Lacrosse Legends- Dillon Brothers

Dillon Brothers 

Back in the 1960’s it was not common to see Sikh athletes competing in community sports. And it was perhaps even rarer to see the Indo-Canadians playing what would be our National Summer Game - Lacrosse. Nirmal and Ranjit Dillon not only tried the Creator’s Game, but went on to star in it in one of the nation’s lacrosse  hot spots - Victoria, B.C.. 

They were introduced to the game in 1957 by a neighbor of English descent, Doug Fletcher, who had the “bug” for the game and no sons of his own.  Fletcher pulled together a bantam team including the Dillons and a number of their friends. The nickname for the squad was Punjabi United.  

Both Dillons would go on to win Mann Cups as either players or coaches and were rewarded for their outstanding play with induction into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Nirmal, 5 ‘ 6”, played at 145 pounds as a Senior. Ranjit was 160 lbs. They gathered numerous individual awards for outstanding play and sportsmanship along the way. What allowed them to excel was their incredible speed and quickness. 

Ranjit played for Team Canada in 1974 in the inaugural World Field Lacrosse Championships in Australia, and he had his number retired by the Victoria Shamrocks - only the third player to receive this honour at the time. 

Nirval would be named “Coach of the Year” at many levels. 

As with other brothers that played together, you will sense the strong sense of loyalty and commitment the two legends have for each other. They have stories of being coached by Jack Bionda, and they themselves having coached the Gait Brothers. This is a story of a pair of siblings who weren’t afraid to try a new sport and were rewarded for doing so.  

Catch the full interview below.

About the Canadian Lacrosse Foundation

The Canadian Lacrosse Foundation (CLF) is a charitable organization established in 1996 to administer and grow an endowment fund that is used to develop and execute charitable activities within the lacrosse community. The primary purpose of the Foundation can be summarized as follows- (a) To advance the public understanding of the role of lacrosse in the history and cultural development of Canada;(b) To educate and instruct lacrosse coaches and officials on the rules of the game and player development;(c) To provide lacrosse programs in order to support the physical, mental and emotional well-being of aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities and troubled youth; and(d) To receive or maintain a fund or funds and to apply all or part of the principal and income therefrom, from time to time, to qualified donees under the Income Tax Act (Canada).

For more information, please contact:

Jim Calder
Director
Canadian Lacrosse Foundation
Email: james.calder2@sympatico.ca