Buried Curling Treasure: Roberts’ Redemption

The 67th men’s world curling championship is drawing to its conclusion at the Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden, Utah. The Scotch Cup, as it was originally called, initially included Scotland and Canada in 1959, added the United States in 1961. 

In ’61, USA was represented by Dr. Frank Crealock out of the Granite Curling Club in Seattle, WA. Frank was born in Portage La Prairie, Man. in 1925 and following medical school in Iowa, became a flight surgeon at the U.S. Air Force base in Austin, Texas – and later started his private practice in the Pacific Northwest. 

All three teams in 1961 finished 2-2, with a 1-1 record against each opponent. Hector Gervais of Canada won a semifinal against Crealock and defeated Willie McIntosh of Scotland in the final. It was the first Scotch Cup to feature a team from Canada not skipped by Ernie Richardson.

Bud Somerville of Superior, WI – referenced many times in the Curling Legends Podcast episode on Bob Nichols – won the first world championship for USA at the 1965 Scotch Cup. The Somerville rink defeated the Terry Braunstein team from Manitoba in the final. It marked the first time Canada failed to win the men’s world championship.

Bruce Roberts of Hibbing, MN, then just 23 years old, threw fourth stones in his first world championship in 1966. Team USA was skipped by Dr. Joe Zbacnik, who threw lead (according to this issue of Canadian Curling News) but other sources suggest he played third. 

A dentist from North Dakota, “Fargo Joe” became infamous for his bravado, boasting after their round robin loss to Team Canada “the Northcotts aren’t good enough to beat us twice.” They didn’t have to, because Chuck Hay of Scotland dispatched Zbacnik 14-7 in the semifinal. Northcott went on to defeat Hay in the championship final.

Bruce returned the following year, sans Zbacnik, and was undefeated before dropping the semifinal to (Canadian-born) Bob Woods and Team Sweden. Hay went on to defeat Sweden and earn Scotland’s first world title, raising the trophy to home fans at the Perth Ice Rink.

It would take Bruce nine years to return to the event, now coined the Air Canada Silver Broom. The 1976 world championship was held in his home state of Minnesota at Duluth’s Memorial Auditorium. Roberts had younger brother Joe at third, Gary Kleffman at second and Jerry Scott at lead. 

Before we begin, a look at what else was going on in 1976…

• The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, 21-17. As Saturday Night Live recalls, it includes a historic gambling memory when, during the waning moments of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys beat the spread. 

• The Bionic Woman with Lindsay Wagner debuts on ABC television.

• The Donny & Marie (Osmond) musical variety show premieres on ABC.

• British Columbia wins its third Canadian Women’s Curling Championship, then known as the “Macdonald Lassies.” Skip Lindsay Davie (now Sparkes) and third Dawn Knowles, second Robin Klassen (now Wilson) and lead Lorraine Bowles defeat Alberta’s Gail Lee in a tiebreaker at the Winnipeg Arena. 

The same squad wins the Lassie again in 1979 and represents Canada at the first women’s world curling championship, held in Perth, Scotland.

• Battle of the Network Stars premieres on November 13. Hosted by Howard Cosell, ABC and captain Gabe “Mr. Kotter” Kaplan are victorious over CBS, captained by Telly Savalas, and NBC, led by Robert Conrad. 

• Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer in Jobs’ family garage in Cupertino, California.

• Barry Manilow releases “I Write the Songs.” The classic tune, actually written by Bruce Johnston, was initially recorded by Yacht Rock legends Captain & Tennille the previous year. 

• On April 1, the Waverly Theater in Greenwich Village, NY runs a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It will continue for 95 straight weeks and launch a phenomenon that is still celebrated 50 years later.

• The Royal Canadian Mint opens a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Canadian Curling News

Volume 20, Number 5

April 1976

The cover features triumphant U.S. skip Bruce Roberts, labeled “Mr. Intensity” in the tagline below.

