In Part 2 of my conversation with Don Bartlett, we cover the boycott years, dig deeper into the Ferbey rivalry and reflect on his Olympic experiences. Don will also talk runback strategy, handling emotions in big moments and eventually weigh in on the greatest teams and players of past generations.
Don Bartlett's greatest skill might be assessing talent. He recognized early on that Pat Ryan and later, Kevin Martin, were going to be the best skips in Alberta. Don had a short run with Pat and eventually joined Kevin in 1990, starting a run that would last 16 seasons and include 7 Briers, two Worlds and two Olympic Games. In Part 1, we cover Don's early development and the success and disappointments of the 1990's. We dig into corn broom controversies, Randy Ferbey's brief stint on Team Marti...
Barry Fry was known as "The Snake" for his unique version of the tuck-slide. As a young skip he teamed with Orest Meleschuk, reaching the provincial semifinals while in their early twenties. He later helped Rod Hunter bring Don Duguid out of retirement in 1969. Over the years Barry watched friends and ex-teamates win Purple Hearts, wondering if it would ever be his turn. He won the Canadian Mixed in 1973 and finally conquered Manitoba in 1979 with Bill Carey, Gordon Sparkes and Bryan Wood. They ...
Welcome to Morning Classes. Since 1948, members and friends of the Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay have held classes each morning during the Brier. During my detention, Fred Coulson and Alfie Childs share the history of this tradition and tell a few stories as well. The next time you attend the Brier, try to wake up early at least one day and attend a class. David Padgett started on his path to Ice Maker over 50 years ago. He began in Lindsay, Ontario at the age of twelve with his fathe...
Joan McCusker takes humour seriously. The 1998 Gold medal winning Schmirler Rink almost never happened because Joan and Marcia were concerned that Jan and Sandra were too intense. Eventually they agreed and everything clicked. Their team had balance, with Joan providing levity when it was needed most. She shares her days growing up on the farm and learning to curl at a two sheeter. We cover her University days, playing with sister Cathy and the early Scotties and Olympic experiences. Joan reveal...
Pal Trulsen was supposed to be a ski jumper. It was the sport of his father. Admittedly, Pal was a little too husky and grew tired of walking to the top of the hill for each run. At 14 he and three friends (Flemming Davanger, Stig-Arne Gunnestad and Kjell Berg) discovered a four sheet curling club and took to the sport, eventually reaching the Uniroyal World Junior Championships in 1980. They returned in 1981 and then again in 1983, where they won a Silver medal, losing to Canada's John Base in ...
John Aassand doesn't live in the past. In 1972 four young players from Grafton, North Dakota competed in their first mens playdowns. From State to US Nationals and then to Germany, their magical run would eventually land them in the finals of the World Championship against Canada's Orest Meleschuk. Johnny at second, his brother Frank at third, lead Ray Morgan and skip Robert Labonte took a 9-7 lead into the 10th end. After what was thought to be the final rock of the game, with players preparing...
Kim Kelly understands what it takes to overcome adversity. Her father in the armed forces, Kelly moved often and had to adapt to new people and surroundings every few years. The local military curling club was always available to hone her skills and make new friends. After high school, Kelly returned to her birthplace of Halifax, Nova Scotia and eventually joined Nancy Delahunt, Mary-Anne Arsenault and Colleen Jones to form one of the most successful teams of all time. From 1999 to 2004, Team Jo...
Bob Cole is more than the iconic play-by-play announcer for Hockey Night in Canada. As a young broadcaster in St. John's, Newfoundland, Bob was introduced to curling and immediately became hooked. Despite his late start to the sport, regular practice led to early success with a trip to the Canadian Mixed in 1965, only the second time it was contested. Bob improved his game and eventually landed at skip, leading his team to the 1971 Brier in Quebec City. Afterwards, he recruited a youngster origi...
In Part 2 of my conversation with Marilyn Bodogh, we'll dive into the 1996 Scotties playoffs against Connie Laliberte and Cheryl Bernard. She explains how to deal with trash talk from Dordi Nordby and warns of the dangers from Chinese food. Marilyn shares her thoughts on Colleen Jones, the Olympic Trials, both Battles of the Sexes and reveals what to wear under your kilt when you are on the ice.
