The 'Father of Maritime Football'
For his many
achievements,
the all-star eFL
centre has been
inducted into five
sports halls of fame
rom w. s hospital bed in the
tiny corrurtwtity of Sher­
brooke; N.S., Don Loney
took a call from the Ha mil­
ton Tiger-Cats' defensive front
coach Dennis McPhee.
The Ticats' season opener was «;>n television and Mr. McPhee wanted
his old friend to watch the game.
Mr. Loney turned on his set and
saw the Canadian Foot ball l.eague
team post a 38-36 victo ry over th e
B.C. Uons at BC Place Stadium. He
died the neXt day. For the man who
became known as the "Father of Maritime Football," it was a fitting way (0 spend his final hours.
Mr. Loney, who died last month
at the age of 80, made a lasting
mark as one' of the country's top
university coaches with the St.
Francis Xa\jer University X-Men.
I\!; coach of the team from 1957 un­
til 1973, his X-Men had a 133-31 -2 record. His teams from Antigonish, N.S., won 'n ine conference titles,
four Atlantic Bowls and the 1966 CoUege Bowl tltle. DlIIing that era, Time magazine called the X- Men
"assassins from the Eas t" and th e university "Uttle Notre Dame." Mr.
Loney was also was a driving forc e
behind the Atlantic Bowl gam e,
which made its debut in 1956.
"It was more than just about
football, it was about mOUldin g th e
young men," said Bill Kiely, presi­
nent of SI: Francis Xavier's alurrlli
association.
!
"Discipline was front and cen tre
Ifor Doni: he sald. "He didn't like
anything' half 'done, He instill ed that in his players." The son ofa: locomotive engineer
on the Canadian National Railway,
Mr. Loney was born on ·Nov. 16,
1923, in Ottawa. He Was the second
of three children born to Florence
a nd Joe Loney. When'he was 13, the
family moved to Montreal. It was
the Depression years and the
Loney family li ved in a third-fluor
Oat not far from the railroad termi­
nal ,
By the time he reached high
school. Mr. Loney was playing foot­
ball. After graduation, he played
centre with the Montreal Pats, a
junior football team,
The war called and in 1943, Mr.
Loney joined the Royal Canadian
Navy (Reserve) as an ordinary sea­
man. The foUowing year he was
F
'SI. r:rands Xavier UniversIty team .
One of Ws coaching rughlights was
winning the fIrst CoUege Bowl,
, which preCf'<ied the Vahier Cup, ill
1%6 at VarsilY Stadium inli'oronto.
[ Mr. Loney watched; 'as hlsteam
, from a sm,,1l Nova ,Scotilln town
walked into the sfllllium. iind de­
stroyed Wa terloo Lutherah (now
Wilfrid lalli ier), the heaVily fir­
vQllred teant
t ~
.
'
A tough !:oach, he demanded
high performance ,from his players I
bOI h on and " ffthe football field. ''If.
a person docs his b,e st, that's whitt'!>'
most import "nt ~ I can't stand haft·
assed things." he told The 'Halifax
· Ch ronicle- H ('rald lltsvyeat. •
._
\ ViUiarn Sl lca, wfio'was ~aRtalU of
the universir y's team l'rol!L 957U!\­
til J 959, r,,;net;IlIJers his formElr
cO'lch as a c1isciplinarian-who alstJ '
showed com passion for his players.
"With everyone he ·was trying io
:teach them to be their best," said
-, b[', Shea: an "rthopedic surgeon in
B(l ~ tonJ
1 ;.
.Dr. Shea also remembers being
in the ,d ressing room on Saturday m (l rni~efcre a big g[lm9liste~
.•
!,:g to )Dhn Philip Sousa lJlotlV'a­
tiona! rtlMchmg songs. Mt. Loney
jJsed to play the music 100l:dly in an
· effort.to get ,t he team'pum peR ult. •
On the sid ell~es during practice)
and at all games, Mr: Loney could
be seen chomping oil a cigar ·with·
his beloved boxer by rus side. "When .the manager ·packed the gear box, he always ~ad to include ·three things - the a og's coUar and leash and the coacn's cigars,"he once told tile Chronicle-Herald.
Mr. Loney wasn'tilt his best on game day. '~ He was very m oh on-'
,aI," Dr, Shea said. "He made a lot of
".noise,"
•
Ahead of his finie;Mr. Loney had
his practices fLlmed, which was
common in the late 19505, and also
.q h arl hi~, studenis ke.eP..s tatsoI. t a i;.~ ,Ies, blocks and sacRS: .
{
, Mr. 'u )Jj'ey retired as c'oach in
,1973 . but continued to attend St..
; ,Francis'Xavier tearn games,oYer the'
next three ,decades. He lateOnoved ­
to the small, picturesque cilnunu­ nity of Sherbrooke where. hesued his love of oil painting. He hlrd
a particular fondness fo r railro'a d
and naval ships ,and these-were-of­
Don Loney: 'It was more than just about football, it was about moulding the young lJl ~ n .'
ten the subjects of his paintings.
For his achievemen'ts, Mr. Loney
pos,ed to one of th e coastal patrol That same yea r he was named all­
schoo l at I ' MCS Sladacona in Ha.l­
was inducied into 'e sports' halls
vp ~s els a nd then to the Canadian
star centre, an honour he won (hree if;lx and ,.,a ched the Stadacona of fam ~, including :the C,a nadian;'
65th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla in more tim es, In 1950, he won the Jeff S, dl ors fO Ol r'a ll tea m,
Nova Scotia, SI. Franr;is Xav!er, ,Qt­
En€;ia nd. Sho rt ly after he arri·,ed in Russell Tro phy for most ""I uable
The fa ll , ,wing year he was of­
tawa and Canadian Forcf's. ' os! of
England . the war end ed an d he was player in the east ern confere nce fered a COJI lraet to play fnr the Cal­
his trophies and plaq ues are' n ow
while playing with th e Ott awa gnry Stamt '''ders. Soon after, he in­
resting at thp Nova Sc'o tia sport
se nt back to Cana da.
After the war, the six-foot, 200- Rough Riders. The followin g year ju red him,"lfwhiic playing and de­
Hall of Fame in ,Halifax. Instead of
pound centre pl ayed with th e Mon­
bewon the Grey Cup with th e t"a m, cided to t<l :e a joil at the naval air having them hidden away in a dark.
u"a] Ho rne ts for a year ann then
Unable to make enough money s tation H~ CS Shcarwater in Nova attic, he wanted them in II ' plac e
hl' aded south to North Carolina to live playing football in rhos e Sc otia , TJ ere h e coached the 'where tlrey woUld be appreciated
1
.,:
State College on a football scholar­
days, Mr. Loney found work as a tax SI, carwa tcl l'lyers football team for hy spot ts fans . :
ship, Homesick, he returned home assessor and a dairy sales pro Jll o(er t' vo years,
Mr. Lollky, who ,I:Elrnained a ba­
a year later and wen t to Toro nto to to supplement hio incom e. HI' also
Mr. Loney's gre,rrest accomplish­
chelorWJhis life, di.ed on June 1 . , I
pl ay fo r the Argo nauts, helpin g the joined the naval rese rve , In 19:·1 , he ments came at th e intercollegiate
tea m to win th e Grey ' :tIP in 1946. accepted a (our of du ty at the (riving Icvel. For t 7 years, he coached the Special to TIle Globe a!ld Ma ii
un­
p.ur­
I