Owen Sound Rams
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| Sport | Box lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 |
| League | OLA Junior B Lacrosse League |
| Based in | Owen Sound, Ontario |
| Arena | Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre |
| Colours | Orange, Black, and White |
| Head coach | Rodney Tapp |
| General manager | Andy Barfoot |
| History |
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The Owen Sound North Stars are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. The North Stars play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The team now known as the Owen Sound NorthStars began life in 1973 as a Junior C team called the Satellites. They were the first junior lacrosse team in Owen Sound since the Chryslers folded in 1950 after a miserable season in which they went 1-13.
Cy Lemon was a member of the Chryslers that year, and so it was only fitting that he stepped behind the bench to bring junior lacrosse back to the Scenic City. The Satellites opened play on the road in Windsor on May 13, losing 27-10 to a team that had gone to the Ontario final one year earlier. History does not record who scored the first goal in franchise history, but Paul Kazarian did record a hat trick that day. Inaugural captain Ivan McNabb scored twice, while Terry King also scored twice and added three assists.
The Satellites had a respectable year in 1973, going 12-14 and finishing in fourth place in their division before being eliminated by Mississauga in the first round of the playoffs.
By 1976, the Satellites were ready to contend. They finished first in the regular season with a 17-5 record and then swept two rounds of playoffs before being upset in the Ontario final by the Orangeville Stingers. But it was the last time Owen Sound would ever lose a Junior C playoff series.
With Cubby Cruickshank behind the bench and league scoring champion Mark Kazarian leading the offence, the Satellites avenged that loss by sweeping Orangeville to win the 1977 championship. It was Owen Sound’s first Ontario junior lacrosse championship since 1911, and it was also the first of three consecutive titles for the team – each of them won under a different name.
The Satellites became the Forsyths in 1978 but the name change did not affect their fortunes. Mark Kazarian defended his scoring championship and once again Owen Sound swept the provincial final.
In 1979, the team became known as the Rutherford Signmen, and once again they were the class of the Junior C league. Kazarian had graduated, but Randy McMillen and Dave Cruickshank more than picked up the slack, with “Rooster” succeeding “Kaz” as scoring champ and the team sailing to its third straight Ontario title.
The Ontario Lacrosse Association merged the Junior B and Junior C leagues for the 1980 season. There were worries as to whether the Signmen would remain competitive in a tougher 16-team loop, but those concerns were dispelled when McMillen repeated as league scoring champ and Owen Sound sailed to the top of the standings and captured a fourth consecutive championship – knocking off the Toronto Beaches in a bitter series that was decided in overtime of the seventh game. For the first time, Owen Sound would compete for a national junior lacrosse championship – the Founders Cup. And although they were favoured to win the tournament in Baie Comeau, Quebec, two tough losses to Toronto and Edmonton forced the Signmen into a bronze-medal match, which they won.
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