It’s the 1960-61 EPHL playoffs. Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds visit Hull-Ottawa.
The regular season ended March 19th with Hull in first place, Kitchener second, the Soo third and Kingston Frontenacs fourth. Under the screwy playoff logic of the day, first and second place met in one semi-final, and third and fourth in the other. Sault Ste. Marie won their series in five games. It took the Habs seven to eliminate Kitchener.
The 1960-61 Thunderbirds were a farm team of the Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks, who had finished third in the NHL, were currently tied at two wins apiece with Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals, and would go on to win the Cup. In both 1959-60 and 1960-61 the EPHL playoffs went on longer than the NHL’s.
Past and future NHLers on the Thunderbirds roster were Eddie Kachur, Cliff Schmautz, Pat Stapleton, Merve Kuryluk, Dusty Blair, Matt Ravlich, Milan Marcetta, Alain Caron, Bob Wilson, Doug Robinson, Murray Hall, Denis DeJordy and Roy Edwards. The Thunderbirds’ top scorer in 1960-61, Fred Hilts, never played in the NHL.
This was Game One of the finals.
First period: goals by McCreary (Hull) and Rousseau (Hull).
Second period: goals by Smith (Hull) and Schmautz (Soo).
Third period: goals by Schmautz (Soo), Pennington (Hull), Gray (Hull), Kuryluk (Soo) and Skov (Hull).
Final score: 6 – 3.
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens went on to win the Foley Memorial Trophy in seven games.
JEF United really have no need for a second jersey, unless they play Australia. Source.
Morton travel to Stark’s Park for a match against Raith Rovers. Raith are fifth with 36 points and a 0 goal difference, Morton eighth, also with 36 points but -11 on goal difference. So far this season Raith have one win against Morton and two draws.
To equal last season’s point total and break even Morton must win every remaining game.
Raith Rovers won the Challenge Cup last weekend.
After last night’s result Ross County must win their last three matches and Morton lose their last four in order for the Staggies to finish higher than the Ton.
[Raith Rovers 3 – 2 Morton. Morton goals by Blues and Shaw. Morton cannot gain promotion.]
The other Championship matches: Ayr United (6th) 0 – 3 Dunfermline Athletic (4th) (April 7) Queen’s Park (7th) 1 – 0 Ross County (10th) (yesterday) Ayr United (6th) [1 – 0] Arbroath (3rd) Partick Thistle (2nd) [2 – 0] Dunfermline (4th) St Johnstone (1st) [4 – 0] Airdrieonians (9th)
Other matches: Elfsborg 2 – 0 Göteborg (April 6) Elana Toruń [1 – 1] Lipno Stęszew Fortuna Düsseldorf [1 – 2] Holstein Kiel Göteborg [0 – 2] Häcken Wick Academy [0 – 3] Buckie Thistle [Brora Rangers win the Highland League.] Linlithgow Rose [4 – 1] Clydebank Greenock [2 – 3] Threave Rovers Port Glasgow [3 – 1] Girvan Coldstream [3 – 1] West Calder United YSCC [0 – 2] ReinMeer Aomori (tomorrow)
Inter Toronto [2 – 2] HFX Wanderers [Goals by Sow and Ciccarelli.] Inter Toronto is the latest guise of York United, the erstwhile York9 FC. Despite those two rebrandings they’re still at York Lions Stadium where they’ve always played. They were supposed to have moved to a new facility at Woodbine Raceway by now but there’s no firm date for that yet.
Scottish Junior Cup, SF, leg 1 (tomorrow): Buchanhaven Hearts [1 – 1] Largs Thistle Dundee North End [0 – 4] Auchinleck Talbot
J1 100 Year Vision League East (matchday 10): JEF United Chiba (10th) [1 – 1] Mito HollyHock (8th) [Mito win on PK] Machida Zelvia (3rd) [1 – 0] Kashiwa Reysol (7th) Yokohama F Marinos (9th) [1 – 3] FC Tokyo (2nd) Urawa Red Diamonds (6th) [1 – 1] Tokyo Verdy (5th) [Verdy win on PK] (tomorrow) Kawasaki Frontale (4th) [0 – 2] Kashima Antlers (1st) (tomorrow)
2025-26 AFC Champions League Two, SF, leg 1: Gamba Osaka 0 – 1 Bangkok United (April 8)
One thousand francs, or ten new francs, issued in 1960 in the French Caribbean. The man is wearing a salakot, a bamboo hat covered in madras cloth, worn by fishermen in Les Saintes near Guadeloupe, but invented in the Philippines and adopted by French troops in Indochina, who then introduced it to the Caribbean. Source.