Larry Wood pens the first article about the men’s world championship on page 2. Roberts’ dominance seems apparent as Woody states “there was no argument about the validity of the champion” and suggests “Not since the dark ages when Canada was a lock-up in international curling had the Silver Broom been won by a team that looked like a champ from start to finish.” 

Another fine quip reads “…the skeptics couldn’t decide whether Duluth or Utica was the more exotic locale. Or whether curling is played in an exotic locale in the U.S., period.” 

There is a paragraph on Italy’s Giuseppe Dal Molin, his upset of Canada, and his record of 5-4 after going winless the previous year. Italy had only won two games total since joining the world championship in 1973.  

Larry wraps with his thoughts on the venue including “I thought the going rate of $1.25 per drink a little stiff, but I guess that’s inflation.” The price is equivalent to $7.18 in today’s dollars.

Larry has a second piece on page 3, this one a deep dive into the Roberts foursome, including a look back at Bruce’s debut in 1966 with Zbacnik. There are quotes from the champion skip, including “Someone told me I shouldn’t get mad at my own teammates. You know what? This game involves physical ability, but more than that, it requires a guy to have his head screwed on right…It’s the mental mistakes I can’t tolerate. I have to shake the boys up every now and then.”  

Bill Good laments the state of Canadian men’s curling in “Let’s face facts: We’re no longer number one.” Bill chides: “We laugh at the brushes. We scoff at some of the deliveries of our European friends and we sniff at some of the teehead strategy. Time we just looked at the end results. Everything else is for losers.”

Woody has a third article on page 4. “No cigar, but it’s all right Jack” looks at Jack MacDuff and the disappointing results from Team Canada. Larry channels Nostradamus with a prediction: “…unless we get to send our 10 best against everybody else’s 10 best we may not win on the next four tries either.” 

Canada will lose the next three, reaching seven in total dating back to 1973, before Rick Folk ends the losing streak in 1980. It also begins a losing streak for Saskatchewan at the Brier that remains to this day.

Willie Kemp provides a deep dive into Scottish skip and Silver Broom runner-up Bill Muirhead. Bill is quoted afterwards saying “How I wish we could play that final with Scottish brushes. I’m sure these corn brooms were worth almost four shots a game to the Yanks.” 

Kemp shares thoughts on the final game and stories from a 200-mile bus trip following the event, which included the Canadian players and wives along with “Norweigans and a motley collection of fourth estaters”. 

Willie finishes with his thoughts on Duluth. “Oh, there were rough parts of the town. A silly Tucker was robbed of a couple of hundred dollars and at times it seemed that all the husbands in Duluth were either divorced or dead. But the hospitality and kindness of the organizers were the best I have known.”

Warren Hansen provides his perspective on Canada’s failure to win the world championship for four straight years. He postulates the Prairie provinces are not sending their best representatives to the national events and considers: “Nowadays, Joe Curler doesn’t falter anymore against the big guns.” 

Warren finishes with his customary list of recommendations, including more coaching and sending the winner of the Brier to worlds the following year, giving teams 12 months of preparation.

This issue reveals a name which can be added to the preamble to my interview with Nic Sulsky. “Svensen bound for Bank” and “Sweeping Clean…” on page 7 and 8 include references to promoter Mike McGrath and the disaster that was the inaugural Super Draw curling tournament. 

The event was held in Edmonton and witnessed by less than 600 viewers. Famed U.S. sportswriter George Plimpton was there and apparently finished 1-2 as a skip. From Bob Weeks’ book Curling Etcetera, George admitted prior to the event that the only brooms he had seen “were in closets” and after he missed a takeout attempt, he commented “(The stone) must have lost interest.” 

The event had people submit $10 to enter a lottery for an all-expenses paid trip to Edmonton and curl in the bonspiel with a celebrity skip. According to newspapers.com, McGrath previously tried something similar in Calgary with tennis. 

Further research was unable to find any mention of a second Super Draw, and limited details on McGrath himself. If anyone knows more about Mike or his whereabouts, please contact The Curling News.