Mito HollyHock

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Screenshot

The Mito HollyHock coaching staff, or possibly Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628 – 1701) and his faithful retainers Sukesan and Kakusan.

Readers of the old blog Plenty of Nothing will know I’ve been following Mito HollyHock for a long long time, possessed by their ability to finish mid-table in J2 year after year. But this weekend HollyHock could finally earn promotion to the top Japanese division, where they have never been before. The matches that will affect this are:

V-Varen Nagasaki (66 points) [2 – 1] Mito HollyHock (67)
Oita Trinita (38) [0 – 1] JEF United (63)
Omiya Ardija (63) [1 – 2] Tokushima Vortis (61)
Blaublitz Akita (42) [0 – 0] Vegalta Sendai (61)

If Mito don’t lock it down this weekend there’s still the final league fixture next weekend, and after that a playoff for the third promotion spot. [It’s still in doubt.]

Also, it’s the 105th Emperor’s Cup final. Vissel Kobe play Machida Zelvia. Vissel have been to the final twice before and won both times. It’s the first time to the final for Zelvia. This is the second year in a row that the final lands in mid-November.

Machida Zelvia [3 – 1] Vissel Kobe

Meanwhile, Morton visit Dunfermline. The Pars are fifth with 19 points, Morton sixth with 18. Morton have won two in a row and are undefeated in three. This season’s first meeting between the Ton and the Pars ended in a scoreless draw.

Q: Which current Morton players predate manager Imrie? A: Cameron Blues and Michael Garrity who were both signed by David Hopkin.

[Dunfermline 1 – 0 Morton.]

The other Championship matches:
Airdrieonians (10th) [0 – 1] Ayr United (4th)
Arbroath (3rd) [0 – 0] Raith Rovers (7th)
Partick Thistle (2nd) [2 – 1] St Johnstone (1st)
Queen’s Park (8th) vs Ross County (9th) (yesterday) (postponed)

Other matches:
Largs Thistle 1 – 1 Kilmarnock XI (friendly) (November 17)
Meshtakhe 1 – 0 Gonio (yesterday)
Zawisza [1 – 1] Lipno Stęszew
Fortuna Düsseldorf [2 – 1] 1.FC Magdeburg
Wick Academy [6 – 1] Deveronvale
Clydebank [1 – 1] Linlithgow Rose
YSCC [2 – 3] Grulla Morioka (tomorrow) [This ends the JFL regular season. Grulla finish mid-table.]
Forfar Farmington [2 – 1] Morton Women (tomorrow)

Scottish Sun watch: No mention of league-leading Heart of Midlothian in the top 57 football articles in Tuesday’s edition.

Football Times Cup, QF:
Clachnacuddin ‘A’ vs Golspie Sutherland [postponed]

Scottish Junior Cup, R4:
Yoker Athletic 2 – 4 Rutherglen Glencairn (yesterday)
Arbroath Victoria [0 – 3] Pollok
Auchinleck Talbot [2 – 0] Vale of Clyde
Benburb [2 – 1] Tayport
Blantyre Victoria [1 – 6] Thorniewood United
Carnoustie Panmure vs Troon [postponed]
Giffnock [0 – 4] Dundee Violet
Johnstone Burgh vs Renfrew [postponed]
Kilbirnie Ladeside [0 – 3] Dundee North End
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy [6 – 2] Bellshill Athletic
Lanark United vs Buchanhaven Hearts [postponed]
Lesmahagow vs Largs Thistle [postponed]

Scottish Challenge Cup, league phase, matchday 6, rearranged fixtures:
Montrose 4 – 4 Hibs B (November 17)
Dumbarton 0 – 2 Stenhousemuir (November 19)

The SPFL has been conducting experiments on the Challenge Cup for a decade or more, with very mixed results. This season’s cup began with a league phase involving the twenty League One and Two clubs plus ten Premiership B sides, each playing six matches. This league phase, spread over three months, served to eliminate eight teams, all of them Premiership B sides in the end. In the draw for Round Two the clubs are ranked by league position in last year’s Championship (with St Johnstone, Ross County and Arbroath slotted in) followed by the Challenge Cup league phase final standings. Pairs of higher clubs are matched against pairs of lower clubs, and from these pairings the actual fixtures are drawn by lot. By this method either Raith Rovers or Morton will play either Hamilton or Stirling. The final position of every team in the league phase must be known before the Round Two draw can happen, consequently the draw had to be delayed a week until those two postponed fixtures were completed.

