Legends Of The Game

In the fifth installment of “Legends of the Game” we look at…

Edward Henry “Ted” Reeve (January 6, 1902 – August 27, 1983), a multi-sport Canadian athlete and sports journalist. 

If there is one man who epitomizes athletic excellence in the Beach it must certainly be Edward Henry (Ted) Reeve. Ted Reeve, who was born, raised, and spent most of his adult life in the Beach, is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Reeve was an excellent football player who led two Balmy Beach clubs to victory in the Grey Cup. He also had a very successful coaching career at both the collegiate level with Queen’s University, and at the professional level with Balmy Beach and the Montreal Royals. However, as the Moaner himself said, his first love was lacrosse.

Reeve was an outstanding lacrosse player, starring with the old Balmy Beach field lacrosse club before joining the Brampton Excelsiors club in 1923. While with Brampton he led them to victory in the Mann Cup in both 1926 and 1930. In between Mann Cup victories for Brampton he also led the Oshawa Lacrosse club, for whom he played in 1927 and 1928, to victory in the 1928 Mann Cup. Following a very successful amateur career Reeve joined the professional lacrosse ranks in 1931 when he became a member of the Montreal Maroons Lacrosse club.

Ted Reeve was truly a legend in both football and lacrosse circles, playing both of them at the same time at the highest level possible, leading his teams to national championships, while at the same time holding down a full time job as a sports journalist with the Toronto Telegram newspaper. Reeve had been writing a weekly lacrosse column as early as 1921 when he was with the St. Aidan’s junior rugby team in the Toronto Beaches. He wrote for the Toronto Telegram from 1923 to 1971. In 1927 the Telegram decided to discontinue his lacrosse columns. While he was recovering from a broken leg, Reeve began to freelance his stories and sold a couple to a US publication. He received an offer to join the Telegram full-time because editor C.O. Knowles liked his style. He was told, “have a crack at it. If you can’t do it we’ll let you out.” His column Sporting Extras became known for its humour and was considered one of the finest sports features in Canada. He received a National Newspaper Award for excellence in 1961.

The Toronto Beaches Jr. “A” lacrosse club is proud to represent the arena named after one of the greatest athletes, and finest gentlemen, this country has ever produced.

Reprinted in part from an article in “Legends of our Game” magazine from 1993.

References:

“Legends of our Game” magazine from 1993, put together by the Committee of OLA Jr. “A” governors.

Golla, James (Aug 29, 1983). “The Moaner left mark on sports world”. The Globe and Mail. p. S6.

The National Newspaper Awards. Retrieved Jan 3, 2010

Gary Groob
Gary Groob

Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.

An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.

Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.

In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.

Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).

Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.

Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.

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