Great Teams—Westminster Royals, 1927–28
Introduction
In December of 1950, the Canadian Press conducted a poll of all its sports editors across the country in order to determine the leading players and teams at the half-century mark in all sports. The soccer team chosen “Team of the Half Century” was the Westminster Royals of 1929. In 1979, the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame inducted the Royals team of 1928–29, noting that it was the “Soccer Team of the First Half Century.” The reasons for the induction of this particular team listed on the BC Sports Hall of Fame website include winning, amongst other trophies, the 1928 Province Cup as well as the 1928 Challenge Trophy for the Canadian championship. However, the Royals team of 1928–29 did not win the 1928 Province Cup, but they did win that played in 1929, and they advanced only as far as the semi-final in the British Columbia section of the 1929 national Challenge Trophy, losing to St. Saviours. In 2005, The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum (Ontario) chose to induct as a Team of Distinction, the Westminster Royals, 1928, referring to the team that played the 1927–28 season, giving them credit for the 1928 Challenge Cup. The writer feels that the two teams have become confused over the years, and that the record of the 1927–28 Royals championship team seems to have been added to the 1928–29 season. In British Columbia, soccer seasons include part of two calendar years, just as they do in Europe, because on the west coast of Canada, you can, in many years, play outdoors for nine to twelve months. Players are signed for the new season in September of one year and play until the late spring or early summer of the next.
The following men played at least one game for the Westminster Royals 1927–28 team during the regular season: Aitkin, George Anderson, Stanley Ball, Jock Campbell, Harry Chapman, Jack Coulter, Austin Delany, Gant, Adam Kerr, Bob McDougall, Les Rimmer, George Russell, Jimmy Smith, Tom Taylor, Tom Trotter, Dave Turner and Roy Williams. The following players were transferred to the Royals for the National Championship: Andy Roots, Aubrey Sanford, Dickie Stobbart and Sandy Strang.
The 1927–28 Westminster Royals won the following trophies: Vancouver & District First Division League Championship (Teacher’s Shield), Mainland Cup, Vancouver Exhibition Cup and F.A. Trophy.
The following men played at least one game for the Westminster Royals 1928–29 team during the regular season: George Anderson, Joe Berto, Harry Chapman, Jack Coulter, Austin Delany, Andrew Hannah, Hendry, Tom Kennedy, Adam Kerr, Dan Kulai, George Lindsay, Eric Mackay, Bob McDougall, Joe Millburn, Les Rimmer, George Russell, Max Shiles, Stanley, Dickie Stobbart, Sandy Strang, Tom Trotter, Dave Turner and Nels Wilson.
The 1928–29 Westminster Royals won the following trophies: Vancouver & District First Division League Championship (Teacher’s Shield), Mainland Cup, Province Cup and O.B. Allan Cup.
On August 1, 1928, the Westminster Royals from New Westminster, British Columbia, won the national championship of Canada by defeating Montreal C.N.R. in the third game of a three-game series 6–1 at Carruthers Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the first game played on July 28, the Royals won 3–2, while in the second played on July 30, Montreal won 2–1, thus forcing a third game. This Westminster team was considered to be one of the finest teams ever assembled in Canada up to that time, and its players were widely acclaimed. They established a soccer dynasty which lasted into the thirties. Previously known as Westminster United, the team finished the 1927–28 season, including the national championship, with an impressive 31 wins to only three losses. They scored a total of 153 goals, and allowed only 36 goals against.
After the regular season, the teams in B.C. began playing for the Province and Mainland Cups. In the Province Cup for the championship of B.C., the Royals were surprisingly defeated 3–2 by Woodfibre. However, they went on to win the Mainland Cup on May 28, 1928, by beating St. Saviours 2–0. At that point, qualifying competition for the national championship began, which in those days was a separate competition from the provincial championships right across the country.
Before the qualifying rounds began, the Royals strengthened their team, adding goalkeepers Andy Roots from B.C. Sugar Refinery and Aubrey Sanford from Sapperton and defender Sandy Strang from Ladysmith in June, and forward Dickie Stobbart from Nanaimo Davenports in July. The national competition began on June 9 with the Royals beating Ladysmith 5–1. They then defeated Esquimalt on June 16 and St. Saviours on June 23. This put them in the B.C. final against St. Paul’s on July 7, which they won 5–2. The next game was against the Alberta finalists, Edmonton Canadian Legion. In the first game played at Con Jones Park in Vancouver on July 14, 1928, the Royals won 4–0. Two days later, in a wild affair also at Con Jones Park, the Royals won 9–6. Action now moved to Winnipeg, where the Royals met the Manitoba-Saskatchewan champions, Winnipeg Westbrook, at Carruthers Park. Here the Royals won 7–1 on July 23 and 2–0 on July 25, to put them in the final against Montreal C.N.R., the champions of the eastern half of the country.