The draw was held yesterday in such a way that home field advantage went to 8 higher teams and 8 lower teams. Morton will visit Stirling Albion.

Strathclyde Cup, matchday 4:
Port Glasgow [5 – 0] Forth Wanderers
Whitletts Victoria [7 – 0] Campbeltown Pupils [Whitletts Victoria win the Strathclyde Cup.]

West of Scotland League Cup, R1:
BSC Glasgow [0 – 4] Petershill

West of Scotland League Cup, R2:
Shotts Bon Accord [5 – 0] Irvine Victoria
Thorn Athletic [4 – 3] Maybole

2026 World Cup Qualification (November 18):
Scotland 4 – 2 Denmark
Goal by Shankland. Scotland qualify for the World Cup.

Canadian Premier League: Valour FC has folded. This makes Winnipeg the second Prairie city to lose a CanPL team. HFX Wanderers will be hard hit because Valour were the only club they could beat consistently.

MLS Western Conference SF:
Vancouver Whitecaps [2 – 2] Los Angeles FC [Vancouver win on PK]

2025 Japanese Regional Football Champions League final round:
2025/11/20 Tokyo United 0 – 1 Vonds Ichihara
2025/11/20 Veroskronos Tsuna 0 – 0 J-Lease
2025/11/22 Tokyo United [1 – 2] Veroskronos Tsuna
2025/11/22 Vonds Ichihara [0 – 1] J-Lease
2025/11/24 Tokyo United [0 – 1] J-Lease
2025/11/24 Vonds Ichihara [1 – 0] Veroskronos Tsuna
[J-Lease are promoted and Vonds Ichihara go into a playoff against Atletico Suzuka.]

47th Empress’s Cup, R3:
Match No. 33: Urawa Reds (WE) [1 – 2] Iga FC Kunoichi Mie (N1) (tomorrow) Upset
Match No. 34: Nippon Sport Science University SMG Yokohama (N1) [2 – 0] Diossa Izumo (Chugoku)
Match No. 35: INAC Kobe Leonessa (WE) [1 – 0] Shizuoka SSU Bonita (N1)
Match No. 36: Mynavi Sendai (WE) [0 – 0] Albirex Niigata (WE) [Albirex win on PK]
Match No. 37: NTV Tokyo Verdy Beleza (WE) [1 – 2] Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina (WE)
Match No. 38: Harima Albion (N1) [1 – 0] JFA Academy Fukushima (Tohoku)
Match No. 39: Cerezo Osaka (WE) [1 – 0] Nojima Stella (WE)
Match No. 40: Nagano Parceiro (WE) [0 – 2] NGU Loveledge Nagoya (N1) Upset

Historical matches:
1890/11/22 Morton 1 – 3 Dykebar
1930/11/22 Rangers 7 – 1 Morton
1952/11/22 Dundee United 0 – 4 Morton
1980/11/22 Morton 3 – 1 Airdrieonians

Cup results of the 1890-91 SFL clubs:
1890/11/22 Third Lanark 3 – 3 Rangers (Glasgow Cup R3 2nd replay)
1890/11/22 Celtic 5 – 1 Partick Thistle (Glasgow Cup SF)
1890/11/22 St Mirren vs Abercorn (abandoned) (Renfrewshire Cup R2)
1890/11/22 Leith Athletic 2 – 2 Hearts (East of Scotland Shield R4)
1890/11/22 Duntocher Harp 2 – 10 Dumbarton (Dumbartonshire Cup R2)
1890/11/22 Dumbarton Union 3 – 5 Vale of Leven (Dumbartonshire Cup R2)

Senators at Quakers, November 18, 1930

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Tex White. Source.

The Senators visited the Quakers at the Philadelphia Arena. The Quakers themselves were new to the place, having just relocated from Pittsburgh where they had played five seasons as the Pirates.

The Ottawa Citizen (March 4, 1931, p. 11) referred to the Quakers as “the second Ottawa team”. The Quakers’ Harold Darragh, Syd Howe, Wally Kilrea, Gerry Lowrey, Ren Manners, Al Shields and Rodger Smith had all played in the Ottawa City Hockey League, Darragh, Howe and Smith for the Gunners, Kilrea, Manners and Shields for the Montagnards, and Lowrey for the University of Ottawa.

