The Most Notable Teams in Manitoba Curling History By Resby Coutts, Photos courtesy Curl Manitoba Sports fans love to compare great players and great teams across generations. What’s the greatest baseball team of all time? Babe Ruth’s ’27 Yankees? Joe Dimaggio’s ’39 Yankees? Johnny Bench’s ’75 Reds? The greatest hockey team of all time? One of the 70s LaFleur-Dryden Canadiens teams? An 80s Gretzky Oilers team? The ’67 Maple Leafs? Now the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame and Museum (MCHoF&M) wants you to name the Most Notable Team in Manitoba Curling History. How does Kerri Einarson’s 2020 team stack up against Connie Laliberte’s 1984 team? How do the Jeff Stoughton teams compare with the legendary Ab Gowanlock, Gordon Hudson or Howard Wood teams from a Century ago? The MCHoF&M invites your participation in a People’s Choice vote comparing the best of every generation of Manitoba curling by picking the Most Notable Team in Manitoba Curling History. Remember, it’s most notable and not the greatest team because the sport has changed so much in 100 years that it is nearly impossible to comprehend a game between Wood’s 1925 Manitoba champions, winners of the first official Manitoba Men’s championship, and Stoughton’s 2011 World Championship team. Or between Einarson and Lily Clark’s Portage team that won back-toback Manitoba Ladies titles in the 1950s. However, it makes for a very interesting debate when one considers which accomplishment is Most Notable – the most interesting, most important chapter in Manitoba’s curling story. Everyone will have their own definition of most notable and the MCHoF&M’s volunteers are intrigued to see which team will be the People’s Choice in its 2020 fund-raising initiative.
150 Notable Teams For MANITOBA 150 Inspired by Manitoba’s 150th anniversary, the MCHoF&M has undertaken the daunting task of identifying the most
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notable 150 teams in Manitoba Curling history - beginning with Sam Harstone’s 1889 Granite team, New York Life event winner in the first Manitoba bonspiel, making them the bonspiel champion and arguably the first Manitoba champion. It ends with Einarson’s Gimli team, the Canadian championship team which missed out on its world championship opportunity due to Covid-19. In-between are 148 teams who helped write or enhance the world-wide reputation of Manitoba as a great curling province. Teams included might be one-year teams like Terry Braunstein’s 1958 high-schoolers who shocked the curling world (and changed the rules) when they won Manitoba and went all the way to the Brier final. Or they might be teams like Wood’s 1925 to 1933 team which won two Manitoba and one Canadian title. Brothers Howard, Victor and Lionel Wood teamed with Jim Congalton for one Manitoba Championship and with John Erzinger for the other. Many teams on the list are “evolving” teams like this, included together so long as there was only one change of personnel each year. Although subjective criteria have occasionally been used, the general standard has been one of “at least two championships”. Most teams on the list have won a Manitoba and Canadian title in the same year or at least two Manitoba titles. As the committee recognizes that there may be other deserving teams which have been missed, curling fans are invited to review of the list and to forward suggestions for possible inclusion. The Manitoba Most Notable 150 Teams list is published on the CurlManitoba website (curlmanitoba.org). Contact the committee by email to mbcurlmuseum@gmail.com.
notable 25 teams in Manitoba Curling history and invites public ranking of these 25 teams. Cast your vote by making a donation (suggested minimum $10 to automatically generate a charitable donation receipt) to support the MCHoF&M’s efforts to celebrate Manitoba’s curling heritage. Your donation via canadahelps.org will add to the running tally of contributions in the name of your preferred team. The final total of donations will determine the “People’s Choice” ranking. If you don’t agree with the committee’s list of 25, there is also an opportunity to make a donation in the name of your wild card team. The donation pages at canadahelps. org (search for Manitoba Curling Museum and follow the links) will be up by October 1 and available for voting until December 5. In mid-December, the People’s Choice Most Notable Team will be announced along with an ‘official’ ranking determined by an expanded committee of curlers, curling fans and media. Here’s the committee’s list of 25 most notable teams in Manitoba curling history:
A Select 25 for Your Consideration
HOWARD WOOD’S 1925-33 GRANITE TEAM: Wood teamed with his brothers Vic and Lionel and with John Erzinger to win the the first official Manitoba in
The 150 Manitoba Curling teams on the list have been published by eras, but the committee has selected its most
Howard Wood Team
