New Westminster Salmonbellies

49°12′53″N 122°54′21″W / 49.21472°N 122.90583°W / 49.21472; -122.90583

The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, with their most recent championship in 1991. The 1968–1972 teams were collectively inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Bellies are the most successful senior team in the country, having won 6 more cups than the 2nd place Peterborough Lakers. When it comes to just western teams, they outshine their competition to the enth degree, with their closest competitor, the Victoria Shamrocks, having only won 9. They have appeared in the Mann Cup 46 times, with Peterborough having only made it 26 times, and Brampton and Victoria having appeared 22 times each.

They won their first Mann Cup in 1915. Prior to 1932, they played as a field lacrosse team but in May 1932 box lacrosse was adopted for the senior league in British Columbia - and the Salmonbellies have been a box lacrosse team since then. The Salmonbellies have won the Mann Cup more than any other lacrosse team. They had won at least one Mann Cup in every decade since the inception of the trophy, before the 2000s. There has been a drought of Mann Cup success since the 90s, with the team losing all 9 of their appearances in the championship series since their 1991 title, including 3 straight from 2008 to 2010. Their most recent appearance was the 2025 series, where they faced the Six Nations Chiefs, who defeated the Salmonbellies in 7 games to claim their 9th title.

In 1928, the New Westminster Salmonbellies were selected to represent Canada in field lacrosse at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, as they were the defending Mann Cup champions. After a 3–6 loss to the United States (represented by the Johns Hopkins University team) and a 9–5 victory over Great Britain, all three teams were tied in the standings and were each awarded gold medals.^[1]

Salmonbellie Alumni Paul Parnell, Wayne Goss, Eric Cowieson, Jack Bionda, Cliff Sepka, Dave Durante and Geordie Dean have all had their numbers retired by the team. There are more Salmonbellies alumni in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame than from any other team.

The Salmonbellie name arose from a taunt given by an opposing team's fan during an early game. The fan called the New West team "salmonbellies" referring to the fact that salmon was considered a lowly food at the time. But the players liked the name, concluding that the belly was the prime portion on the fish, so the name was adopted and has stuck for over a century. The name is never spelled with a "y" even when one writes about an individual "Salmonbellie."^[2]

Salmonbellies vs. the World: The Story of Lacrosse's Most Famous Team & Their Greatest Opponents (Caitlin Press, 2013) by W.B. MacDonald, is an in-depth, illustrated book which shares stories of the players' lives, successes and heartbreaks.

The Jr A Salmonbellies play in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League. Similar to the Senior team, they play out of Queen's Park Arena. The team has won 2 Minto Cups, in 1960 and 1994.

A Samonbellies Senior B team plays in the 6 team West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association. Prior to 2022 they were called the Royal City Capitals, but changed their name to match the Senior A team after entering an official partnership. The team is notable for having only won 4 games since the restart of the league post-covid.

New Westminster plays a team in the BC Senior Women's Box Lacrosse League. The Salmonbellies have won 6 senior women's league titles, 2014-2017, 2019 and 2022. In the 2025 season they finished in 3rd place, after beating Victoria in the bronze medal game. They were one of 5 teams invited to compete in the inaugural 2025 WBOX GRIT tournament in Port Coquitlam, where they finished 3rd.^[3] It was announced that the Bellies would return to the expanded 8 team 2026 edition.

The Salmonbellies have a number of teams playing in all age groups in the Lower Mainland Minor Lacrosse Commission.

The New Westminster lacrosse club was founded on May 12, 1888, but did not play their first home game in the Royal City until June 8, 1889, a 3–1 loss to Vancouver.

It was stated in the May 11, 1888, issue of the New Westminster Daily British Columbian newspaper that "All lacrosse players are requested to meet on the cricket grounds this evening for the purpose of forming a lacrosse club."^[4]

On May 14, 1888, the Daily British Columbian informed that "On Saturday evening a meeting of lacrosse players was held and a club formed. Mr. Glover was appointed chairman pro tem and Mr. Lewis permanent secretary and treasurer. A committee was formed to draft rules and by-laws, and perform other duties in connection with the organization of the club. Practises [sic] will be held every Wednesday and Friday evening for the present, and it is to be hoped that every lover of the game will join the club and assist in making it a success in every way. It is the intention to try and arrange a match with Vancouver on July 1st."^[5]

After losing their first match, New West traveled to Kamloops aboard the CPR to play Vancouver once again, in the annual picnic. The two played for the Alhambra Cup, which had been donated by the Vancouver club as a provincial trophy. Victoria was not invited to Kamloops, so they had no chance to challenge the other two teams. The 1889 championship game ended in a 2-2 draw, and many suspected that sports betting had influenced that result.

