Stanley "Bunny" Albert Joseph (April 28, 1928 – March 21, 2001)British Columbia Lacrosse Association was a Canadian amateur box lacrosse goaltender. A member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame,By Year Bunny was the winner of three Mann Cup national championships over the span of a 25-year career.WLA Past Masters Lacrosse: Hall of Famer Stan Joseph He is known for his unorthodox goaltending style and longevity as an elite goaltender in the sport. At the time of his death he was a highly respected elder of the Squamish Nation in North Vancouver.Through Lacrosse, Empowerment: How First Nations athletes keep Canada's national summer sport alive - Megaphone
Career Joseph started his Senior A career as a teenager. Like his father, veteran of 3 Mann Cup finals Stan Joseph, Bunny started his career with the North Shore Indians. As a goalie, he stood out - not just because of his great play, but because of his unorthodox style. Bunny played with both hands on his stick and the head of his stick to his side at waist level, a style unique even to this day.
In 1955, the Indians folded and Bunny played the 1956 season with Vancouver, before shipping over to the powerhouse New Westminster Salmonbellies. In 1958, he helped lead the Salmonbellies to a Mann Cup victory over the Long Branch Pontiacs. A season later, he would win another Mann Cup against the Peterborough Timbermen, but see severely diminished playing time due to the rise of rookie phenom Les Norman. In the winter he asked for a tryout with the Vancouver Carlings. With something to prove and a new club, Bunny finished off his second season with the Carlings with his third Mann Cup victory. Bunny played two more seasons of Senior A, then took a player-coach position with the Senior B North Shore Indians.
Bunny Joseph would return to the Senior A ranks from 1968 until 1970 with North Vancouver and the Coquitlam Adanacs. He played his final game of Senior A with the Adanacs on July 11, 1970, before calling it a career. He would return to the Indians Sr. B team to dabble for a couple more seasons, but after 25 years he was done with Sr. A lacrosse.
Bunny was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1976. To this day, Bunny Joseph has played the fourth most games (522) of any Western Lacrosse Association player and has faced and stopped more shots than any other WLA goaltender in regular season (10,747 of 15,302) and season and playoff combined (13,040 of 18,456), all while maintaining a 0.707 save percentage.
Statistics Source: Wamper's Bible of LacrosseBible of Lacrosse – statistics and Stan Shillington's "Who's Who in Lacrosse 1933-2013: Goaltending Records".Stan Shillington's "Who's Who in Lacrosse" by Stan Shillington Western Lacrosse Association. 2013. Season Team League GP G A P PIM Sv% Team GAA1945 North Shore ICLL 20 0 0 0 0 0.607 17.291946 North Shore ICLL 24 0 1 1 0 0.602 17.041947 North Shore ICLL 24 0 0 0 0 0.640 14.381948 North Shore ICLL 23 0 0 0 0 0.689 13.88 - North Shore P/O 3 0 0 0 0 0.730 -1949 North Shore ICLL 16 0 1 1 0 0.692 11.56 - North Shore P/O 3 0 0 0 0 0.723 -1950 North Shore ICLL 29 0 0 0 0 0.708 11.23 - North Shore P/O 5 0 0 0 0 0.728 -1951 North Shore ICLL 25 0 0 0 0 0.709 11.09 - North Shore P/O 3 0 0 0 0 0.594 -1952 North Shore ICLL 28 0 0 0 0 0.699 11.35 - North Shore P/O 10 0 0 0 0 0.735 -1953 North Shore ICLL 30 0 0 0 0 0.751 9.91 - North Shore P/O 4 0 0 0 0 0.676 -1954 North Shore ICLL 28 0 1 1 0 0.720 8.88 - North Shore P/O 10 0 1 1 0 0.755 -1955 North Shore ICLL 27 0 1 1 0 0.706 10.28 - North Shore P/O 4 0 0 0 0 0.701 -1956 Vancouver ICLL 18 0 1 1 0 0.747 10.67 - Vancouver P/O 7 0 0 0 0 0.688 -1957 New WestminsterICLL 30 0 0 0 0 0.720 9.40 - New WestminsterP/O 4 0 1 1 0 0.709 -1958 New WestminsterICLL 26 0 0 0 0 0.723 10.00 - New WestminsterP/O 11 0 0 0 0 0.730 -1959 New WestminsterICLL 14 0 0 0 0 0.712 10.20 - New WestminsterP/O 1 0 0 0 0 0.733 -1960 Vancouver ICLL 23 0 1 1 0 0.753 8.27 - Vancouver P/O 6 0 0 0 0 0.896 -1961 Vancouver ICLL 5 0 0 0 0 0.734 8.53 - Vancouver P/O 12 0 0 0 2 0.786 -1962 Vancouver ICLL 12 0 0 0 0 0.772 6.63 - Vancouver P/O 4 0 0 0 0 0.789 -1963 New WestminsterICLL 3 0 0 0 0 0.800 8.77 - New WestminsterP/O 9 0 0 0 0 0.733 -1964-67 Played Sr. B with North Shore1968 North VancouverICLL 9 0 1 1 0 0.727 14.361969 North VancouverICLL 11 0 3 3 2 0.790 12.171970 Coquitlam WLA 1 0 0 0 0 0.704 12.13
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