William George Beers | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byWilliam Notman, 1868 | |
| Born | (1841-05-05)May 5, 1841 |
| Died | December 26, 1900(1900-12-26) (aged 59) |
| Occupation | Dentist |
| Known for | "Father of modern lacrosse" |
William George Beers (May 5, 1841 – December 26, 1900)[1] was a Canadian dentist who founded Canada's first dental journal and served as the founding dean of the Dental College of the Province of Quebec. In addition, he is referred to as the "father of modernlacrosse" for his work establishing the first set of playing rules for the game.
Beers was a successful and notabledentist. After finishing his schooling in 1856, Beers completed a dental apprenticeship. By the early 1860s, Beers was a successful dentist and began publishing articles in journals.[1] In 1868, he founded Canada's first dental journal, theCanada Journal of Dental Science.[2] Although this publication failed, he went on to start the Dominion Dental Journal in 1889, which eventually became the modern dayJournal of the Canadian Dental Association. He was instrumental in the founding of Quebec's first dental college – the Dental College of the Province of Quebec, founded in 1892 and served as its founding dean.[3] In 1896, this College became affiliated withBishop's University and later became theMcGill University Faculty of Dentistry. He held the position of Dean at Bishop's for only a short time; differences in opinion regarding curriculum and concerns over the use of untrained dental assistants led Beers to resign from the position.[4]
Beers was a strong Canadian nationalist. Besides advocating for lacrosse to become the national sport of Canada believing it would serve as "unifying symbol for the emerging Canadian nationality," Beers also defended the country against theFenian Raids in 1866 and 1870.[5] During the raids, Beers helped establish theVictoria Rifles of Canada.[6]
William Beers was involved with lacrosse from a young age. As a teenager in 1856 he was a member of theMontreal Lacrosse Club. He was selected at the age of 17 to be agoalkeeper for aMontreal exhibition team that played a match before thePrince of Wales.
In 1860, Beers began to codify the first written rules of the modern game. Prior to this, all rules of the game needed to be decided prior to each game. Some of the rules established by Beers were the size of, and the use of a rubberlacrosse ball, that the lacrosse stick could be any length, but the pocket needed to be flat in the absence of a ball, length of the field to 200 yards (180 m), size of the goal and goal crease, twelve members of a team on the field at a time, and the length of a match to first to reach five goals, or lead by three.[7][8] In the process of standardizing the game, Beers removed the spiritual and ritual components present in its predecessor, theFirst Nations game ofbaggataway, and was unapologetic in its appropriation: "Just as we claim as Canadian the rivers and lakes and land once owned exclusively by Indians, so we now claim their field game as the national field game of our dominion".[9]
In 1867, as lacrosse was growing significantly in popularity, Beers created theCanadian National Lacrosse Foundation. In 1869, Beers published a book on lacrosse entitledLacrosse: The National Game of Canada. In 1876, Beers organized a team of Canadian players and Indians players to tourEngland,Scotland, andIreland to showcase the sport.[10] During this trip in 1876,Queen Victoria witnessed an exhibition game and was impressed, saying "The game is very pretty to watch." Her endorsement was enough for many English girls' schools to adopt the sport in the 1890s.[11] Again in 1883, Beers returned to England to showcase lacrosse. This time Beers brought two teams to play exhibition games.[10]
In 2023, students from theUniversity of Leeds Men's Lacrosse Club founded The Beers Cup, created to commemorate William George Beers, which was contested by the men's lacrosse teams at theChristie Cup, an annual varsity competition between the Universities of Leeds,Manchester andLiverpool. The inaugural contest of the cup was won by theUniversity of Leeds in 2023.
| Year | Leeds vs Manchester | Leeds vs Liverpool | Liverpool vs Manchester | Overall winner | City Hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/2023 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Leeds | Liverpool |
| 2023/24 | 2-12 | 2-3 | 1-10 | Manchester | Manchester |
| 2024/25 | 5-0 | 6-1 | 3-2 | Leeds | Leeds |
William George Beers died of heart disease on December 26, 1900. His estate donated his massive library of dentistry publications to theRoyal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.[1]
Beers, William George (1869).Lacrosse: The National Game of Canada. Dawson Brothers (sanctioned by "National Lacrosse Association of Canada"). pp. 256.ISBN 9780665056826.Lacrosse: The National Game of Canada.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
william beers nla.
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