Marilyn Bodogh may have appeared brash, opinionated, outspoken or a little unfiltered. But behind the newsworthy quotes and smiles for the camera was a competitive drive to rival any of her contemporaries. Learning the game in St. Catherines, Marilyn and her older sister Christine had early junior success, reaching the Canada Winter Games in 1971. In 1980 the sisters appeared in the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship (two years before Scott Paper took over sponsorship). Marilyn eve...
Alfie Phillips Jr. had a tough act to follow. His father, Alf Sr., was an Olympian diver, a carnival showman and, despite taking up the game in his 40s, a provincial curling champion. In 1956, Ontario was poised to win the Brier for the first time since 1939, but Billy Walsh from Manitoba made what became one of the greatest shots in Brier history. Alfie joined up with his dad shortly after that loss, then later formed his own rink with John Ross, Ron "Moon" Manning and Keith Riley. In 1967 Alfi...
Jim Ursel had one of the smoothest deliveries of his era. He came a long way from the early days of knee sliding on a two sheet rink of natural ice in Glenella, Manitoba. After moving to Winnipeg, Jim improved enough to win the 1954 Provincial School Boys Championship. We discuss Jim's early days and his development as a player, eventually landing at the famous Strathcona Club. He recalls teaming up with Norm Houk and playing in his first Brier in 1962. We reflect on his move to Montreal, the ma...
Lorraine Lang could be considered part of the first family of Thunder Bay curling. Despite starting later than most, Lorraine has put together a resume to rival her spouse. While husband Rick had success playing third for Al Hackner, Lorraine appeared in 8 Scotties, including 2 victories as vice for Heather Houston in 1988 and '89. Along with Diane Adams and Tracy Kennedy, they took home silver from their first trip to the World Championship in Glasgow and a gold the following year in Milwaukee....
Peja Lindholm began curling outdoors at age 11. Learning the game with his friends, Peja eventually led teams to three World Junior Championships, capturing gold, silver and bronze. With his longtime teammates Thomas Nordin, Magnus Swartling and Peter Narup, he captured three World Mens titles for Sweden in 1997, 2001 and 2004. Peja discusses his early days and the development of both his game and that of European curling during the 80's and 90's. We discuss the transition to the free guard zone...
Arnold Asham is a curler, dancer, inventor, showman and in his words, an opportunist. From his early days in Reedy Creek, Manitoba, Arnold dreamed he would be a millionaire in the sports industry. Curling became his passion and eventually the red brick slider, along with hard work and dedication to what to others deemed a foolish pursuit, led to his financial success. But there was also a desire to compete against the great teams that wore his corporate logo. When he teamed up with a young David...
Wally Ursuliak has had quite a life. From Brier Champion with Hector Gervais, to corn broom salesman, camp instructor, then curling missionary in Japan to selling granite from Ailsa Craig, all while running an amusement ride business across Alberta. We'll cover Wally's introduction to curling, and his relationship with Hector, Ray, Don and Herb Olson. He shares stories of the big games and many characters of that era, before explaining why he left the competitive game to become a builder. Wally ...
In Part 2 of my conversation with Paul Savage, we'll cover the 1987 Olympic Curling Trials and the controversy surrounding the qualification process. We talk about the early days of the Skins format, the Battle of the Sexes and Paul's experience as fifth man with the Mike Harris Rink during their run to a Silver Medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. There are a few extras after our talk as well. Paul shares stories from the Kurl for Kids Celebrity Bonspiel , Men With Brooms , the W...
Paul Savage always believed curling should be a fun game. From his early days at the Parkway Club, he learned from Alfie Phillips Jr. how to generate points from drawing around guards. The result was his nickname "The Round Mound of Come Around", and four Brier appearances as skip for Ontario during the 1970s. For three of those events, the squad included a young firefighter from Benito, Manitoba. Ed Werenich would leave Paul's rink near the end of the 70s, but they would rejoin in 1982 to creat...
Cathy King keeps on curling. Growing up in Edmonton, she played many sports. Winter evenings included time spent around the dinner table discussing curling strategy with the whole family. Older brothers Robb and Chris won the 1974 Canadian School Boys and when Cathy skipped her team to a successful National Junior Womens Championship in 1977, curling appeared to be near the top of her list. After a repeat win in 1978, the only thing missing was a World Championship, but that wouldn't be availabl...