This illustration from the 1526 edition of Johannes Lichtenberger’s Prognosticatio shows five key figures of the art of prognostication: Ptolemy (author of the Almagest), Aristotle (author of the Physics), a representative of those ancient Sibyls honoured by pagans and Christians alike for their prophetic ability, Bridget of Sweden (c.1303 – 1373), and Reynhardus, possibly the author of the lost Liber Multarum Tribulationum, all operating under the supervision of Christ. Source. Also.
Glasgow restaurant The Ubiquitous Chip has been given Category B listed status on account of its murals painted by Scottish novelist Alasdair Gray in the 1970s. Gray went on to achieve Leviathan status with his four-part novel Lanark. The Dennis Lee shown in the lower corner is the same Dennis Lee best known to Canadians for his book Alligator Pie. Source.
West End FC existed from 1873 till 1878. They played at Burnbank Park in Glasgow’s Woodlands neighbourhood at first, and at Avenue Park in Cowlairs from 1876 to 1878. West End (Greenock) is a different club.
West End FC (Cowlairs) 1877-78: 1877/12/1 West End 2 – 1 Havelock (at Towerhill Park) 1877/10/6 Havelock 1 – 0 West End 1877/9/29 Strathclyde 5 – 1 West End (Sc Cup R1) (Sources: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup; the Glasgow Herald for the rest.)
West End FC (Cowlairs) 1876-77: 1876/11/18 Edinburgh Swifts 1 – 1 West End (West End disqualified) (Sc Cup R3) 1876/10/28 Govan 0 – 1 West End (Sc Cup R2 replay) 1876/10/21 West End 2 – 2 Govan (Sc Cup R2) 1876/9/30 West End 2 – 0 4th RRV (Sc Cup R1) (Source: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup.)
West End FC 1875-76: 1876/2/19 West End 5 – 0 Sandyford (at Cowlairs) “a return match” 1875/11/20 2nd West End 0 – 1 2nd Havelock (at Cowlairs) 1875/11/6 West End 0 – 6 Rovers (Sc Cup R2) 1875/10/16 West End 1 – 1 Partick FC (both advanced) (Sc Cup R1 replay) 1875/10/2 Partick FC 1 – 1 West End (Sc Cup R1) (Sources: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup; the Glasgow Herald for the rest.)
West End FC 1874-75: 1875/3/20 Vale of Leven 2nd XI 5 – 0 West End 2nd XI 1875/3/6 2nd Hamilton 0 – 1 2nd West End 1875/3/6 Hamilton 1 – 4 West End 1875/2/6 23rd RRV (Cathcart) 1 – 0 West End (Glasgow) 1874/11/21 Queen’s Park 7 – 0 West End (Sc Cup R2) 1874/10/31 2nd West End 0 – 1 2nd Standard 1874/10/31 Standard 2 – 1 West End 1874/10/24 West End 3 – 0 Star of Leven (Sc Cup R1) (Sources: The Beautiful Dribbling Game for the Scottish Cup; the Glasgow Herald for the rest.)
West End FC 1873-74: 1874/2/14 Alexandra Athletic 2 – 0 West End Wanderers (Is this them?) 1973/12/6 Alexandra Athletic 2 – 0 West End Wanderers 1873/8/30 founding meeting (Source: the Glasgow Herald.)
Inverness CT and Raith Rovers in action, July 26th, 2025. Photo by Louise Gordon.
It’s the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup, a fixture steeped in tradition, fraught with meaning, the antithesis of diddiness.
ICT won the cup in 2003-04 and 2017-18, Raith in 2013-14 and 2021-22. They were to have met in the 2019-20 final but it was cancelled due to Covid and the two sides were declared co-winners, so it’s correct to say that each has won the cup two-and-a-half times.
