Jack (Jackie) McLennan
Sport: Lacrosse
Year Inducted: 2006
Like so many Cornwall youngsters growing up in Cornwall in the 1960’s, lacrosse wasn’t Jack “Jackie” McLennan’s first love when it came to sports. His sports were baseball and hockey.
One day, he noticed a group of 12 year olds, his age, playing something called lacrosse in a neighbourhood homemade box.
It was love at first sight. McLennan talked his father into buying him a lacrosse stick soon became a regular fixture at the homemade box. It was the start of a brilliant lacrosse career that saw him playing in the mushrooming Cornwall Minor Lacrosse Association which played its games at the Alexandria Park outdoor box.
Despite the late start at age 13 in the sport Jack quickly developed in the minor association and by age 16 was a member of the junior Miller-Hughes Mustangs. He was named captain in his second season.
In 1968, the Mustangs had become the T-Birds and dominated Eastern Ontario making their way into the Ontario Junior B Championship series but lost to Elora 14 to 13 in the deciding game. McLennan was the team’s second leading scorer.
The next season he was a member of one of the finest collection of junior lacrosse talent the city has known called the Wildcats.
He moved up to the senior level in 1970 with the fledgling London Lancers of the Ontario Senior B Lacrosse League. He led the team in scoring with 55 goals and 30 assists and placed in the top five in league scoring. The Lancers folded after one season and Jack was taken by the Chatham Maroons. He led the last place Maroons in scoring with a league leading 60 goals in 20 games. He also had 37 assists and was named the league MVP.
In 1972, he was drafted by the Windsor Warlocks of the OLA Major Series which was the first professional lacrosse league in Canada; however, foot and wrist injuries hampered McLennan and he played only 10 games finishing the season with the with the Wallaceburg Red Devils and helping them reach the OLA Senior B finals.
Jack decided to return to Cornwall and he finished his career with the St. Regis Braves of the North American Lacrosse League. He became coach of the Cornwall Paquette Glass Rams of the Eastern Ontario Junior Lacrosse League. After two seasons he left the game of lacrosse.