by Jim Miller for the Sarnia Observer
(2003) Ten fathers, tired of the jumble of sports in Sarnia, held a meeting to discuss what could be done about athletics in Sarnia/ Lambton. Hence, the Sarnia Minor Athletic Association was born in 1947.
“Promotion of minor sports isn’t done primarily to develop big league stars. The main idea in organizing minor athletics is to afford as many boys as possible a chance to engage in clean, healthy competition under proper supervision. A person who has a sport-active background is better equipped for the future battle of life,” Errol Russell told The Observer shortly after the birth of SMAA.
Russell was president of minor baseball and the ball park on Devine Street was later renamed in his honour. Its original members were Norm Allen, Angus Buchanan, James Clayter, Clarence Cranston, Max Fowlie, Roy Hunter, Hugh Kilbreath, W.J. “Bill” Miller, Errol Russell and Harrison Shanks.
The first organized SMAA sports were hockey, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, basketball and softball. The SMAA had 290 baseball players and 435 hockey players in its inaugural year. The cost of belonging to a hockey team was usually $2 for midgets and bantams and $3 for juveniles. The 1948 baseball season had a budget of $956.40 for the dozen peewee baseballs, bats, uniforms, advertisements, telephone calls, telegraphs, postage, umpires, crests and travelling.
A major philosophy which existed was that no boy would be turned away due to financial restrictions. SMAA was revolutionary for its time and many other communities adopted Sarnia as its model.
Sports have come and gone over the years and there’s been competition from many other outside activities, but the association still remains strong. It eventually led to the inclusion of girls. The group’s slogan was often “good sports today, good citizens tomorrow.”
Clarence Cranston, the last surviving member of the original board, told The Observer at the time of their 50th anniversary that he was most proud of having his name associated with the SMAA. He gave the majority of credit to Russell and Clayter, as being “the brains of the operation.”