Ottawa, ON – The next two Legends of Lacrosse interviews will be released April 23—Wayne Goss and Ed Goss, and Al Lewthwaite. The Canadian Lacrosse Foundation’s Video Lacrosse Library and Lacrosse Talks project features video and podcast interviews of some of Canada’s most dynamic lacrosse builders, coaches and players. The purpose of the project is to capture the personal stories of those that have shaped the game over the last 80 years.

Video Nine: Wayne Goss and Ed Goss

Wayne Goss

Wayne Goss excelled at all aspects of lacrosse from goal scoring and play making to penalty killing and face-offs. Between 1968 and 1981, Goss scored 812 goals, added 1,040 assists, and amassed 1,852 points in 465 games. He held 41 WLA scoring and faceoff records and shared four others. Goss was named Rookie of the Year in 1968, league MVP four times (1969-71, 1975) and playoff MVP three times (1968-69, 1976). He was named to 11 all-star teams and won five Mann Cup championships (1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1981) with the Salmonbellies. He set a WLA and Canadian record in the 1981 Mann Cup series with an assist during the final seconds to amass a 98-point total and was named the series’ MVP. He played in the 1968 and 1969 National Lacrosse League championships, winning in 1968 over the Detroit Olympics. Goss also played for Canada in the 1974 world field lacrosse championships in Australia. He retired in 1981 after 14 seasons with the Salmonbellies. In 1983, his sweater was retired on “Wayne Goss Night” at Queen’s Park Arena. Goss was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1986 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

Ed Goss

Wayne Goss’s older brother Ed played hockey, soccer and basketball, but excelled at lacrosse. He played minor in New Westminster where his teams were perennial champs. Ed’s Jr. A Salmonbellies team were Minto finalists three consecutive years (1966-68). In 64 regular season junior games Ed scored 141 goals and had 133 assists for 274 points. He was Jr. A Rookie of the Year and 1st Team All-Star in 1966, won the Bill Dickinson Trophy as league top scorer in 1967 and held the record for most goals in a game (11). He played three pro seasons with New Westminster in 1968-1969 and Maryland in 1975, winning two World Pro Championships with the ‘bellies. Goss played Sr. A for the ‘bellies over six seasons 1969-1977. In 135 Sr. A and pro regular season games he netted 163 goals and 222 assists for 385 points, and in 53 playoff games added 53 goals and 52 assists. His ‘bellies teams went to three straight Mann Cups, winning two in 1970 and 1972.

Video Ten: Al Lewthwaite

Lewthwaite developed his box lacrosse skills in the Royal City’s Sapperton district, but by age 15 he was considered too big to continue playing at the juvenile level. Instead, he lined up with

the New Westminster Junior B team that captured the 1966 Canadian championship in

Port Arthur. With the Senior A Salmonbellies in 1967—he was not yet 17 years old—he scored two goals. After the 1968 Minto Cup series, he played a pivotal role in the Salmonbellies National Lacrosse Association professional championship victory over Detroit. In 1969 Lewthwaite was 6’3”, 230-lbs, fleet of foot, a deadly shooter, a natural playmaker and a rib-crunching checker. At the age of 18, he became a permanent member of the Senior Salmonbellies, registering 87 points in his first 27 games. Between 1970 and 1974, Lewthwaite and his teammates captured three Mann Cups in four trips to the Canadian championships. In 1975, the upstart pro National Lacrosse League team in Boston drafted Lewthwaite in the first round, but traded him to the long Island Tomahawks where he accumulated 140 points in 47 games; however, he also seriously injured his knee. After one season as co-coach of a Senior B team, he took over the coaching reins for the Salmonbellies in 1978. Over the next 21 years, Lewthwaite held similar positions with Coquitlam, Richmond, Burnaby and Maple Ridge.

Ten interviews are now available on April 23. For 20 weeks, two Legends of Lacrosse videos will be released every two weeks. Click here for a full list of the 20 Legends who will be featured.

Watch all the video stories here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCBvOxZi_Bu2toDatSBvvZA

Listen to all the audio podcast stories here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/lacrosse-legends

(The Podcast show and all episodes will also be made available on ITunes, Google Play, IHeart Radio and Spotify as soon as the episodes start getting released).

Partner Websites

Canadian Lacrosse Association

Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum

Manitoba Lacrosse Hall of Fame

Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum

About the Canadian Lacrosse Association          

Founded in 1867, the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) is the governing body responsible for all aspects of lacrosse in Canada. Our organization is comprised of 10 Member Associations representing nearly 85,000 individual participants, including coaches, officials, and athletes of all ages and abilities. The CLA's mission is to honour the sport of lacrosse and its unique nation-building heritage, by engaging our members, leading our partners, and providing opportunities for all Canadians to participate. The CLA oversees the delivery of numerous national championships and the participation of Team Canada at all international events sanctioned by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). The CLA is proud to be affiliated with partners that share the same vision and values, including our corporate partners - New Balance Athletics, Warrior Sports, NormaTec Recovery Systems, Canadian Red Cross, Westjet, RockTape and Baron Rings - as well as our funding partners the Government of Canada, the Coaching Association of Canada, and the Canadian Lacrosse Foundation. For more information on Canadian Lacrosse Association and the sport of lacrosse, visit our website at www.lacrosse.ca and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more information, please contact:

Jim Calder

Director
Canadian Lacrosse Foundation
Email: james.calder2@sympatico.ca

Victoria Klassen

Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Canadian Lacrosse Association
Phone: 613-260-2028 ext. 302
Email: victoria@lacrosse.ca