The first game between the two teams was played on July 28 with the Royals winning 3–2 on two goals from Jack Coulter and one from Dave Turner. Andy Roots was in goal. Controversy surrounded the second game as three of the Royals star players: George Russell, Austin Delany and Dickie Stobbart, did not play. The management claimed that injuries kept these three players out. Aubrey Sanford was in goal. The Royals lost 2–1 with Coulter scoring the Royals only goal. The final game was played on August 1, with Russell, Delany and Stobbart back in the lineup. Stanley Ball, the goalkeeper during the regular season, was in goal. The Royals won 6–1 and Coulter scored four times and Stobbart and Kerr once each. After the game, the game ball, duly signed by a number of players and management, was presented to Stanley Ball as the goalkeeper before he left the team to join family in Winnipeg, and then Toronto. That ball now resides in The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum (Ontario).
A crowd of 10 000 welcomed the Royals home to New Westminster on August 6, 1928. A report in The British Columbian describes the scene: “Long before the train was due to arrive, the station platform was thronged, the streets in the vicinity were jammed with cars and the sidewalks were crowded for several blocks. City officials, including Mayor Gray and the aldermen, representatives of the various public bodies and the executive of the team, the fire department and the band of the New Westminster branch of the Army and Navy Veterans’ Association, all were present to show public recognition of the best football eleven in Canada, which has brought fame to the Royal City … After the victors had managed to break through the huge crowd of admirers at the station, they were driven up Columbia street in a huge parade of automobiles to Albert Crescent … To the noise of the horns of scores of automobiles, the sirens of the fire department vehicles and the cheers of thousands, the procession slowly made its way to the Crescent.” A civic welcome followed, and the next evening, the team was honoured with a banquet at the Russell Hotel in the Royal City.
League Game – September 24, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 5 (Turner 2, Kerr, Trotter 2)
Shellys 0
Westminster Royals: Dave Turner*, Adam Kerr, Tommy Trotter, Williams,
Tom Taylor*, Austin Delany*. (*ineligible, so no points)
League Game – October 1, 1927, at Carleton Schoolgrounds in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 10 (Russell 2, Coulter 3, McDougall, Kerr 2)
Collingwood 0
Westminster Royals: George Russell, Jack Coulter, Bob McDougall, Adam
Kerr, Tommy Trotter, Harry Chapman.
League Game – October 8, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 4 (Coulter 2, Trotter, Turner)
St. Andrews 1
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Jock Campbell – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Williams, Dave Turner, Jack
Coulter, Tommy Trotter, Harry Chapman.
League Game – October 15, 1927, at Confederation Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 1 (Turner)
North Vancouver Ex-High 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Jock Campbell – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Dave Turner,
Jack Coulter, Tommy Trotter, Harry Chapman.
League Game – October 22, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 3 (Kerr, Russell, Coulter)
Sapperton 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Jock Campbell – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dave Turner, Jack
Coulter, Tommy Trotter, Harry Chapman.
League Game – November 5, 1927, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 2 (Coulter, Parsons o.g.)
St. Saviours 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Les Rimmer, Jock Campbell – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Harry Chapman,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Adam Kerr.
Exhibition Game – November 6, 1927, at Woodfibre
Westminster Royals 3 (Coulter 3)
Woodfibre 3
Westminster Royals: Whyteford, Hamilton, Patterson, Jack Coulter.
1927 – November 12, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver vs. Varsity
cancelled due to weather.
1927 – November 13, 1927, at Nanaimo vs. Nanaimo Davenports Benefit Game cancelled due to weather.
League Game November 19, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 3 (Coulter 3)
North Shore United 2
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Jock Campbell – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Dave Turner,
Jack Coulter, Tommy Trotter, Harry Chapman.
League Game November 26, 1927, at Athletic Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 8 (Turner 4, Smith 2, Coulter 2)
St. Andrews 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Les Rimmer – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
League Game December 3, 1927, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 5 (Turner 3, Russell, Coulter)
South Hill 0
Westminster Royals: Tom Taylor – Les Rimmer, George Russell, Dave
Turner, Jack Coulter, Adam Kerr, Jimmy Smith, Austin Delany.
