Buried Curling Treasure: Regina Briers Part 1

“Buried Curling Treasure” looks at past issues of The Curling News and dissects the coverage we offered way back when.

The 2024 Brier marks the sixth time Regina has hosted the Canadian men’s curling championship. As such, the first two Regina Briers (1955 and ’76) are covered here; part two of this special instalment will look at the next two events, in ’92 and 2006.

Before we dive into the 70s, let’s go back to the first time the Macdonald Brier train ended its journey in Regina, in ’55.

The championship was held in Regina Stadium from Mar. 7 to 11. Attendance was 51,725 over the five days, just over 4,700 per draw.

Other notable events around that time:

• Elvis Presley made his first TV appearance on Mar. 3

• Charlie Parker died on March 12 at the age of 34

• Maurice Richard was suspended for the remainder of the NHL season, triggering the Mar. 17 “Richard Riots” in Montreal

• On Mar. 19, Bill Russell won the NCAA Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player

Meanwhile The Curling News, original name Canadian Curling News, was still two years away from its introduction in 1957. However, we can find plenty of newspaper coverage from the Regina Leader-Post.

The Mar. 7 issue appears to have an entire curling supplement. It included a few inspirational curling poems which are uncredited:

Another interesting article shared some Scottish curling vernacular of the day. 

We can thank Scots for originally referring to teams as “rinks”—which has been adopted by far too many Canadian sport media types to this day—and also points as “shots” … which makes equally little sense.

The Canadian Schoolboys, which started in 1950, was won by the Bayne Secord squad out of Saskatoon Technical Collegiate. It was the second straight title for Secord and third Stan Austman, the fifth in six years for Saskatchewan and first and only for second Merv Mann and lead Gary Stevenson.

Bayne farmed and worked winters as a curling instructor in Toronto, winning the Ontario Tankard in 1962. At the 1954 High School championship, Stan slid all the way down the ice with his stone, depositing the rock on the button. The following year, the Dominion Curling Association changed the rules to prevent curlers from releasing the rock before the near hogline.

Stan reached a Brier as fifth for Eugene Hritzuk in 1985. Gary was runner-up with the Harold Worth rink at the 1965 Brier and Merv would go on to hold the inauspicious title as greatest Saskatchewan curler to never reach a Brier.

Local heroes the Campbell brothers, Garnet, Donald (Don), Glen and Lloyd, made the cover of the Mar. 12 issue as Brier champions.

Garnet had been runner up in 1947 and 1954. He skipped through the fifties, coming second at the Brier again in 1957. He would join Bob Pee-Wee Pickering at third and reach five more Briers.

Garnet’s 10 appearances resulted in three third-place finishes, five times runner-up (!) and this lone victory—with an undefeated record—in 1955.

Despite the incredible success of the event, the Brier would not return to Regina until 1976 (Saskatoon hosted in 1965). 

On to 1976 now, and a few notable happenings early that year:

• On Jan. 1, Ontario made seatbelts mandatory. This aligned with similar laws introduced in the United Kingdom. Other provinces and territories followed legislation over the next 15 years, Yukon being the last in 1991.

• In the department of not wanting to make rush decisions, on Mar. 18, 110 years after its introduction, Kentucky became the second-last state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. constitution, abolishing slavery. Mississippi finally followed in 1995 and the ratification was certified in 2013.

• Paul Gowsell won the 1975 Canadian Junior men’s championship and in February of ’76 he captured the world junior championship … using hair push brooms. 

Art Lobel was possibly the first to use a push broom in a Brier in 1975, due to an ailing back, but it wouldn’t be until the 1980s that they would become the dominant sweeping device, and corn broom use would drastically decline.

The Curling News released two March issues, the first (Vol. 20, No. 3) providing a Brier preview and the other (Vol. 20, No. 4) a recap of the Macdonald Brier and Lassies results.

There’s a special colour added to the usual back-and-white cover!

Let’s begin with mugshots of the 12 Brier skips. Five of these handsome gentlemen have been guests on the Curling Legends Podcast…

Bernie Sparkes (episode 58) is playing in his eighth Brier, second only to the aforementioned Garnet Campbell with 10. He will win four more purple hearts and reach his final Brier, as a skip, in 1987.

Rick Lang is skipping his own team after winning the title in 1975 as super-spare third for Bill Tetley. In episode 48 of the Curling Legends Podcast, Rick explains what happened after 1975, how he formed his team in 1976 and later joined with Al Hackner to win two Brier titles.

Joe Gurowka (episode 79) returns to the Brier 10 years after his runner-up finish in a playoff against Ron Northcott in 1966. This team has Bob Charlebois throwing last stones with Joe at third calling the game. Two years later, Mike Chernoff will use the same strategy with Ed Lukowich. Fast Eddy will win the 1978 Brier and lose the 1983 final, with Mike calling the game and throwing third stones.

Jack MacDuff (episode 19 https://curling.libsyn.com/episode-19-jack-macduff) and his team from Newfoundland are rated an 18-1 underdog. He and his team barely get a mention in this issue, being grouped with other “new faces” from Atlantic Canada. There will be more coverage of Jack in the second March issue.

