If you look carefully at these pictures you will see that the original design of the Cup had a top. Nothing is known about the top's disappearance.
THE BATHURST TEAM MEMBERS
BACK ROW: A. O'DONNELL (2ND STONE); E. BRANCH (2ND STONE); F. O. LANDRY (1ST STONE); E. P. MACKAY (SKIP);
F. GATAIN (SUB SKIP); J. MACINTOSCH (SKIP); R. C. ROGERS (2ND STONE); JNO. POWER (1ST STONE);
C. H. ELLIS (SUB SKIP)
MIDDLE ROW: GEO. GAMMON (SUB SKIP); N. THIBODEAU (SKIP); J. A. LAVALICE (1ST STONE); P. J. BURNS (PRESIDENT);
A. C. BRANCH (1ST STONE); J. G. STOUT (SKIP); M. LUNNIGAN (2ND STONE)
FRONT ROW: A. MCINTOSCH (SPARE MAN); S. L. BISHOP (SPARE MAN)
NOTE: TODAY WE REFER TO THE 'SUB SKIP' AS THE 'MATE'.
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THE McLELLAN CUP 1914
This is the oldest known picture of the McLellan Cup. It is of the Bathurst Curling Club teams that played and won a McLellan Cup match (#75) in Pictou, NS, on February 5, 1914. They went on to successfully defend the Cup in matches 75 to 88. In match 89 they lost to Moncton by one point. Again, the Cup has a top that has gone missing over the years. In the background, one can see what looks like barn doors that may have served as entrance doors to the original Bathurst club, since their club was only 5 years old at the time.
It is difficult to see, but in the lower right corner of the mat around the picture, you can find the embossed signature of the photographer, “Mersereau Chatham NB”. From research it was found that there is a J.Y. Mersereau collection of photos stored in the Archives of New Brunswick. They are a pictorial history of the Chatham area before and after the turn of the 20th century. Given the quality of the picture, we feel confident to assume this would have been the photographer.
The photograph is owned by Sheila Francis of Port Williams, NS. Shown in the picture are A. Branch, her grandfather and E. Branch, her great uncle.
1926 McLellan Cup
Match 226
Sydney and Mayflower Curling Clubs
1928 Mayflower Curlers at Truro
Match 235
REAR (L TO R): E. Eveleigh, H. W. Gates, T. W. Mullane, E. Cameron, B. C. Woodworth, J. H. Buchanan
CENTER (L TO R): H. M. McLeod (Skip), C. W. Durrant (Skip), P. L. Cleary (President), A. Montgomerie (Skip), J. W. Jordan
FRONT (L TO R): W. F. Bedwin, J. D. Monaghan
1933 Sydney Team with the McLellan Cup
Match 296
REAR (L TO R): W. R. Tracey, H. C. Ballem, E. E. Shaw (President), L. I. Snell, S. H. Stevenson
FRONT (L TO R): W. D. MacKay (Skip), F. N. Farquhar, G. G. Spencer, G. A. Hault (Skip)
The Sydney Curling Club went undefeated during the 1933 -1934 season
Amherst Curling Club with the McLellan Cup Match 310
REAR (L TO R): J. C. Murray, A. H. Lamy, Hon P. C. Black, N. T. Avard, C. A. Crawford, E. S. Livingston
FRONT (L TO R): W. H. Tennant, C. B. Chapman(Skip), G. W. O'Brien(Skip), W. B. Calhoun, H. A. Webster(Skip), D. S. Briggs
Winners 1935