COLUMN: Sports Flashback March 13, 1964 – Teachers double winners at Shilo v-ball tournament
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Six Steinbach teachers were double winners at a tournament at Camp Shilo a week ago when they defeated the Winnipeg Buffaloes to win the Western Canadian Men’s “B” Volleyball title and downed a United States Air Force team from Grand Forks for the tournament championship.
Paced by Peter Dick, who was named the outstanding player of the tournament, Steinbach dropped only two games in the eight team round-robin tournament. Third place in the Western Open went to Calgary Tech Trojans and the Camp Shilo Stags placed fourth.
The visiting US Air Force team from Grand Forks, although ineligible to hold the Canadian title, swept through the round-robin tourney to win the Western Canadian Services Open Volleyball title.
Undefeated in all their games against services teams, Grand Forks topped army teams from Shilo and Winnipeg, and RCAF Portage la Prairie.
Runners up in the Open tournament, and declared Western Canadian Services Champions for 1964 were the Camp Shilo Stags, who lost games only to the American team.
The teachers were equally successful in a warmup to the Western Canadians at the Saskatchewan Open in Moose Jaw in February.
Eight men’s teams and six women’s teams were entered in the event held at the Saskatchewan Technical Institute.
The men’s elimination round would split teams in two divisions, with the winners of the first game going into ‘A’ Division and the losers into ‘B’ Division.
The Steinbach Teachers drew the University of Saskatchewan as opponents in the opener, and the Manitobans took two straight, putting them in ‘A’ Division.
Jake Epp set what must have been a record, when he served for 15 straight points in the first contest.
The other teams in the ‘A’ Division were the Regina YMCA Chiefs, the Moose Jaw Toilers and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
In the round-robin, Steinbach lost twice to the Toilers, 12-10 and 10-8 with a time limit set on games.
Steinbach then proceeded to win their next four, finishing in second place behind the undefeated Moose Jaw Toilers.
In the semi-finals, Steinbach lost to the Regina Chiefs in the first game, won the second handily, and then squeezed by with a 16-14 come-from-behind victory in the third, for a rematch with the Toilers They went on to beat the Moose Jaw team in the finals, 15-8 and 15-5, giving them first place. Their record for the tournament was 10 wins and three losses.
In the Western Canadian Open two last week, the teachers went one better, losing just two games on the way to the double championship.
– with files from Ralph Friesen