League Game December 10, 1927, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 6 (McDougall, Lang o.g., Turner, Coulter, Russell,
Smith) Shellys 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Les Rimmer, Jock Campbell – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
Allan Cup Fourth Round January 14, 1928, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 12 (Turner 2, Trotter, Coulter 4, Smith 3, Chapman,
Russell)
Collingwood 0
Westminster Royals: Tom Taylor (First Half), Jock Campbell (Second Half)
– Dave Turner, Tommy Trotter, Jack Coulter, Jimmy Smith, Harry
Chapman, George Russell.
League Game January 21, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 7 (Smith 2, Turner 4, Coulter)
North Shore 1
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Les Rimmer – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
League Game January 28, 1928, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 1 (Coulter)
Sapperton 0
Westminster Royals: Jack Coulter, Jimmy Smith.
Allan Cup Fifth Round February 4, 1928, at Athletic Park in Vancouver
St. Andrews 4
Westminster Royals 3 (Russell, Turner, Coulter)
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Les Rimmer, Jock Campbell – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
League Game February 11, 1928, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 2 (Coulter, Smith)
North Vancouver Ex-High 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Tom Taylor, Gant, Jack Coulter, Bob
McDougall, Jimmy Smith, George Russell.
League Game February 18, 1928, at Wilson Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 3 (Turner 2, Coulter)
South Hill: 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Dave Turner, Jack
Coulter, Adam Kerr, George Russell, Les Rimmer, Harry Chapman.
Mainland Cup First Round February 25, 1928, at Athletic Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 6 (Kerr 2, Coulter 2, Turner, Chapman)
Wallabies 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Les Rimmer –
Tommy Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
Exhibition Game March 3, 1928, at Nanaimo
Westminster Royals 4 (Turner, Coulter, Kerr, Smith)
Nanaimo Davenports 1
Westminster Royals: Dave Turner, Jack Coulter, Adam Kerr, Jimmy
Smith.
League Game March 10, 1928, at Queen’s Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 4 (Russell, Trotter, Turner, McDougall)
St. Saviours 3
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Jock Campbell –
Tommy Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Les
Rimmer, Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Adam Kerr.
Province Cup March 17, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Woodfibre 3
Westminster Royals 2 (Coulter, Turner)
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Jimmy Smith, Tommy Trotter,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Adam Kerr.
Mainland Cup Second Round March 24, 1928, at Sapperton Park
Westminster Royals 4 (Kerr, Coulter, Turner 2)
Sapperton Young Liberals 1
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Adam Kerr, Jack Coulter – Dave
Turner, Jimmy Smith, Austin Delany – Les Rimmer, George Russell,
George Anderson, Tom Taylor, Bob McDougall.
Mainland Cup Third Round April 6, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 3 (Coulter, Delany, Trotter)
BC Sugar Refinery 1
Westminster Royals: Aitkin – George Anderson, Les Rimmer – Tommy
Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
Mainland Cup Semi-Final May 12, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 7 (Turner 3, Kerr, Trotter, Coulter 2)
Canadian Legion 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Tommy Trotter, Jack
Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
Mainland Cup Final May 26, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 2 (Rimmer, Kerr)
St. Saviours 0
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Tommy Trotter,
Jimmy Smith, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship First Round June 9, 1928, at Con Jones Park in
Vancouver
Westminster Royals 5 (Coulter 2, Turner 2, Strang)
Ladysmith 1
Westminster Royals: Andy Roots – George Anderson, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Sandy Strang,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship Second Round June 16, 1928, at Royal Athletic Park
in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 5 (Turner 2, Coulter 2, Smith)
Esquimault 2
Westminster Royals: Andy Roots – George Anderson, Sandy Strang – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Jimmy Smith,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship Third Round June 23, 1928, at Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 3 (Kerr, Chapman 2)
St. Saviours 2
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Les Rimmer –
Tommy Trotter, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Sandy
Strang, Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship B.C. Final July 7, 1928, at Con Jones Park in
Vancouver
Westminster Royals 5 (Kerr 2, Turner, Stobbart, Coulter)
St. Paul’s 2
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Sandy Strang, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship B.C.-Alberta Final First Game July 14, 1928, at Con
Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 4 (Rimmer, Coulter, Stobbart, Turner)
Edmonton Canadian Legion 0
Westminster Royals: Aubrey Sanford – George Anderson, Sandy Strang –
Les Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship B.C.-Alberta Final Second Game July 16, 1928, at
Con Jones Park in Vancouver
Westminster Royals 9 (Coulter 3, Winter o.g., Stobbart, Turner 4)
Edmonton Canadian Legion 6
Westminster Royals: Aubrey Sanford– George Anderson, Sandy Strang –
Les Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany– Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship Western Canada Final First Game July 23, 1928, at
Carruthers Park in Winnipeg
Westminster Royals 7 (Coulter 4, Russell, Turner, Kerr)
Winnipeg Westbrook 1
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – George Anderson, Sandy Strang – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship Western Canada Final Second Game July 25, 1928,
at Carruthers Park in Winnipeg
Westminster Royals 2 (Smith, Stobbart)
Winnipeg Westbrook 0
Westminster Royals: Andy Roots – Sandy Strang, Tom Taylor – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Bob McDougall, Dickie Stobbart,
Jimmy Smith, Dave Turner, Adam Kerr.
