Leslie D. "Les" Norman (December 2, 1939 in Sexsmith, Alberta – December 2010) was a Canadian professional and amateur box lacrosse goaltender. A long-time member of the New Westminster Salmonbellies franchise, Norman was a winner of three Mann Cups as a Canadian Lacrosse Champion, the 1968 National Lacrosse Association professional championship,[2] and the 1965 Mann Cup's most valuable player.[3] Norman was also the first goaltender to post a shutout in a Western Lacrosse Association (then ICLL) game.[4] Les Norman was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1989.[5]
| Born | December 2, 1939 Sexsmith, Alberta |
|---|---|
| Died | December 2010 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Position | Goaltender |
| ICLL team | New Westminster Salmonbellies Nanaimo Labatts |
| Pro career | 1958–1971 |
| Career highlights | |
Mann Cup: 1959, 1962, 1965 | |
| Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 1989 | |
Career
editIn 1958, Norman played for both the Senior and Junior teams in New Westminster. In the 1959 season, he was chosen to replace legend Bunny Joseph. By the end of the season, Norman was named a First Team All-Star and Rookie of the Year of the ICLL. He capped off the season by leading the O'Keefes to a 4-games-to-none Mann Cup victory over the Peterborough Mercurys. The Mercurys's legendary goaltender Moon Wootton proclaimed after the series, "That guy Norman is some goalie. He'll be getting the name I've had for some years."[4][6]
In 1962, Norman, now a veteran of the team, helped the O'Keefes to a second ICLL championship and another 4-games-to-none sweep in a Mann Cup final, this time against the Brampton Ramblers. On May 3, 1962, he led the O'Keefes to a 27-save shutout over the Victoria Shamrocks, the first shutout in ICLL/WLA history.[4]
In 1965, Norman would lead the O'Keefes to a third league title. Norman would claim his third and final Mann Cup in seven games over the Brooklin Merchants and win the Mike Kelly Memorial Trophy as the Mann Cup's most valuable player.[3][7][8]
In 1968, Norman went professional when his Salmonbellies joined the Western Division of the National Lacrosse Association. Despite being passed over for all major awards and all-star teams and a third-place finish in the West, Norman would lead the Salmonbellies to a seven-game victory over the Vancouver Carlings and a six-game victory to knock off the first-place and Joe Comeau-less Portland Adanacs to win the West. The Salmonbellies would meet Gaylord Powless the Detroit Olympias in the NLA final and beat them four games to two.[2]
After playing nine games in a second NLA season, Norman left lacrosse. He would return for the 1971 season and then retire. He was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1989.[5] He died in December 2010 after a short battle with brain cancer.[9]
Statistics
editSource: Wamper's Bible of Lacrosse[10] and Stan Shillington's "Who's Who in Lacrosse 1933–2013: Goaltending Records".[11]
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | P | PIM | Sv% | Team GAA | ||
| 1958 | New Westminster | ICLL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.630 | 10.00 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.718 | - | ||
| 1959 | New Westminster | ICLL | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.736 | 10.20 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.780 | - | ||
| 1960 | New Westminster | ICLL | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.750 | 9.63 | ||
| - | NWM/Nanaimo | P/O | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.761 | - | ||
| 1961 | New Westminster | ICLL | 28 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.791 | 8.20 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.677 | - | ||
| 1962 | New Westminster | ICLL | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.789 | 8.22 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.797 | - | ||
| 1963 | New Westminster | ICLL | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0.750 | 8.77 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0.695 | - | ||
| 1964 | New Westminster | ICLL | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0.771 | 9.31 | ||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.753 | - | ||
| 1965 | New Westminster | ICLL | 27 | 0.763 | |||||||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 12 | 0.774 | |||||||
| 1966 | New Westminster | ICLL | 26 | 0.732 | |||||||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 2 | 0.714 | |||||||
| 1967 | New Westminster | ICLL | 23 | 0.709 | |||||||
| 1968 | New Westminster | NLA | 32 | 0.762 | |||||||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 16 | 0.741 | |||||||
| 1969 | New Westminster | NLA | 8 | 0.737 | |||||||
| 1970 | Did Not Participate | ||||||||||
| 1971 | New Westminster | WLA | 14 | 0.792 | |||||||
| - | New Westminster | P/O | 4 | 0.767 | |||||||
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "newstats/1968nllproWEST". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "Mann Cup - Past Champions and MVPs". tsn.ca. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ a b c "British Columbia Lacrosse Association". bclaregistration.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ a b "Home". canadianlacrossehalloffame.org. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "newstats/manncup". wampsbibleoflacrosse.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ "Canadian Lacrosse Association | Most Valuable Players | Pointstreak Sites". cla.pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ "Steve Forsythe says Colorado has Mammoth expectations, Rock confirm McNulty & Queener cuts, plus the links | IL Indoor.com". ilindoor.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ Bible of Lacrosse – statistics
- ^ Stan Shillington's "Who's Who in Lacrosse" by Stan Shillington Western Lacrosse Association. 2013.