October 23, 2001 -When
Jamie Bentley defeated WPSA colleague Scott Dulmage in late January '95
in a four-game match between two former champions(Jamie '89, Scott
'87), he thereby became the final winner of the Canadian National
Hardball Championships, an event that began in 1912 and wound up with
75 renditions.
Other than a break during the two world wars (1916-1919 and 1941-1945),
the Canadian Nationals not only was held every year but combined with
its U.S. Nationals counterpart to become the culmination of the
hardball season. Especially in the second half of the twentieth
century, the presence of the leading Canadian players in the U.S.
Nationals became increasingly common, and the fact that the two events
were often bunched on consecutive or nearly consecutive weekends in
mid-February contributed to the psychological synergy between the two
events.
This phenomenon presented itself in virtually every conceivable
permutation. John Nimick gained so much momentum from winning the
Canadian Nationals in '82 that no one could stop him when the U.S.
event was held in Washington D.C. the following week, while Ned Edwards
became so demoralized by his unexpected and convincing semi-final loss
to Victor Harding in '81 that he never regained his equilibrium and
didn't come close to fulfilling his top-seeded status in Detroit the
following week, losing in the quarters to the unseeded Edgardo Alvarez.
Both Victor Niederhoffer in '74 and Peter Briggs two years later were
so galvanized by the upset losses they suffered in Canadian National
finals they had been considered sure shots to win that the extra
motivation spurred them to U.S. championships one week later, with
Victor exacting revenge over his Canadian Nationals conqueror, Gordy
Anderson, in Annapolis, while a chastened Briggs buzzed through the
draw in Philadelphia without the loss of a single game.
Some players, like three-time champs and native Canadians Phil
Mohtadi('76, '77 and '80)and Scott Stoneburgh('91-'93), reached their
peak at the Canadian event and entered the U.S. tourney too exhausted
or satiated to match this standard, while others, notably Charles
Brinton, looked upon the entire season as a kind of ramp that led to
what he regarded as the top of the mountain, the U. S. National
championship. It is a tribute both to Brinton's perception and modesty
in knowing that he could reach his true peak only once per year and to
his ability to time precisely the attainment of that peak that he never
won the Canadian Nationals (which he regarded as the final
stepping-stone in his season-long pre-U.S. Nationals climb), yet
managed to win the U. S. Nationals four straight times in the early
1940's.
In 1953, Earnest Howard parlayed his aggressive volleying style to
become the first of four Canadians to win the U. S. Nationals (followed
by the hard-hitting Colin Adair in '68 and '71, the fleet-footed
Michael Desaulniers in '78 and '80 and the smoothly graceful Scott
Dulmage in '88). All four of these men also won their home country's
national squash championship-Howard in '53, Adair in '69 and '71,
Desaulniers in '78 and Dulmage in '87, and the first three-named are
joined by six Americans in their dual accomplishment of winning both
titles in the same year, namely Beekman Pool in '32, Henri Salaun in
'56 and '57, Sam Howe in '67, Anil Nayar in '70, Niederhoffer in '75
and Nimick in '82.
In addition, Mario Sanchez in '79 became the only Mexican to win both
events in the same year and, for that matter, the only Mexican ever to
win the Canadian Nationals. In addition to the foregoing, there are
also four other Americans---Herbert Rawlings in the late 1920's, Neil
Sullivan in the late 1930's, Ben Heckscher in the late 1950's and Steve
Vehslage in the mid 1960's-who won both national titles at some point
in their careers, usually only a year or two apart.
Many of the Canadian Nationals winners, especially from the late 1970's
onward when professional squash started to seriously grow, would go on
to become stars on the WPSA hardball tour, and it is a tribute to their
staying power that even now, nearly seven years after this event made
its curtain call in the mid 1990's, that a number of the last few
Canadian National champions, including Stoneburgh, Dulmage and Bentley,
are still very highly ranked on the current ISDA professional doubles
tour that has enjoyed such recent success. The Canadian Nationals has a
rich history that thoroughly permeated squash throughout the twentieth
century, and its legacy continues strongly even today.
1912 K Molson
1958 Henri
Salaun
1913 P. MacKenzie
1959 Henri Salaun
1914 L. C. Outerbridge
1960 Ben Heckscher
1915 G. H. Southam
1961 Don Legatt
1916-1919 Not held
1962 J. W. S. Chapman
1920 L. C. Outerbridge
1963 J. W. S. Chapman
1921 C. Peabody
1964 J. W. S. Chapman
1922 C. Peabody
1965 Robert Hetherington
1923 J. Labreque
1966 Stephen Vehslage
1924 Capt. Gerald Robarts 1967 Sam Howe III
1925 Ralph A. Powers
1968 Steve Vehslage
1926 J.H. Chipman
1969 Colin Adair
1927 Capt. Victor. A. Cazalet 1970 Anil Nayar
1928 Jay Iselin
1971 Colin Adair
1929 Herbert N. Rawlins, Jr. 1972 C. Nancarrow
1930 A. Martin
1973 G. Anderson
1931 A. Martin
1974 G. Anderson
1932 Beekman Pool
1975 Victor Niederhoffer
1933 A. Martin
1976 Phil Mohtadi
1934 E. Snell
1977 Phil Mohtadi
1935 H. Martin
1978 Michael Desaulniers
1936 C. H. Pooley
1979 Mario Sanchez
1937 N. J. Sullivan
1980 Phil Mohtadi
1938 H. Martin
1981 Jay Gillespie
1939 H. Martin
1982 John Nimick
1940 Hunter H. Lott
1983 Gil Mateeer
1941-45 Not played
1984 Brad Desaulniers
1946 J. L. Leibel
1985 Alan Grant
1947 Joe Hahn
1986 Paul Deratney
1948 Joe Hahn
1987 Scott Dulmage
1949 J. L. Leibel
1988 M Barber
1950 Ed Hahn
1989 Jamie Bentley
1951 Henri Salaun
1990 M Barber
1952 Henri Salaun
1991 Scott Stoneburgh
1953 Earnest Howard
1992 Scott
Stoneburgh
1954 Diehl Mateer
1993 Scott Stoneburgh
1955 Diehl Mateer
1994 M Leckie
1956 Henri Salaun
1995 Jamie Bentley
1957 Henri Salaun