The Huntting Cup Matches – 100 Years Old May 7, 2022
HUNTTING CUP COMPETITION 100 YEARS OLD ON MAY 7, 2022
Where does the Huntting Cup event rank in chronological order with other women’s championships in BC. This is not referring to club events. The oldest women’s championship is the BC Ladies Amateur 1895. In 1905 A.C. Flumerfelt donated the perpetual women’s championship trophy. In 1912, V.L. MacAdam, a member of the Vancouver GC, donated the MacAdam Cup. This event pitted twelve member teams from the original founding clubs Jericho, Shaughnessy Heights, and Vancouver, against each other in a home and home competition over the summer season. The club accumulating the most points gained possession of the MacAdam Cup for one year. After WW1 local golf associations formed throughout the province. In chronological order these groups included: Victoria and District Ladies (1920) competed for the Begg Cup, , the Interior Ladies Golf Association (1921) competed for the Yale Cup , and the Vancouver & District (1922) competed for the McIlreey Cup. The Huntting Cup is the fifth oldest women’s trophy followed by the McIlreey Cup.
Huntting Family
Because the Huntting Cup is 100 years old on May 7, 2022, we begin this story with a brief history of the person who donated the trophy. Because we have no photograph of William Foster Huntting we also have researched the Huntting family tree with a desire to locate a surviving family member. Usually when we make contact, the family member has no idea a relative had donated the trophy.
In 1900 BC had a thriving coal industry, an expanding fishery, and a well established farming sector on Vancouver Island and in the Fraser valley. The government then focused on creating a forest industry. They set out to attract entrepreneurs to establish a lumber, pulp, and paper sector. For some reason government officials targeted businessmen in the mid west states.
William Foster Huntting arrived in Vancouver from Iowa during March 1903. Clearly he came with one purpose – to construct a modern cedar lumber mill and a shake plant to supply the Midwest and eastern states. He and CH Lea, a lumberman from Everett, WA immediately formed the Huntting & Lea Lumber Co. Next they purchased several acres on the north side of False Creek. Because of the swiftness to establish their operation, the partners likely came to Vancouver with a prearranged vision. Huntting had no experience in the lumber industry. But his experience, by following in his father’s footsteps as a grain broker, likely gave him the marketing skills to promote the cedar business in the east. Lea provided the lumber expertise to get the operation up and running.
The partnership lasted only two years. Perhaps Lea felt his services were no longer required and returned to his original lumber operation in Everett. Huntting operated the W.F. Huntting Lumber Company between 1905 – 1914. At this time serious fires frequently destroyed local lumber operations. The Huntting operation suffered a total loss in 1909 to their False Creek operation. Huntting relocated to Eburne (at the foot of Granville Street) on the north arm of the Fraser River. He constructed the most modern cedar mill in the province at the time on this site. In 1914 he formed a new partnership with Charles Elting Merritt. Merritt arrived in Vancouver in 1907 working for various brokerage firms specializing in mining and real estate. In 1914 the two partners formed the Huntting – Merritt Lumber Company specializing in cedar products.
The Hunttings , William Foster and his wife Marion Day, became active in the social network in Vancouver. Foster built a mansion on Angus Road in 1920. It became one of the “places to be seen” in Vancouver. The couple joined Jericho CC and the Shaughnessy Heights GC as charter members. Foster does not appear in any golf club events. Marion actively participated in golf and the social activities mainly at Jericho. Foster does appear to be attracted to badminton. He financed the formation and construction of the facility for the Shaughnessy Hill Badminton Club in 1927. Because of the quality of the facility, the Hill Club attracted many of the top badminton players in Canada. “Among these were McTaggart Cowan, Jerry Gorges, Eileen George, Mrs. HR Parrington, Miss V. Milner, C Woodman, and Jack Underhill, the 1928 Canadian singles champion.”
Sadly on September 30, 1928 Charles E. Merritt was found “with a bullet lodged in his brain on a trail about one block from the family home.” He lived with his parents and sister. He died of a self inflicted shot from the revolver that lay next to his body. His parents informed the police that Charles had suffered from depression his entire life. According to the newspaper account “he had not been active in his partnership with Huntting for several years.”