Don Duguid was curling before the Allies took Berlin. In 1943, at 8 years old, Don and brothers Gerry and Lorne would throw rocks at the CPR Curling Club where their father was the ice-maker. Initially Don fell out of the hack with two feet, but eventually his father helped him develop the original Manitoba tuck delivery that is still seen today. His parents moved him to the Granite curling club and at twenty he was recruited by Howard Wood Sr, then 70 years young. There was a Brier appearance w...
Jack MacDuff is a true Maritimer. He now lives in New Brunswick, was born in Nova Scotia but is perhaps best known for his short stay in Newfoundland during the 1970's when he skipped the first and (so far) only Brier winning team from that province. Growing up in Lunenburg, NS, Jack would finish playing hockey, then swap his skates for Ken Watson curling boots and cross over to the rink to throw rocks until days end. In those practice sessions, he would play 12 end games against the Richardsons...
Don Barcome always loved to curl. He was introduced to the game after his family moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota in the mid-60's. By the age of 11 he was playing with mens teams in the local club league, and by 13 he was skipping against Orest Meleschuk in the fourth event final of the Hibbing Last Chance Bonspiel. His first taste of International competition came in 1976 when his team of brother Earl and Gary Mueller at front end, along with Gary's brother Dale, traveled to Scotland for the ...
Ron Northcott was Alberta curling in the 1960s. From 1963 to 1969, Ron (AKA "The Owl") won the Alberta Tankard six times, five as a skip. He went on to win the Macdonald Brier in three of those appearances, ('66,'68 and '69) following each with a victory at the World Championship, including the first ever Air Canada Silver Broom in 1968. Those Brier championship rinks each had a different third (George Fink, Jimmy Shields and Dave Gerlach), but the dominant front end of lead Fred Storey and seco...
Dan Carey didn't think he was too competitive. Growing up in Winnipeg, he could gauge his drive against older brother Bill, and everything seemed fine. After his hockey aspirations were thwarted by a broken arm, and having seen Bill win a Brier as third for Barry Fry, Dan decided that curling might be the path to feed his hunger for competition. Following a decade of near misses, Dan re-teamed with Vic Peters in 1991. Joined by long time playing partner Don Rudd at lead and Vic's teammate Chris ...
Vera Pezer has always had a mind for curling. From her early days in Meskanaw, SK, tossing stones on a two sheeter at the age of 6, Vera developed a lifelong passion for the roaring game. In our conversation, we cover her development at the University of Saskatchewan where she honed her curling skills and her studies, eventually blending the two as part of her PhD in Sports Psychology. Vera won 4 Canadian Championships as Team Saskatchewan. First as third for Joyce McKee in 1969, then skipping S...
In Part 2 of my conversation with Matt Baldwin, we'll cover the 1958 Brier in Victoria, where Alberta landed in a playoff against a young Braunstein rink from Manitoba. Matt will share the disappointment of perhaps his best rink, when in 1960 he teamed with Hector Gervais, and didn't reach the Brier. You'll hear about Hector, Garnett Campbell, Ernie Richardson, and Matt's confrontation with Paul Gowsell in the finals of the Vernon Carspiel. Matt tells stories from the 1971 "Blizzard" Brier in Qu...
Matt Baldwin begins with a story about Gordie Howe's sister in small town Saskatchewan. From there we head to Saskatoon and then Edmonton, where he (eventually) graduates with a degree in a new program for petroleum engineering. Matt's curling begins during wartime, develops through university, and in the winter of 1954 he's able to convince a local rival to join forces in playdowns with hopes of reaching the first ever Edmonton Brier. At 27, Matt became the youngest Brier winning skip (a title ...
Paul Gowsell had irrational confidence from an early age. While other junior curlers were learning the game by challenging their peers, Gowsell was taking cash and cars from the best teams in the world. When Neil Houston and Glen Jackson graduated from Team Gowsell's junior ranks after their Uniroyal World Championship in 1976, they continued as part of Paul's bonspiel team, even while he and lead Kelly Stearne picked up John Ferguson and Doug McFarlane to win the '77 Canadian Juniors and '78 Wo...
Rod Hunter now resides in Viking, Alberta, made famous for a local family with six brothers who all played in the NHL. Rod, AKA "The Arrow", found his curling fame in Manitoba, where he qualified for the Brier 4 times from 1970 to 1975, winning twice as vice for Don Duguid. That same Duguid rink also captured back-to-back Air Canada Silver Broom World Championships in 1970 and '71, going undefeated in 17 straight games. Rod will share his experiences from those events, the near misses in other s...
