National Lacrosse League (1975)
Tombstone
Born: 1975 – The Rochester Griffins relocate to Long Island, NY
Folded: February 1976
First Game:
Last Game:
Nations Cup Championships: None
Arena
Nassau Coliseum (14,300)
Opened: 1972
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Bruce Norris
Background
The Long Island Tomahawks were a pro box lacrosse team that played at Nassau Coliseum in the summer of 1975. The team’s ancestry is a little convoluted. Owner Bruce Norris, who also owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League, was an original investor in the National Lacrosse League. During the league’s first season in 1974, Norris owned the league’s Toronto Tomahawks franchise. The Tomahawks floundered at Maple Leaf Gardens and the team was shifted to new ownership in Boston for the 1975 season. Norris, meanwhile, kept the Tomahawks name and logo and bought the 1974 league champion Rochester Griffins franchise and moved it downstate to Long Island.
First Place Finishers
Despite the name lifted from Norris’ old Toronto club, the Long Island Tomahawks traced their history to the Griffins and you can see on their game program (above right) that they promoted themselves as the “1974 World Champions” of pro lacrosse.
Modern day box lacrosse fans are familiar with the game played on Astroturf carpets, but the National Lacrosse League of the 1970’s played on wooden courts laid over the ice at hockey arenas. The Tomahawks’ court was painted an unusual white color, which you can see in the video below. The league’s other teams typically played on green wooden surfaces.
The Tomahawks were the best team in the 6-team NLL during the 1975 season with a 31-17 record. But they lost to the 4th-place Quebec Caribous 4 games to 2 in the semi-final playoff series in September 1975. Tomahawk Doug Hayes (104 goals, 126 assists) led the league in scoring.
Demise
In February 1976 the National Lacrosse League went out of business. Reportedly, only the Maryland, Philadelphia and Quebec franchises were prepared to move forward with a third season. Pro lacrosse returned to the Nassau Coliseum in 1989 with the arrival of the New York Saints (1989-2003) of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League.
Long Island Tomahawks Video
Links
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13 Responses
that was a great league. maybe the best boxla ever played , at least in the states. the tomahawks/griffins tortured my philly wings for 2 seasons straight.
I was the mascot for the Tomahawks back in 1975.. my fifteen minutes of fame.. lol i have some awesome lacrosse memorabilia. year books and tickets and schedules. lots of pictures and even still have my jersey and stick and gloves they gave me.. Tim Barrie the goalie sent me a birthday card for my 40th bday after my older brother ran into him in Canada one day. Then my brother got me an updated jersey. finally became a whole number..lol the original jersey # was 1/2.. cause i was 3 feet tall.. my new jersey is #1.. anyway i have a website with all these items just need a place to host it.. any ideas.. thanks and enjoy.. brought back some great memories..
My dad was the team doctor, spent all night stitching guys up.
I planned on playing when I graduated from Hobart. Miss it !
I’ve started an “Original NLL” Facebook group, if you’re interested in sharing the photos.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1577243345899595/
This is so awesome I worked with the team both in Rochester and Long Island the greatest years of my life
Ron Finucan team manager for
Yikes, just saw all of this. I was the team photographer for the Tomahawks. Great memories for a then 20 year old kid. I remember both Ron Duquette and Ron Finnucan always treating me like a member of the team. From time to time I still see my images from the 75 season on the internet.
I remember Ron Finucan from when he worked for the Griffins. He was always nice to us kids who would bug him during the games. Hey Ron; Do you remember when John Ferguson jumped over the glass and tried to strangle you by your tie between periods of a Rochester/Montreal game. I sure remember, because we were standing right next to you when it happened. A few years back I wrote a remembrance of those 1974 Rochester Griffins (the greatest team ever)!
loved that league. i was amazed at their stick skills. this was before tupperware. behind the backs, over the shoulders, twister with all wood.
I went to a couple of games at the Coliseum in 74 and somewhere in my basement I have a Tomahawks frisbee! Ironically when the League folded, I was in Philly and read the announcement in the Enquirer.
Made a typo -75
Fact Check. I have a newspaper clipping from July 22 1975. The Tomahawks beat Quebec Caribous 22-11, The reporter from Quebec says the Game was played at the Roosevelt Field Mall. IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Hi Richard,
No, that’s not correct. Just looked it up on Newspapers.com. The final score was, indeed, 22-11. But the game was held at the Tomahawks normal venue in front of a crowd of 3,428 according to the game story in The New York Daily News
Drew
We built the nets used by the tomahawks Great bunch of guys