conclusion of the 1985-86 season, Harold Ballard and the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to move their top affiliate team — the St. Catharines Saints — to Newmarket, and for the first time in decades, the Garden City Arena sat without a major tenant. While the Jr. B Falcons were still a draw, the crowds were much smaller than the AHL Saints could bring in. This left the arena in a precarious financial situation.
to broaden its offerings and attract new sports to the complex, the City of St. Catharines, announced an exciting one-night event. Licensing the Globetrotters name from the travelling Harlem basketball team, St. Catharines was to be home to the Garden City Globetrotters for an exhibition basketball game against the Merritton Generals in the former Saints rink.
radio promotion on CKTB, and a city-wide advertising campaign resulted in significant buzz around the event. However, when the two teams took to the hardwood in front of a sell-out crowd, things quickly went off the rails. The licensing fee and heavy marketing of the event were extremely costly, and right before tipoff, the Merritton players found out they were being paid less than the Garden City team. What was meant to be a dazzling display of hoops by Garden City turned into a rough-and-tumble slog of a game. The Generals refused to throw the match, and defeated the Garden City Globetrotters 113-78.
Those in attendance, expecting high-flying dunks and basketballs spinning on fingers, demanded refunds in droves. In the end, the event resulted in a huge financial loss for the city, and has never been repeated. Oh, and don’t forget about Harold Ballard — he’ll come up again.
Check out the full Hidden St. Catharines Sports installation at Mahtay Cafe.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without permission from the creator.