Joseph Bergin was an amazing lacrosse player.
A Guelph resident for over 60 years, Bergin began his love of the game in Fergus. It seemed, from the moment he picked up a lacrosse stick he was a natural.
In 1927 he won his first championship helping his club grasp the Ontario Amateur Lacrosse Association’s Midget title. That began an amazing run for Mr. Bergin. In 1929 he led his team to the OALA’s Juvenile championship. Two years later his team won the Junior title, but it was 1932 where Bergin accomplished his ultimate triumph.
His club made it all the way to the Eastern Canada Senior A finals for the Mann Cup, which is representative of our country’s top lacrosse trophy. It was his performance there that caught the eye of Canadian Olympic officials and he was named to our country’s all-star team which played at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
An article in the Toronto Star in July of that year said of Bergin “Although a youngster at 19, he is rated as one of the outstanding amateur defencemen in Canada. He is very tricky and is a great playmaker.”
Bergin went on to play the game he loved for many seasons and was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1998.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame – Athlete category – on May 15, 2000