Raith are fifth in the Championship, Inverness first in League One. They met in the League Cup group stage back in July and Raith won 5 – 1. Only four third-tier teams have ever won this cup: Stenhousemuir, Stranraer, Alloa and Queen of the South.
Clubs that have never played in the Challenge Cup final are: Celtic, Aberdeen, Motherwell, Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock, Arbroath, Montrose, East Fife, Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts, East Kilbride, The Spartans, Forfar, Annan, Elgin, Stirling Albion and Edinburgh City.
Top ticket price is £20. Top ticket price for the coming FIFA World Cup final is $10,990. Story.
2025-26 Scottish Challenge Cup final (tomorrow): Raith Rovers [4 – 1] Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Meanwhile in the Championship, Morton visit Dunfermline. The Pars are fourth in the Championship with 40 points, and Morton are sixth with 36. So far this season they’re even, with a win, a loss and a draw each. A win today would put Morton 1 point out of the promotion playoffs.
The last Morton player to score against Dunfermline was Cammy MacPherson on February 17th. The last Dunfermline player to score against Morton was Charlie Gilmour on November 22nd.
[Dunfermline 3 – 1 Morton. Morton goal by Blues.]
The other Championship matches: Arbroath (3rd) [2 – 4] St Johnstone (1st) Ayr United (8th) [1 – 1] Partick Thistle (2nd) Ayr sacked their manager Monday.They’re on an eight-game winless streak. Ross County (9th) [0 – 4] Airdrieonians (10th)
Other matches: Drumchapel United 0 – 2 Largs Thistle (March 31) Cowdenbeath 0 – 4 Clydebank (April 1) Lipno Stęszew [1 – 1] Środa 1.FC Kaiserlauten [3 – 0] Fortuna Düsseldorf Banks o’ Dee [6 – 1] Wick Academy Only Brechin, Brora or Formartine can win the Highland League. Clydebank [4 – 0] Broxburn Athletic Only Clydebank, Bonnyrigg Rose, Linlithgow Rose or Tranent can win the Lowland League. Largs Thistle [0 – 1] Rutherglen Glencairn Lesmahagow vs Greenock [postponed] Ardeer Thistle [4 – 0] Port Glasgow Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts [3 – 3] Coldstream ReinMeer Aomori [2 – 2] Grulla Morioka [Grulla win on PK] (tomorrow) Tokyo Verdy Beleza [0 – 1] Elfen Saitama (tomorrow)
Aberdeen have joined the Union of European Clubs. Story.
Hamilton Accies will play at New Douglas Stadium next season. Story.
Bo’ness Athletic will fold at the end of this season. Story.
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third straight time. Story.
Whenever the Scottish Sun has a story about a non-Premiership club the accompanying photo is always just a pile of footballs.
The 2026 Canadian Premier League begins: Vancouver FC [0 – 1] HFX Wanderers [Goal by Callegari.]
This is the eighth season for the Canadian Premier League. The league now has a team in Montreal, but no longer has a team in Winnipeg. Only five of the league’s original seven clubs remain and one of those has rebranded itself twice.
There’s a gap in the CanPL schedule in June where the World Cup group stage will go, though none of the CanPL clubs play at a World Cup venue. The Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions are the ones who have had to move out of their stadiums for FIFA.
The league has abandoned its eccentric five-team playoff format and returned to the rational universe of two semi-finals and a final.
J League 100 Year Vision League East, matchday 9: [Machida Zelvia 0 – 3 FC Tokyo (April 1)] JEF United (10th) [3 – 2] Tokyo Verdy (4th) Mito HollyHock (9th) [1 – 1] Kashima Antlers (1st) [Mito win on PK] Kashiwa Reysol (8th) [3 – 0] Yokohama F Marinos (7th) (tomorrow) FC Tokyo (3rd) [0 – 0] Machida Zelvia (2nd) [Zelvia win on PK] (tomorrow) Kawasaki Frontale (6th) [3 – 2] Urawa Red Diamonds (5th) (tomorrow)
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