The Jim Ursel team from Quebec is the favourite at 8-5. Jim was my guest in episode 28, third Art Lobel (episode 3) and second Don Aitken (episode 73) are joined with newcomer Brian Ross at lead. They will fall short that year with narrow losses to MacDuff, Brazeau and Sparkes (and a lopsided loss to Ken MacDonald of PEI) but rebound in 1977 to win the Brier in Montreal.

Some other notable storylines:

1976 is the second Brier with a team from the Territories. Don Twa of Whitehorse, Yukon was runner-up in 1975 at 8-3 and Howard Brazeau of the Fort Smith Curling Club in the Northwest Territories compete in Regina. Twa will win a purple heart again in 1977 and Howard again in 1978. In all, the combined won/loss record of these first four appearances for Yukon and Northwest Territories is 23-21.

Fred Collins of the Winnipeg Tribune provides CCN’s recap of the Manitoba Tankard and introduces the DeBlonde team. Brothers Clare (skip) and Garry (third) with the Finkbeiner brothers, Don and Doug, at front end. In reference to playing slow, Clare prefers to call it “total, absolute concentration.” Those from Manitoba will know this is a very creative interpretation. Doug quips “if it’s a really tough shot, Clare will adjust his glasses 28 times”.

DeBlonde will finish runner-up at 8-3. Garry’s Curling Legends Podcast episode is recorded but not yet released.

Larry Wood shares his thoughts on Wayne Sokolosky, the Calgary skip with Frank Morissette at third—and there is some commentary on Ron Northcott and horn-rimmed glasses. 

They will finish at 6-5 in what will be their one and only Brier appearance.

Larry Tucker refers to Team Anholt as “Roger Whatshisname and three friends of his from Moose Jaw.” They are the first team from that city to qualify for the Brier in 40 years. They will finish 3-8. 

Also on this page is a story on Vera Pezer falling short in a comeback attempt to reach the Lassies.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Canadian Curling News from the 1970s without an article from Warren Hansen. The first sentence brings a chuckle and prepares the reader for one of his best sermons. Warren isn’t serving loaves and fishes here, this is classic fire and brimstone, Old Testament style.

“On occasion, I have varied from my normal approach to this space and elaborated on some curling issue about which I have a strong opinion”.

The proceeding rant, which can only be read with Warren’s voice in your head, is possibly some of his finest harrumphing of any era. 

Hansen makes some great points but it’s possible he had not heard how difficult it can be to catch flies (or was it bees?) with vinegar rather than honey. I would love to know who he meant when he says “...I regard them as dunces whose educations have been sadly neglected.”

It is clear Warren loves the sport, and he’s not going to stand by and have it diminished. I’m just not sure this is the right publication as The Curling News is primarily read by curlers and found in curling clubs.

Warren’s efforts to improve on the perception of the sport—making it more athletic, joining the Olympic movement—have all come to fruition. However, something has been lost in that transformation and this new and improved version of curling isn’t always the main attraction.

Brian Barker of the Lone Star Curling Club in Austin, copywriter of “Big Vic Energy” from the Scotties, started curling six years ago. His favourite players are not Shuster, Koe, Edin or Gushue. It’s also none of the other fit and well-trained athletes we will see this week in Regina. 

It’s Orest Meleschuk, largely because of The Big O famously tossing back a beer after making his final shot at the world championship in 1972.

Warren’s legendary adversary, Ed Werenich, is still beloved by those who competed against him and fans who watched him back in the day or discovered him on YouTube.

Warren may be disappointed, but heroes come in all shapes and sizes in this sport.

Back to our Buried Treasure... what happened when everyone got to Regina?

Skip Jack MacDuff, third Toby MacDonald, second Doug Hudson and lead Ken Templeton won the first-ever Brier for Newfoundland and Labrador. Richardson clan member Sam was the team muse.

Brad Gushue will have numerous attempts and close calls, and finally pull out a second victory for the province in 2017. 

Larry Wood provides the unbelievable story of Team MacDuff’s victory:

Also in this issue is a preview of the 1976 Air Canada Silver Broom, the men’s world championship, to be hosted in Duluth, Minn. The event is eventually won by Minnesotan Bruce Roberts and the Curse of LeBonte will continue haunting Canada for four more years.

Finally, there’s coverage from the 1976 Macdonald Lassie Championship, won by Lindsay Davie (now Sparkes) and teammates Dawn Knowles, Dawn’s sister Robin Klassen (now Wilson and spelled with one “s” here), and lead Lorraine Bowles. 

The team will repeat as Canadian champions in 1979.

Fred Collins provides a recap of the event while “Breathless” Bill Good ponders why there were so few fans in attendance. 

Broadcaster Stewart MacPherson is quoted commenting on the male curlers and fans who no-showed, and blasts them as “a bunch of idiots.”

Lindsay was my guest on the Curling Legends Podcast in episode 68, and Robin starred in episode 45. 

There’s more on Robin in the next installment of Buried Curling Treasure.