National Championship Final First Game July 28, 1928, at Carruthers Park
in Winnipeg
Westminster Royals 3 (Coulter 2, Turner)
Montreal CNR 2
Westminster Royals: Andy Roots – George Anderson, Sandy Strang – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
National Championship Final Second Game July 30, 1928, at Carruthers
Park in Winnipeg
Montreal CNR 2
Westminster Royals 1 (Coulter)
Westminster Royals: Aubrey Sanford – Tom Taylor, George Anderson –
Sandy Strang, Les Rimmer, Tommy Trotter – Jimmy Smith, Adam Kerr,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Dave Chapman.
National Championship Final Third Game August 1, 1928 at Carruthers Park
in Winnipeg
Westminster Royals 6 (Stobbart, Coulter 4, Kerr)
Montreal CNR 1
Westminster Royals: Stanley Ball – Sandy Strang, George Anderson – Les
Rimmer, George Russell, Austin Delany – Adam Kerr, Dickie Stobbart,
Jack Coulter, Dave Turner, Harry Chapman.
Player Biographies
George Anderson – Full Back Born: Bathgate, Scotland. He learned the game with Ladysmith juniors, then joined the senior team before moving on to nearby Cumberland to join the Canadian Collieries team, and played in the Challenge Cup final of 1925–1926 season. He signed for the Royals in October of 1927, but didn’t get into the lineup until February 20, 1928, due to the fact that he had sustained a broken leg playing for the Pacific Coast League All-Stars against the English F.A. in 1926. He played in the 1928, 1930 and 1936 Canadian Challenge Cup finals for the Royals. Played for Upper Island and the Pacific Coast League against England in 1926, and for the B.C. Lower Mainland against Wales in 1929. Played in every one of the six internationals played against Australia in 1924 in that country, and in fact, appears to have played in every game on the tour. He was described as being “A back of the finest type. Frail but a deadly kicker and grand tackler.”
Stanley Ball – Goalkeeper Born: London, England, December 25, 1904. Died: Toronto, Ontario, June 6, 2006. Was brought to Canada by his parents in 1906 and grew up in Winnipeg. Played Canadian rugby for the Winnipeg Victoria team that won the Western Canada junior rugby championship in 1924; called up to join the senior team that was to have represented the West in the Grey Cup that year. A basketball player of repute in both Winnipeg and Vancouver, he captained the Winnipeg Canoe Club basketball team in the 1923–24 season to the Dowler Trophy, and kept goal for Winnipeg Westerlea and Brits in Manitoba soccer during the early twenties. In 1926, he moved to Vancouver and was goalkeeper for Empire Stevedores, 1926–27, winners of the Mainland Cup that year, before signing with Westminster Royals where he was the goalkeeper during the 1927–28 season. He was particularly adept at repelling high shots. After the Royals won the national championship, he moved to Toronto where he played for Maple Leafs and C.N.R. In the 1930s, he worked as a mine manager in Northern Ontario and spent the years of World War Two working as production manager for York Arsenals.
Harry Chapman – Outside Left Born: Leeds, Yorkshire, England. Played for Edmonton C.N.R. and Ladysmith before joining the Westminster Royals. A member of the Canadian team that toured Australia in 1924. A winger who was on the small side, but who combined well with Dave Turner for the Royals. Reports say that he rarely wasted a ball, that most of his centres were models of accuracy and that he had wonderful control and could also shoot from all angles.
