McMaster University Marlins

McMaster University hockey won University Cup for 1962-63 season
Only appearance in series, and the Marlins came home with the gold

Team portrait of he 1962-63 University Cup winners, the McMaster Marlins. Bill Mahoney, named the series MVP, is fifth from the left in the rear. Photo courtesy of McMaster University.

McMaster hockey from 1962. Note that head gear is optional. Photo courtesy of McMaster University.

Hamilton’s McMaster has long had a hockey squad, but the team was never better in intra-school play than during the 1962-63 season when it won the University Cup.

This award, presented to the top university team in Canada, began in 1962, and the trophy was presented by Queen’s University and the Royal Military College, the first teams to play organized university hockey in 1885.

Ironically, the year McMaster won the trophy was the school’s only appearance in the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) series. The team was coached by Les Prince.

The team, called the Marlins, was unbeaten in 14 regular season and playoff games, moving into the tournament as the Ontario-Quebec champs.

In a four-team play down, Mac was pitted against Sherbrooke, UBC, and Saint Francis Xavier. The Marlins were a semi-finalist winner over Saint Francis Xavier 4-3 in overtime, while UBC won 6-2 over Sherbrooke.

In the final, McMaster won over UBC 3-2 to take the Cup. The UBC Thunderbirds were Canada’s hockey entry into the 1964 Olympics.

Bill Mahoney of McMaster was name the Most Valuable Player of the series. Mahoney would remain at Mac as a player-coach, but then became the team’s coach for many years before going on to coaching duties with the Washington Capitols and the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL. Before McMaster, he played in the OHA with Peterborough and the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens.

There have been several other teams which have made in only once to the University Cup, including Brock (2007-08), Laval (1975-76), and Lethbridge (1993-94), which also won the Cup in their only appearance.

Leading with 13 University Cup wins is Alberta, and the team also has the most appearances in the series at 32.

And McMaster has two alumni who went on to play in the NHL after their schooling. Syl Apps, who went to Mac in 1931-35, played 10 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and goalie Gary Inness, who went to Mac in 1968-72, played several seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitols.

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