In 1890, the British Columbia Amateur Lacrosse Association was founded by the three BC teams in order to standardize and regulate play. In the first season under this new organization, New Westminster won all 6 games and claimed their first championship. The Royal City would go on to win 3 more titles in the 1890s.

At the end of the 1894 season, Victoria and New West were tied atop the standings. A championship game was scheduled at Brockton Oval in Vancouver. The New West team arrived late, and the game was eventually called off due to darkness. When the call was made, Victoria was winning 3-2. Much to Victoria's anger, the referee refused to give them the title, and they left the BCALA.

At the turn of the century, New West embarked on a tour of Eastern Canada, which caused some disruptions to the league schedule.

1903 saw what was dubbed at the time as the 'greatest lacrosse game in western Canada' when Vancouver and New Westminster played in front of 11,000 fans at Brockton Oval.

The 1903 season ended with an inflammation of tensions between New West and Vancouver. The dispute raged on into 1904, and ended when New Westminster withdrew from the league for that season.

What was possibly the greatest escalation of the rivalry between the Lower Mainland's two greatest teams came in 1908 when a overzealous New West fan began pelting Vancouver players with eggs. This kicked off a riot between those in attendance. One of the Vancouver staff, George Paris, retaliated by pulling his gun and shooting at the crowd. No one was killed in the incident, but Vancouver refused to play New Westminster for a period of time afterwards.

Earlier in 1908, the amateur Salmonbellies had travelled east and played Montreal and Ottawa, who were both pro teams. This tainted their status as amateur, and as a result the BCALA was dissolved and reorganized as the British Columbia Lacrosse Association. This new organization would contain two members, New Westminster and their bitter rivals in Vancouver.

In 1912, the two team league almost folded when the Salmonbellies threatened to withdraw. Although the dispute was resolved that year, the very next year another problem between the two led to Vancouver leaving and the cancellation of the season.

The 1914 season was also cancelled midway through when the Vancouver club that replaced the departing one from last season folded. The Bellies would win their first of many Mann Cups in 1915. The Salmonbellies were temporarily disbanded during the First World War, with many players joining the army. Members who didn't sign up for the war effort played lacrosse as a fundraiser. In 1916, a series of games between the Vancouver Patriotic Club and the Maple Leafs, who contained many New West players, was held. Another series of matches were held in 1917.

Post WW1, a new governing body was created to replace the old BCLA. The Mainland Lacrosse Association had two initial members, New Westminster and Vancouver. A dispute arose when the Minto Cup trustees refused to recognize the results of the MLA season, and thus deprived Vancouver of the Cup. New West claimed that their club had not been fully reorganized at the time.

The BCLA returned in 1919, with the Salmonbellies and the Vancouver Terminals making up its membership.

A second Vancouver team was formed in 1921, taking the name Vancouver Lacrosse Club. This new team had many players from the Terminals who signed for higher pay. New Westminster refused to play this new team, and instead the VLC left to form a new league with Victoria.

Professional lacrosse in BC died a quiet death in 1924 when the season was cancelled due to the owner of the Terminals dying. No 1925 season was scheduled. Instead the Salmonbellies began playing in the amateur league once again. The newly created British Columbia Coast Lacrosse Association consisted of 5 teams: New West, Vancouver, North Shore, Victoria and Nanaimo.

The BCCLA lost many of its clubs in the 1924 season. Only New West and Vancouver continued as Senior A teams. The rest of the league moved down to Senior B status.

1927 saw the Salmonbellies win the national championship for the 10th time, defeating the eastern champion Weston.

New West traveled internationally in 1928, to Los Angeles to represent Canada in the Olympics. The three team competition between Canada, the US and UK finished tied in the standings and all three were awarded the gold medal. Their absence in the Lower Mainland meant no senior season was played.

The final three seasons of field lacrosse play saw the Salmonbellies play a different Vancouver team each year. The Waterfront Workers played in 1929, a new Vancouver Lacrosse Club in 1930, and Vancouver Home Oil in 1931.

