Bill Turnbull

Bill Turnbull, May 1911

WILLIAM (BILL) INNES TURNBULL
(February 1, 1886 – August 4, 1933)
New Westminster Salmonbellies (1906-1915)

The older brother of Canadian lacrosse hall-of-famer Len Turnbull, Bill Turnbull was born in New Westminster, British Columbia on February 1, 1886 to William, Snr. and Jessie Turnbull.

Both brothers joined the New Westminster senior team in the 1906 season. While Len played up front as a scoring threat on the crease, ‘Long Bill’ was almost always found slotted in as the third-home, an offensive-minded midfield position who would have supported the centreman and been involved in the loose-ball battles for possession after the draw. In the 1909 campaign, Bill Turnbull filled in as the Salmonbellies’ centreman for half the season while ‘Pat’ Feeney was forced to sit out due to rheumatism. During the course of his seven professional seasons with the Salmonbellies, between 1909 and 1915, Turnbull appeared in 75 games and scored 66 goals.

When looking at his career numbers, Bill Turnbull is ranked eighth overall for goals, ninth for penalties, and fourth for penalty minutes. His 324 minutes spent ‘sent to the fence’ are inflated by two games where he chalked up around an hour each game due to fighting and expulsions – otherwise by and large he never had the reputation of being a particularly dirty or nasty player. His best seasons were the two shortened campaigns in 1913 and 1914 when he finished 2nd and 1st respectively in goal-scoring for the Salmonbellies.

Bill Turnbull was reported in the Ottawa Citizen to have moved to the Cariboo region of British Columbia but returned to New Westminster in May 1913 after having previously considered a permanent move there.

Bill Turnbull, one of the best pro midfielders from 1909 to 1915.

Like his brother Len, Bill Turnbull served in the armed forces during the Great War. He enlisted in the 131st Battalion and went overseas to England. He soon transferred to the transports and was sent over to France. After the conclusion of the war, unlike Len, however, Bill did not return to the playing field. July 10, 1915 was the date of his final lacrosse match – finishing on the sidelines after he was given an early boot by the referee in the fourth quarter for fighting. He would then be absent from the last four remaining games of the 1915 season, probably due to enlistment commitments.

Outside of lacrosse, Turnbull held down a wide assortment of jobs for employment. He worked for the Canadian Customs Service in Abbotsford. After his resignation, he then went into farming. He also worked as a cashier for the Vancouver Harbour Board at Ballantyne Pier and later entered the insurance business as an agent for Travelers’ Insurance Company. Prior to his illness, which caused him to stop working, he held interest in a peat company in Pitt Meadows. Bill was married to Jean Turnbull but there is no record or mention of the couple having any children.

Bill Turnbull passed away at the age of 47, from stomach cancer, after three weeks spent at Royal Columbian Hospital. He had been seriously ill for around six months prior to his admittance. He was interred at the family plot at the International Order of Old Fellows cemetery within Fraser Cemetery in New Westminster, British Columbia.

(PHOTO SOURCES: CVA 99-41; IHP1182)

Bill Peacock

Bill Peacock with the Vancouver Athletic Club in 1912.

WILLIAM (BILL) PEACOCK, JNR.
(born ca. 1887 – deceased 1965?)
Vancouver Athletic Club (1907-1913)
Vancouver Athletics (1914)
Vancouver Lacrosse Club (1915; 1921)
Vancouver ‘Greenshirts’ (1918)
Vancouver Terminals (1919-1920; 1923)

One of the many obscure and now-forgotten players that made up the various Vancouver professional lacrosse teams in the post-Great War period, there are but just a few facts known about Bill Peacock.

His father, Bill Peacock, Senior was quoted in the Victoria Daily Colonist newspaper as his son having “the earmarks of a great home fielder”.

He played intermediate lacrosse for Vancouver as early at 1907 and was playing senior by 1910, when the Vancouver Athletic Club managed to outmaneuver Con Jones in signing Peacock when VAC club secretary Hec Fowler and trainer Jocko Vinson managed to convince the youngster to sign with their club.

Bob Murray and Peacock would battle between themselves for the second home spot on the midfield line for two years running in 1912 and 1913, although Peacock was capable of playing in all the various home midfield positions. Later in his professional career, Peacock mostly played as a substitute in his last three seasons.

Peacock with the Vancouver Athletic Club in 1913.

Outside of lacrosse, the scant personal notes about him state that he may have played juvenile field hockey in 1905 for his home town of Nanaimo, British Columbia. In September 1912, the Vancouver Daily World mentioned he was one of only two married players on the Vancouver Athletic Club lacrosse team.

In total, Bill Peacock played in 62 professional matches and scored 35 goals in the course of 8 seasons – which puts him in 16th place for career scoring during the professional era on the Coast and ahead of Canadian lacrosse hall-of-fame midfielders Ernie Murray and Hugh Gifford. He was on the (contested) 1918 and 1920 Minto Cup championship teams for Vancouver and he may have as many as three or four Mann Cup championships to his name with the Vancouver Athletic Club.

His best season was in 1921 when he bagged 8 goals playing in the brief, rival Pacific Coast Lacrosse Association and was sitting in second place for goals with Vancouver Lacrosse Club and in the league at the time it folded in mid-season. When playing in his prime years in the pro British Columbia Lacrosse Association, he would usually finish anywhere between second and fifth in goal-scoring for Vancouver.

(PHOTO SOURCE: CVA 99-1019 excerpt; CVA 139-23 excerpt)

Bill Patchell

Bill Patchell

WILLIAM (BILL) THOMAS PATCHELL
(March 16, 1891 – June 4, 1930)
New Westminster Salmonbellies (1921-1924)

A deep defensive player who played the point and coverpoint positions around his own goal, William ‘Bill’ Patchell turned pro late in the 1921 season with the New Westminster Salmonbellies. In 26 games played across four seasons between 1921 and 1924, he bagged 2 goals and committed 12 penalties for 37 minutes. In his debut season, he won accolades and respect for his weighty body-checks and use of the lumber.

In 1928, he accompanied the Canadian Olympic team to Amsterdam to participate in the lacrosse demonstration – although he only played in the exhibition matches played en route through Eastern Canada and later in the Netherlands, as his former professional status prevented him from participating in the actual Olympic demonstration matches. Just prior to departure across the Atlantic, Gordon ‘Grumpy’ Spring had to turn back for home due to business matters and Bill Patchell took over the coaching reigns.

Bill Patchell at the 1928 Olympics

A native of the Sapperton neighbourhood in New Westminster, Patchell worked for the Brunette Lumber Company – officially as their sales manager, although he was practically the superintendent of the sawmill operations. Outside of lacrosse, he was known to be a keen boxing enthusiast and refereed matches.

Bill Patchell sadly succumbed to an early death at just 39 years of age. In apparent good health, he had suddenly fallen ill and was admitted to Royal Columbian Hospital. A week later and recovering from a bout of pneumonia, his doctors then advised that he needed an operation for appendicitis and should return. The operation was unsuccessful – one newspaper report stated that Patchell had returned to Royal Columbian too ill on arrival for surgery. He passed away overnight just after three o’clock in the morning.

In 2012, the 1928 Olympic team that Bill Patchell helped coach was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Bill Patchell’s stick on display at the old Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame museum

(PHOTO SOURCES: CLHOF X994.113; X994.16; CLHOF collection)