Within eight months of Merritt’s death, William Foster Huntting died sudden of a heart attack at his family home on 3689 Angus Road (now Angus Drive). Research appears to indicate the two families continued to own and operate the partnership. Fortunately a close family friend, George Kidd, assumed the managerial position for the families. Kidd was best known in the business community as the long time serving Superintendent of the BC Electric Railway Company. In this position he oversaw the construction and operation of the extensive interurban railway system that stretched from Vancouver to Chilliwack.
In 1946 the Huntting family sold the operation to a group of Texas businessmen headed by Maurice Angley. “The reason for the purchase was simple. We want shingles badly in Texas. There are a lot of veterans like myself who cannot finish their homes because of lack of supply of good cedar shingles. So we decided to purchase a good operating mill at the source of supply.”
In 1948 the shingle operation returned to BC ownership. Mr. L.L.G. Bentley, the President of Canadian Forest Products, announced the purchase was a logical move for his company. “We presently own the adjacent Eburne Sawmill. We can now supply the new purchase with the cedar logs from our normal logging operations. The deal included logging camps, equipment, and inventories.”
The Huntting Cup Matches – A Capsule History
In 1922 William Foster Huntting donated the present Huntting Cup to be awarded to the team composed of twelve players with six players each from Jericho , Shaughnessy Heights, Colwood, and Victoria golf clubs. The twelve players from Jericho and Shaughnessy Heights competed against the twelve players from Colwood and Victoria. Shaughnessy Heights hosted the first match against the Colwood /Victoria golf club team May 7, 1922
Eligibility
From 1922 – 1940 the Huntting Cup matches were restricted to players from the four originating clubs. Even though a player may have been one of the best in their region this player could not compete unless the player belonged to one of the four clubs. For this reason Mrs. Robert Gelletly, a member of the Vancouver GC, could not participate in the Huntting matches until she joined Jericho in 1921 Similarly Flora Ayton, the daughter of Dave Ayton the head professional at Point Grey, could not compete in the Huntting Cup matches. From 1926 – 1928 Flora ranked in the top five women golfers in the Northwest. Because of this restriction to play in the Huntting Cup matches, the better players from Marine Drive, Point Grey, Gorge Vale, and Uplands left those clubs to join one of the four founding clubs. These players wanted to participate in the prestigious Huntting Cup Matches. A search of the BC Ladies Amateur Championship records also reveals all the champions came from one of the four founding clubs prior to 1940.
After WW2 in 1947 when the Huntting Cup Matches resumed competition the eligibility rule was expanded to include all clubs in the lower mainland and the Victoria regions. From 1947 – 1974 the twelve best players from each region formed the Huntting Cup team. The local CLGU District committee chose the team for each region.
After 1974 the CLGA District 2-5-8 committee invited the Sweeny Cup group to participate in the selection of the team from Vancouver. The Sweeny group began paying the travelling expenses for the team.
Scheduling and venue
For the first three years, the teams competed in the spring and fall. Depending on the scheduling for the BC Ladies Amateur Championship one match was played on the Sunday prior to the commencement of the Amateur. Commencing in 1922 the Ladies amateur Championship alternated between clubs in Vancouver and Victoria with the even years in Vancouver and the odd in Victoria. Interestingly when the Ladies championship was not held at one of the Huntting Cup clubs, the Huntting Cup match was hosted on one of the founding club courses. This practice remained in effect until 1940.
After WW 2 when the eligibility rule expanded the courses hosting the Huntting Matches also expanded. From 1947 until 1980 the host club for the Women’s Amateur also hosted the Huntting Cup competition on the Sunday prior to the Monday qualifying round for the championship.
After 1981 the CLGA (BC Branch) made the following changes for the Huntting Cup Matches
- The Huntting Cup would no longer be played on the Sunday prior to the BC Ladies. The host clubs no longer wanted to give up their course on the Sunday.
- The District Chair hosting the Huntting Cup would arrange the golf course. Because the lower Mainland consisted of Districts 2-5-8 more courses could be encouraged to host the Huntting Cup Matches.
- The date for the Huntting Cup should be in late August or September. The ferry line ups posed a problem.
