Gaylord Powless was a box lacrosse player who transcended the sport to become one of Canada’s most famous athletes. He lived most of his life in Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ontario.
Powless was the oldest of 14 children, and through the urging of their father, Gaylord and his brothers would run along the roads of the reserve to build up their lungs and legs to compete in lacrosse.
Through hard work and hours of practice, Powless developed backhand passes so accurate that he could hit his teammates’ sticks without even looking.
Powless became the signature player on the Oshawa Green Gaels’ junior lacrosse dynasty of the 1960s and shattered the Ontario junior league scoring record in his sophomore year with the team.
The Gaels won the Minto Cup, Canada’s national junior lacrosse championship, in all four years that he played at the junior level. Powless later won the 1971 Mann Cup, which is emblematic of the Canadian senior lacrosse champions, and was a marquee player in three different professional leagues.
Gaylord Powless was a box lacrosse player who transcended the sport to become one of Canada’s most famous athletes. He lived most of his life in Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ontario.
Powless was the oldest of 14 children, and through the urging of their father, Gaylord and his brothers would run along the roads of the reserve to build up their lungs and legs to compete in lacrosse.
Through hard work and hours of practice, Powless developed backhand passes so accurate that he could hit his teammates’ sticks without even looking.
Powless became the signature player on the Oshawa Green Gaels’ junior lacrosse dynasty of the 1960s and shattered the Ontario junior league scoring record in his sophomore year with the team.
The Gaels won the Minto Cup, Canada’s national junior lacrosse championship, in all four years that he played at the junior level. Powless later won the 1971 Mann Cup, which is emblematic of the Canadian senior lacrosse champions, and was a marquee player in three different professional leagues. 
