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Marty O’Neill was supposed to get his pro box career started with the Pittsburgh Bulls in 1990 but a bleeding ulcer changed those plans and not only did the goaltender miss the entire season, he didn’t come back to the National Lacrosse League until 1993. Only this time, it was with the old Boston Blazers and O’Neill, today the general manager for the Minnesota Swarm, says he knew it was something special the moment he arrived. His time in Boston came to an end in 1997, but not by his choice, and he went on to play one season in Syracuse and two more in Buffalo before his playing days ended in 1990, but he didn’t retire his memory.

1. So it didn’t work out in Pittsburgh, but Boston seems to have worked out pretty well for you.

“Yeah, my dad’s brother and sister lived in Boston so I had family there. I figured I’d try it out for a season and one season turned into a few seasons.”

2. Boston was something special?

“It was a good fit from the beginning. I liked the coaches, players and environment. A lot of American players who weren’t as refined as far as box lacrosse IQ, but they made up for it with athleticism. There was a real team spirit there, I can’t explain it. I have three Mann Cup rings but I’d trade them all for one championship with those guys.”

3. Wow. That’s quite a statement.

“It was an uphill battle for the Blazers. The owners of the league back then really tilted the league toward the Buffaloes and Phillys. The Mann Cup, for the last 10 years at least, is the best team money can buy. I’m not gonna lie. The whole Boston experience was great, I felt like I was at home there.”

4. You guys were pretty tight, then?

“Ron Fraser was a great coach who didn’t favor anybody and Steve Connolly, his assistant, was the best coach I’ve ever had at any level of lacrosse. He was incredible in the way he’d get through to players. You felt he was really working with you to get you to where you wanted to be.”

5. It had to be rough when the team folded shop in 1997.

“Yeah, that was a bitter pill to swallow. We went from practice one day to not having a season, to not having a second season and then it was done for good. I felt I’d be there my whole life.”

6. That’s when the door opened in Syracuse, right?

“We had no defense there. I wasn’t happy, so I asked to get out.”

7. And that’s how you ended up in Buffalo?

“It was interesting. I was in Victoria and I got the word so Ted Dowling and I decided to drive back, each of us in our own car. We were driving through Ontario and we were absolutely fried from all that driving when we pulled over at a Tim Horton’s and he just looked at me and said “What the hell are you doing? You’re going to play with a bunch of guys who hate your guts!”

8. And why would the Bandits hate your guts?

“I think it goes back to my days in Boston when we were playing Buffalo at the old Aud. We were leading by 4 goals and John Tavares tried to dive across the crease for a shot. When he landed, I punched him in the face with my glove hand so it wasn’t too hard, but Darris Kilgour didn’t like it and he punched me. Then Richie Kilgour came from 20 yards away and plowed right into me. My shoulder still isn’t right to this day!”

9. But you had two seasons there, so it seems to have worked out.

“Yeah, sometimes the guys you hate to play against are the guys you love as teammates. We had a run and gun style there but we caught a couple of bad breaks. There were a couple of lean years there in Buffalo.

10. I take it your fondest memories are those in Boston.

“Oh yes. I remember going to Tim Soudan’s apartment in Cambridge and he had two refridgerators. One had this keg tap coming out of it and I thought it was for show. I pulled it and beer started coming out. And Toby Boucher, I remember him walking around always singing that song ‘Mother’ by Danzig.”

11. Ever get the sense you were part of a pioneer generation as far as pro box lacrosse goes?

“No. I was just living the dream. It was exciting times. Just getting paid to play lacrosse was beyond my comprehension, even if it was just $100 a game. The thing is, the NLL is the best thing going because the players are there because they want to be there. These guys would play forever if they could.”

In 66 career regular season games, O’Neill made 1,924 saves for a goals-against average of 13.27 and a save percentage of 72-percent. In playoff games, had a 9.29 GAA. Since his playing days ended, he spent three years as general manager of the Philadelphia Wings before he took the Minnesota Swarm job in 2004. Since then, the Swarm has qualified for the playoffs in three of his five seasons and he was named the NLL’s General Manager of the Year in 2007 and 2008, the only GM to win the award more than once.

Past profiles
Gordon Purdie
Mike French
Toby Boucher
Brian Lemon
Jeff Klodzen
Scott Gabrielsen
Steve Govett
Gary Becker
Peter Parke
Tim Soudan
Rick Sowell

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