Along with the rest of the Canadian teams, New Westminster adopted box lacrosse in 1932. Three teams competed in this first year, the Salmonbellies, Vancouver Athletic Club and Squamish Indians. The first box game in the city, which was between the Bellies and the Indians, was later protested and removed from the standings. In 1933, a second New West team, named the Adanacs, were founded. A fierce rivalry would develop between these two clubs.

The Inter-City Lacrosse League was founded in 1934, and would remain the main senior league in BC until it was renamed the Western Lacrosse Association in 1969. New Westminster would win its first Mann Cup under box rules in 1937. The Adanacs would fold temporarily in 1942 due to WW2.

The Salmonbellies and Adanacs merged into one team in 1951, at first adopting the name the Commandos, then later the Salmonacs and Royals before returning to Salmonbellies.

The teams name was changed to O'Keefe's in 1959 after their new sponsor. They would eventually return once again to their old name in 1966. The Bellies briefly played in North Surrey in 1967 due to renovations to Queen's Park Arena.

The biggest change since the adoption of box lacrosse came in 1968, when a new professional league, containing teams from western Canada, eastern Canada and even the US was founded. The National Lacrosse Association incorporated the Inter-City teams, Vancouver, New West, Victoria and Portland, into its 8 team league. The pro league was short-lived, but the Salmonbellies won the 1968 championship, adding it to their long list of titles.

The NLA folded the next year, and the western teams rejoined their amateur league, now renamed to the WLA.

New Westminster would continue to play in the WLA, and the league would experience a period of relative stability. From 1969 to 1991, they would win another 8 Mann Cups.

Since 1991, the team has had an uncharacteristic drought of national success. The arrival in Ontario in 1993 of the Six Nations Chiefs would prove a bad sign for the Bellies, as they would play foil to New West's title hopes on many an occasion.

The Salmonbellies won a threepeat of WLA titles from 2008-2010, but could not conquer the best of Ontario.

In the 2023 Mann Cup series, the Salmonbellies hosted the Chiefs, who beat them 4 games to 1. Two years later, the two would once again meet in the Royal City, with the hosts jumping to a 2-0 lead after winning game 1 in the last second and game 2 by four goals. Game 3 was a rought for the Chiefs, who smashed the Bellies 19-9. Late in the third game a brawl broke out between the two fanbases in the stands. The Chiefs tied the series 2-2 with a 10-3 win. The Bellies didnt go quietly, winning game 5 16-11, but Six Nations proved their dominance, winning the two remaining games 10-6 and 12-7 to take their 3rd consecutive and 9th overall Cup. The 2025 series was the first time Six Nations had to play all 7 games to win the Mann.^[6][7]

Western Lacrosse Association

• Champions (23): 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2023, 2025

National Lacrosse Association (West Division)

• Champions (1): 1968

Inter-City Lacrosse League

• Champions (10): 1934, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1965

BCALA Senior Box Lacrosse League

• Champions (1): 1933

Mann Cup

• Champions (24): 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1937, 1943, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1989, 1991
• Runner-up: 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1969, 1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2023, 2025

Minto Cup

• Champions (11): 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1924
• Runner-up: 1902, 1911, 1920

National Lacrosse Association

• Champions (1): 1968

Summer Olympics

• Champions (1): 1928^[b]

Salmonbellie winners of the Mike Kelly Memorial Trophy (Major/Senior A):

• 1943 Bill Wilkes
• 1944 Ike Hildebrand
• 1958 Norm McKay
• 1959 Jack Bionda (New Westminster O'Keefes)
• 1962 Jack Bionda (New Westminster O'Keefes)
• 1965 Les Norman
• 1970 Paul Parnell
• 1972 Paul Parnell
• 1974 Ken Winzoski
• 1976 Dave Durante
• 1981 Wayne Goss
• d 1986 Geordie Dean
• 1987 Eric Cowieson (jointly held with Jim Meredith of the Brooklyn Redmen)
• 1989 Ben Hieltjes
• 1991 Geordie Dean

[1]

• Salmonbellies Official Website
• Historical Photo of match between New Westminster and Tecumseh, 1919
• Salmonbellies Team Photo, 1908
• Salmonbellies Team Photo, c.1910
• Lacrosse Game in New Westminster, 1900s