Repost from Seneca-Iroquois National Museum
Photo from the photographic collections of the Onöhsagwë: de’ Cultural Center. Circa 1970’s
As it’s been told by local accounts, after World War II many of the men that had been playing for organized lacrosse teams in Allegany found jobs in nearby major cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh. This shift meant that the number of men playing in Allegany, decreased. The last organized lacrosse team from Allegany played an Olean team in 1948. Although the game was still being practiced throughout Allegany, an organized team didn’t begin to emerge until nearly 2 decades later.
In 1967, Lyford Johnny-John (the groups first goalie), Cecil “Zeke” Johnny-John, and Dennis Bowen discussed creating a team. Their conversations about what to name the team were ultimately decided by referencing the Great Law, in particular the 5 arrows bundled together to represent strength in unity – – they decided to call themselves the Allegany Arrows.
This newly named group began to practice in a field in the area of the then Haley Building (now the Allegany Community Center). Since there was no box at that time their scrimmages were held in an open field, with cones to mark the boundaries. Some of the other original members of this group were Bobby George, Otto Watt, and Ron Jimerson. As the group continued to play together they often acquired sticks from renowned stick-maker, Francis Kettle in Cattaraugus.
The small group was particularly fond of the colors of the jerseys of the Boston Bruins hockey team – as such, in their early days, their jersey colors were gold and black. In the years following 1967 the group with a name, became part of the organized lacrosse network, and went from playing scrimmages with teams from Cattaraugus, to playing in leagues throughout the territories. Today, the Allegany Arrows are a well-established team that has won numerous championships.