Syd Howe had started out at Glebe Collegiate, then moved up to the Gunners. In 1929-30 he played for the Senators and the IHL ‘s London Panthers. After the Quakers folded the Leafs picked him up but sent him to the IHL Syracuse Stars. He was back with the Senators for their final two seasons and accompanied them to St Louis when the became the Eagles. After they folded the Red Wings took him on, and Detroit is where he made his name. He played twelve seasons with them and won three Stanley Cups. His last stop was with the Ottawa Senators of the QSHL in 1946-47.

Scoring:

First period: no scoring.

Second period: goals by Hec Kilrea (Ottawa) and Harold Starr (Ottawa).

Third period: goals by Cliff Barton (Philadelphia) and James Jarvis (Philadelphia).

Final score: 2 – 2.

Montreal Senior Group:

Game 3, November 17: McGill 2 – 0 Victorias

Game 4, November 17: Canadiens 1 – 3 Montreal AAA

Jimmy Miller

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“Jimmy Miller, son of Professor James Miller” from the studio of Hill and Adamson (1840s). Source. There have been many legendary footballers named Jimmy Miller, not least midfielder Jimmy Miller who played for Morton from 1977 to 1980.

Morton travel to Dingwall for a game against Ross County. Morton are seventh in the Championship with 15 points. Ross County are ninth with 12. Morton are 4 points out of fourth place and 3 points out of ninth.

Former Morton player Stefan Milojevic (2014-15) has been arrested in Spain for heading a drug-running Neo-Nazi biker gang.

[Morton win 0 – 3 on goals by Shaw, MacPherson and Garrity.]

The other Championship matches:
Ayr United (5th) [1 – 1] Arbroath (3rd)
Raith Rovers (6th) [0 – 3] Airdrieonians (10th)
Raith Rovers sacked their manager on Monday.
St Johnstone (1st) [4 – 3] Queen’s Park (8th)

Other matches:
Wick Academy 2 – 3 Clachnacuddin (November 12)
Unia Swarzędz [0 – 2] Lipno Stęszew
Buckie Thistle [2 – 0] Wick Academy
Port Glasgow [0 – 3] Lugar Boswell Thistle
Coldstream [4 – 2] Lochgelly Albert
Golspie Sutherland [1 – 3] Invergordon
Grulla Morioka [1 – 3] Criacao Shinjuku (tomorrow)
Morton Women [0 – 1] Falkirk (tomorrow)

Former Morton man Nacho Novo is the new manager at Darvel.

2026 World Cup qualification:
Greece [3 – 2] Scotland

Scottish Challenge Cup, league phase, matchday 6 (November 11):
Dumbarton vs Stenhousemuir (postponed)

Scottish Junior Cup, R3:
Dundee North End [1 – 0] Camelon
Knightswood [2 – 2] Luncarty [Knightswood win on PK]

South Challenge Cup, R3:
St Roch’s (W1) [2 – 1] Crossgates Primrose (E1)

South Challenge Cup, R4:
Caledonian Braves (LL) [2 – 2] Cowdenbeath (LL) [Braves win on PK]
Cumbernauld United (W1) [4 – 2] Beith (WP) Upset
Dundonald Bluebell (EP) [2 – 3] Greenock (W2) Upset
Glenafton Athletic (WP) [3 – 2] Johnstone Burgh (WP)
Haddington Athletic (W3) [7 – 0] Glasgow United (W3)
Kilbirnie Ladeside (W1) [3 – 0] Lochar Thistle (SoS) Upset
Kilwinning Rangers (WP) [1 – 1] Cumnock (WP) [Cumnock win on PK]
Leith Athletic (E1) [1 – 1] Kilsyth Rangers (W2) [Leith win on PK]
Muirkirk (W1) [4 – 3] Auchinleck Talbot (WP) Upset
Neilston (W1) [1 – 0] Largs Thistle (WP) Upset
St Andrews United (EP) [0 – 1] Rutherglen Glencairn (WP)
Shotts Bon Accord (WP) [1 – 2] Renfrew (WP)
Thorn Athletic (W2) [1 – 3] Tranent (LL)
Vale of Clyde (W1) [4 – 1] Hurlford United (WP) Upset
University of Stirling (LL) [10 – 0] Ardeer Thistle (W3) (tomorrow)