Although the CLGA District 2-5-8 Committee had transferred the selection and operation for the Mainland team to the Sweeny Group in 1982, the CLGA District 1 Committee did not follow until 1987.
Special Meeting January 20, 1987:
“After some discussion the responsibility for the Huntting Cup Matches was transferred to the Harris- Erikson (15 and under group). This meant all players who wished to play on the Huntting Cup Team would need to purchase an annual membership in the Harris-Erikson Group”
Scoring
The method for scoring the matches has changed over the 100 year history. From 1922 – 1960 the two players in each match competed for one point on a match play basis If the match concluded in a tie 1/2 was awarded to each player earned for their team score. The team with the most points held the Huntting Cup for one year.
From 1961 – 1983 players in each single match competed for three points – one point for the front nine; one point for the back nine and one point for the 18 hole match . Each player received a 1/2 point for a tie.
From 1983 until the last decade players in each match competed for 1 point per hole 1/2 for a tie. Unfortunately the records from 2005 – 2019 are not complete. It appears the scoring method is determined by the host group.
In August 2022, a sixteen women players from the lower mainland will compete at Gorge Vale against sixteen women from the island.
Using the Victoria Daily Standard, the Victoria Colonist, the Victoria Daily Colonist, the Vancouver Sun , and the Vancouver Province newspapers plus the Sweeny Cup records and the Harris-Erikson records we have attempted to construct the records for the Huntting Cup Matches from 1922 – 2021.
Few photos appeared in these sources. If you have any records or photographs from this event could you please share them with us.
If you have participated in a match in the last twenty years you could assist us by providing the venue and the names of the players who participated.
Contact us at email office@bcgolfhouse.com
THE HUNTTING FAMILY TREE
We are trying to locate a Huntting Family member to find a photo of WILLIAM FOSTER HUNTTING
William Foster Huntting
Born: September 4, 1879 McGregor, Iowa
Died: May 3, 1930 3682 Angus Drive, Vancouver, BC
Father William Foster Huntting (1829) New York USA, Grain Dealer
Mother Charlotte Munson (1842) Illinois USA
Arrived in Vancouver in 1904 owner of Huntting-Merritt Lumber Co specializing in shingles
Prior to Vancouver operated business in the grain industry.
Founded the Hill Badminton Club in Vancouver
Also a member of Jericho CC and Shaughnessy Heights GC and the Vancouver Club
Married Marion Day Nov 10, 1904 St Louis Minnesota USA
Wife: Marion Day Huntting
Born: 1887 Decorah Iowa
2nd marriage on February 1, 1932
Husband George Frederick Laing
Died: November 21, 1958 3689 Angus Drive Vancouver BC
Marion and William Huntting had one daughter
Child: Barbara Huntting
Born 1912/1913 Canada
Married: April 22, 1935 in Vancouver BC
Husband; Christopher Macualy Morrison Son of the Chief Justice of BC MacAuly Morrison
Died: May 3, 1949 at Maple Bay near Duncan on Vancouver Island
Husband a partner in MacDougall, Morrison, & Jestley.
Christopher Morrison died probably in Mexico 1990’s
2nd wife Roberta Thurston Morrison
Daughter Sheila Ann Smith from first marriage became Mrs. John Lavelle Shortly June 1955
Sheila is Marion’s step sister.
Barbara and Christopher Morrison had one daughter Marion morrison
Child: Marion Morrison
Born: 1937/1938 in Vancouver BC
Married: October 11, 1963
Husband: Donald Gardner Malcolm Toronto ON
Marion and Donald had two children Babara and Andrew born in Oshawa ON between 1964 – 1966
2nd Marriage probably in the early 1970’s to Leonard Keith; lived in Santa Monica CA
The Vancouver Province newspaper reported Feb 27 2000 death of Roberta Thurston Morrison, Christopher Morrison’s second wife, Marion’s step mother
Her step sister Sheila was living in Palm City Florida. Her step brother Geoffrey Smith was living in Kelowna, Marion Keith, the former Marion Morrison, is presently living in Vancouver.
We are attempting to locate Marion. She will be in her mid – eighties. If you can assist us with any information regarding the Huntting Family please contact us at
email: office@bcgolfhouse.com