Curling obsessed, always with a beard
Ken Horton was obsessed about curling. He honed his skills at the Crossmyloof Ice Rink in Glasgow, eventually teaming with skip Robert Kelly and the front end of Willie Jamieson and Keith Douglas to win the Scottish junior men’s title in 1976.
They were the home team at the Uniroyal Junior Men’s Championship in Aviemore, losing in the semifinal to the eventual winner, Canada’s Paul Goswell. The following season, Robert aged out and the three schoolmates moved up a position and added Richard Harding at lead. They fell short at the juniors but shocked everyone by winning the men’s championship and representing Scotland at the World Championship in Karlstad, Sweden.
In Part 1, Ken—the first Scotsman to appear on the Curling Legends Podcast—shares stories from his early days to the ’77 Silver Broom and describes what Scottish curling was like in the 1960s and ’70s.
As usual, listeners can enhance their podcast experience by watching along and enjoying photos and video embedded in the media player above.