Jack Coulter – Centre Forward Born: Hamilton, Scotland in 1902. Died: White Rock, B.C., November 16, 1960. Jack Coulter was a centre forward who looked clumsy and awkward, as many great goalscorers do, but his looks were deceiving. It was said of him that he was always laying up on his backs, and was ever ready to dart through to the inside men’s passes and that he could shoot like a bullet with either foot on the run and was the terror of opposing goalkeepers. He played for the Garrison in Victoria and for Esquimalt before joining the Royals. He was a member of the Royals team that won the national championship in 1928, 1930 and 1936. In those three finals, he scored 14 goals, and in the 1936 semi-final, seven goals in one game against Calgary Callies, when the Royals won 12–0. Jack also won the Province Cup, the championship of B.C., with the Royals in 1930, 1931 and 1936. On retiring as a player, he helped organize the New Westminster Junior and Juvenile Soccer Association, and coached the Royals team that lost the Canadian final to Montreal Stelco in 1952. During his working hours, he was a fire warden. He died in White Rock Hospital from injuries suffered in a car crash.
Austin Delany – Left Half Born: Birkenhead, England. Died: Vancouver, B.C., December 4, 1958. Played left half for the Royals and before that, Vancouver City. With the Royals, he won the national championship in 1928 and 1930. He also played for the Vancouver All-Stars versus England in 1926. Those who saw him play say he was a veritable box of tricks, and a deadly tackler, despite his height and weight, but could rise higher for a ball than many other players. He was often found up with his forwards in triangular movements, but was so fast that he could recover and get back quickly when beaten. After he retired from playing, he became a journalist with the Vancouver Sun and wrote soccer columns starting in the 1930s. Later he became known as “Little Poison” for his hard-hitting comments.
Adam Kerr – Outside Right or Left Born: Glasgow, Scotland. Died: Vancouver, B.C., March 23, 1947. Started playing as a junior with Cedar Cottage in 1918 and then played for the team run by the Longshoremans International Union. From there, he joined two of Vancouver’s best known teams, St. Saviours and St. Andrews, for short spells before signing for the Royals. A winger and sometimes inside forward, Kerr won two national championships with the Royals in 1928 and 1930 and also played on B.C. select teams against the English F.A. in 1926, the Scottish F.A. in 1927 and the Welsh F.A. in 1929. He was considered to be a player of moods, and when he was on, he was really brilliant and could use either foot with the same precision and was a deadly shot while on the run.
Robert McDougall – Outside Right Born: Birkenhead, England. Came to the coast from Edmonton Vets and joined the Royals. He was fast and centred well when on the run, and had a strong shot. He could require a great deal of stopping.
Les Rimmer– Right Half Born: Liverpool, England. Played soccer in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and for the Empire Stevedores in Vancouver before joining the Royals. Considered to be an artist on the field, cool, calculating and clever, who worked the triangular movement to perfection with his right wing. With Russell and Delany, it was said that he formed one of the finest half-back lines seen in B.C., the deft combination between the three being hard to surpass.
Andy Roots – Goalkeeper Born: Maidstone, Kent, England. Played in Winnipeg before moving to the west coast where at first he played for the Vancouver Street Railway team, then for St. Saviours for four years before joining B.C. Sugar Refinery. He joined the Royals in June of 1928. Reports of the time say he had a safe pair of hands, good anticipation and was sound in his clearances. Played for the B.C. All-Star team against the touring Scots in 1927 and awarded the medal as the best player for the B.C. team.
George Russell – Centre Half Born: Glasgow, Scotland. Had a trial with Hearts before coming to Canada, and after a season or two with Vancouver North Shore United, joined the Royals. In his playing days, he was considered to be the peer of all centre halves on the coast. Said to possess boundless energy and to cover a tremendous amount of ground, while he was well nigh perfect in feeding his forwards by short or long passes. It was thought he would make the grade on an Old Country team were he on the other side of the water. He played for the Vancouver All-Stars and the Pacific Coast League All-Stars against the English F.A. team in 1926, the Vancouver and B.C. All-Stars against the Scottish F.A. in 1927 and for the Lower Mainland All-Stars against Wales in 1929. Returned to North Shore after playing for the Royals.
