Hannibal for 16 years, girls’ ice hockey at Oswego HS for 8 years, and boys’ JV and varsity lacrosse at Oswego HS for 12 years.
Dan is now in his 18th year assisting Summit Lacrosse Ventures with their various tournaments, especially the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, and he worked for 3d Lacrosse for three years as well. He has served on the staffs of the 2014 FIL World Games in Denver, the 2015 FIL Indoor Championships in Syracuse, the 2018 FIL World Games in Netanya, Israel, the 2022 U21 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland, and the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego in 2023. He was the game ops staff director for the World Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Box Championships in Utica in September of 2024. This year he created Witmer Solutions LLC, a lacrosse event staffing and internship offering service that he hopes will get his foot – and others’ – in the door at lacrosse events worldwide.
Dan served as the Community Service Coordinator for the Oswego State athletic department from 2010-2023 and has been a certified lacrosse referee for the past seven years. He has also been the Volunteer Event Organizer for the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Oswego for the past 18 years, raising more than one million dollars for childhood cancer research.
In 2023, he returned to the Oswego State coaching staff as an assistant coach, where he currently serves as defensive coordinator and alumni liaison.
Dan and Sue Witmer live in Oswego, while their sons Brian and Eric are currently living in Prague and Denver.
The hope is for many more road trips to come.
1972 Irondequoit going undefeated beating FM for upstate championship..