105th Emperor’s Cup, semi-finals (tomorrow):
Machida Zelvia [2 – 0] FC Tokyo
Vissel Kobe [2 – 0] Sanfrecce Hiroshima

47th Empress’s Cup, R2:
Match No. 17: Urawa Reds (WE) [4 – 1] Sfida Setagaya (N1)
Match No. 18: Iga Kunoichi Mie (N1) [2 – 1] Otemon Gakuin University (Kansai)
Match No. 19: Viamaterasu Miyazaki (N1) [2 – 3] Nippon Sport Science University SMG Yokohama (N1)
Match No. 20: Red Bull Omiya Ardija (WE) [0 – 0] Diossa Izumo (Chugoku) [Diossa win on PK] Upset
Match No. 21: INAC Kobe Leonessa (WE) [5 – 0] Nihon University (Kanto)
Match No. 22: Shizuoka SSU Bonita (N1) [5 – 1] Yamanashi Gakuin University (Kanto)
Match No. 23: Mynavi Sendai (WE) [1 – 0] Ehime Ladies (N1)
Match No. 24: Albirex Niigata Ladies (WE) [5 – 1] Niigata University of Health and Welfare (Hokushinetsu)
Match No. 25: NTV Tokyo Verdy Beleza (WE) [6 – 0] Nippatsu Yokohama Seagulls (N1)
Match No. 26: Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina (WE) [2 – 1] Vonds Ichihara Ladies (Kanto)
Match No. 27: JEF Chiba Ladies (WE) [1 – 3] Harima Albion (N1) Upset
Match No. 28: Elfen Saitama (WE) [0 – 1] JFA Academy Fukushima (Tohoku) Upset
Match No. 29: Cerezo Osaka (WE) [3 – 1] Orca Kamogawa (N1)
Match No. 30: Nojima Stella (WE) [3 – 2] Fujizakura Yamanashi (Kanto)
Match No. 31: Nagano Parceiro (WE) [2 – 1] Bunnys Gunma FC White Star (Kanto)
Match No. 32: Loveridge Nagoya (N1) [2 – 0] Seisa Osa Leia Shonan (Kanto)
Matches 17, 18, 22, 24 and 27 are tomorrow. Match 25 is on November 19th.

Northern Super League final:
AFC Toronto [1 – 2] Vancouver Rise

Grey Cup (tomorrow):
Saskatchewan Roughriders [25 – 17] Montreal Alouettes

Historical matches:
1890/11/15 bye (2nd XI Cup R4)
1930/11/15 Morton 1- 0 Hamilton Academical
1952/11/15 Queen’s Park 2 – 7 Morton
1980/11/15 Morton 2 – 2 Hearts

Cup results of the 1890-91 SFL clubs:
1890/11/15 Rangers 1 – 1 Third Lanark (Glasgow Cup R3 replay)
1890/11/15 Cambuslang 2 – 2 Wanderers (Glasgow Cup R3 Replay)

Willie O’Ree

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Willie O’Ree became the NHL’s first Black player on January 18th, 1958 when he suited up for the Boston Bruins in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. By 1959-60 he was a Kingston Frontenac in the EPHL. But during the 1960 offseason he was transferred from Kingston to the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, though still a Bruins property. On November 13th, 1960 the Frontenacs visited Hull-Ottawa at the Hull Arena.

First period: goals by Maxwell (Kingston) and O’Ree (Hull-Ottawa);

Second period: goals by O’Ree (Hull-Ottawa) and Locas (Hull-Ottawa);

Third period: goal by Panagabko (Kingston).

Final score: Hull-Ottawa 3 – 2 Kingston

O’Ree’s performance must have impressed the suits because on November 19th he was back up with the Boston Bruins.

Past and future Bruins on the 1960-61 Frontenacs team were Dick Meissner, Carl Boone, Don Blackburn, Orval Tessier, Tommy Williams, coach Harry Sinden, Real Chevrefils, Lorne Ferguson, Gerry Ouellette, Barry Ashbee, Charlie Burns, Ted Green, Jeannot Gilbert, Floyd Hillman, Ed Westfall, Harry Lumley and John Henderson. The Frontenacs’ home rink was the Kingston Memorial Centre on York Street, built in 1950 and still standing.

Willie O’Ree entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 and recently celebrated his 90th birthday.