the Hidden St. Catharines installation at the In The Soil festival in 2022, and the show at the NAC Flea Market Gallery in the summer of 2024, the wheels started turning on a new chapter in the Hidden St. Catharines project — sports.
The goal of this project was to add to St. Catharines' storied sports history, and celebrate the fields, arenas, and (in the case of the Battle of the Formats) rooftops that have housed such incredible talent over the years.
Armed a love for my hometown, and an extensive knowledge of sports branding, greedy owners, failed teams, and forgotten leagues, the five Hidden St. Catharines Sports stories came quickly.
The cornerstone of this project — the massive hand-painted signs — were designed, painted, temporarily installed at each team/event's "home", and photographed on film. In the case of Garden City Arena, this took place just months before its demolition.
Every aspect of Hidden St. Catharines Sports was heavily researched, and created to be as real and timeline-appropriate as possible — it's a shame that none of the teams or events ever took place.
Hidden St. Catharines Sports story contains elements of truth — multiple teams have skipped town in the middle of the night, video stores have held wacky promotions, the St. Catharines Blue Jays did have a banquet and auction in '94, Garden City Arena was without a major tenant after the Saints relocated, and Harold Ballard did hate the Toronto Toros — which makes everything else seem more plausible.
Additionally, the designs for each team/event were chosen to match the look and feel of their respective eras — thick lines and abstract illustration for the Power Train, pink and checkerboard for Battle of the Formats, a semi-modern redesign of a 70s logo for the Seagulls, an early "digital design" look for the Globetrotters, and the UPA-inspired cartoony nature for the Golden Horseshoes.
graphics and photos were gathered from a wide variety of sources. Every effort was made to use materials that were in the public domain, though in some instances information about copyright could not be found. All sources are detailed below.
Special thanks to the St. Catharines Public Library, as without their massive archive of St. Catharines Standard newspapers, and the extensive Digital Collections website, this project would not have been possible.
Issue #0
Issue #1: St. Catharines Power Train
Issue #2: Battle of the Formats
Issue #3: St. Catharines Seagulls
Issue #4: Garden City Globetrotters
Issue #5: St. Catharines Golden Horseshoes
Epilogue
to Bart Gazzola for the opportunity to showcase this project, Mahtay Café for the wall space to do so, Sandy Fairbairn for documenting the installation, Kate and Mike Gottli for assistance with lugging these massive signs around, photography, and install, and to all my friends and family for their help and support in putting together this edition of Hidden St. Catharines.
We are lucky in St. Catharines to have so many opportunities, both big and small, to reminisce, spectate, and participate in sport. Community is what makes a place home, and sports are an exceptional way to facilitate its creation. Don't take it for granted.
Lastly, if there is a message behind every incarnation of Hidden St. Catharines, it is this: keep your eyes open, and be curious.
Also, I deeply miss grabbing a tall can of Arnold Palmer and sleeve of popcorn from That's Entertainment — support your local businesses, folks.
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