Aubrey Sanford – Goalkeeper Born: Nanaimo, British Columbia. Died: Vancouver, B.C., January 5, 1985. Began playing in 1922 with Sapperton and was transferred to Westminster Royals in June of 1928 just for the Dominion series. He returned to Sapperton, and the following June, he transferred to Kerrisdale, again for the Dominion series. He began the 1929–30 season with that team, but by early November 1929, he had signed with the Royals. As a goalkeeper, he was considered sound rather than showy, and had a huge kick. Following World War Two, he was secretary and then manager of the Royals, and was in charge when the Royals won the national championship again in 1953 and 1955. In 1958, he became a member of the B.C. Soccer Commission and was chairman from 1962 to 1965 and a member of the executive of the Canadian Soccer Association from 1962 to 1972, vice-president of the CSA from 1965 to 1968 and president from 1969 to 1972. Away from soccer, he was vice-president and comptroller of Cunningham’s Drug Stores and a member of the Chartered Accountants of B.C.
Jimmy Smith – Inside Right Born: South Shields, England. Came to the Royals from Edmonton in time for the 1927–28 season but ran up against bad luck in the way of injuries. A short, stocky forward, he had perfect ball control, was a clever schemer and distributor and packed a wicked shot: was too good to be left off any team.
Richard “Dickie” Stobbart – Inside Forward or Half Back Born: Bedlington, Northumberland, England. Died: Vancouver B.C., November 9, 1942. First attracted attention on Vancouver Island with his play for Ladysmith when they reached the national final in 1921 and then again when Nanaimo won the national championship in 1923. In 1924, he was a member of the Canadian team that toured Australia and was awarded a gold medal by the Australians as the team’s most consistent player. He joined the Royals from Nanaimo Davenports in July of 1928 just before qualification for the national championship began. He left before the team won its second national title in 1930, then returned to play for the 1931 championship winning team. When he joined the Royals, it was said that “He seems to have taken on a new lease on life and is playing with all the pep it is possible to wish for. Deadly in front of goal with head or feet, a born schemer, he is also a wonderful half back, either in attack or defence.”
Alexander “Sandy” Strang – Full Back or Forward Born: Edinburgh, Scotland. Played for Ladysmith before moving to nearby Cumberland to Canadian Collieries and played in the national final at the end of the 1925–1926 season. He was a versatile player that could perform anywhere on the team but goal. Said to be a glutton for work, he was fast and packed a tremendous shot when playing on the attack. Joined the Royals in June of 1928, just before qualification for the national championship began.
Tom Taylor – Full Back Born: Bolton, Lancashire, England. Said to have learned all his soccer in New Westminster and never to have played with any other team until he signed with North Shore United for the 1928–29 season. Not a showy player but a grand one, kicking and tackling in high-class style. A hefty back who could shoulder a man off the ball with ease.
Tom Trotter – Half Back Born: Ayr, Scotland. Played in Edmonton and for Ladysmith before joining the Royals in 1926, and was captain of the team. Said to be a gentleman on and off the field, and always willing to play when called upon.
Dave Turner – Inside Left Born: Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: Victoria, B.C., April 6, 1989. Was brought to Canada in 1914 by his parents who settled in Edmonton, where he grew up and played soccer for Edmonton South Sides, and played for the Edmonton All-Stars in 1924 against the Corinthians with his friends George and Jimmy Graham. Shortly afterwards, Dave and George left for the west coast, and on the way played for Calgary CPR in the Black Cup Final. On reaching the coast, they played briefly for St. Andrews and then ended up on Vancouver Island where they played for Canadian Collieries in Cumberland. Dave scored a hat trick for Cumberland against Nanaimo, then the national champions. It wasn’t long before the inseparable pair were on the move again, this time to the professional American Soccer League on the east coast. There George played for Fall River Marksmen and Dave for nearby New Bedford Whalers. They didn’t stay there long before they were both in Toronto playing for Ulster United. Then cupid played a role, and George remained in Toronto while Dave moved back to the west coast. While still with Ulster United, Turner toured New Zealand with the national team playing in three of the four internationals, making his international debut in Christchurch and scoring a goal. In 1928, he was with Westminster Royals and remained with them until he ended his career in 1937. During that time, he led the Royals to four national championships, 1928, 1930, 1931 and 1936. In those days, he was considered to be the best forward in Canada. His footwork was described as being delightful, his shooting terrific, with either foot, and he was a terror around goal with his head. It is claimed that as a schemer he was unsurpassed, and that to see him feinting and drawing the opposition toward him and then flicking the ball to a teammate was uncanny. One report says “He looks too big to be fast, but his pace in the last yard is tremendous and completely fools the opposition. “ Dave Turner was voted Canada’s Player of the Half Century by the Canadian Press in 1950. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and in 2000 into The Soccer Hall of Fame (Ontario).