Curling, Etcetera_ A Whole Bunch of Stuff About the Roaring Game - Bob Weeks [28]
• In the playoff, Major D.G. Astley of Great Britain played for Sweden II. He was awarded a silver medal for leading that team to a win and also took home a gold medal as part of the British team, making him the only person in Olympic history ever to win two medals in the same event.<
• For many years, the competition was viewed as merely a demonstration and not an official event. However, an investigation by The Herald, a Glasgow newspaper, showed the 1924 curling competition was, at the time, seen as official. In 2006, the International< Olympic Committee upgraded the status of that curling playdown from demonstration to official.
• Curling was held at the Olympics several times since the 1924 Games, but never as an official event. It was reinstated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
ROCK HARD SUCCESS
Newfoundland and Labrador has won just a single Brier title since joining the competition in 1951. That win came in 1976 when a team led by skip Jack MacDuff beat remarkable odds to capture the Canadian championship. For many years, the rinks from Newfoundland and Labrador were viewed as hapless pushovers, having compiled a win-loss record of 45-206 prior to ’76. Here are some of the highlights of that historic victory.
• The team’s driver for the week was none other than Sam Richardson, of the famed Richardson family team that won four Briers. He not only drove the team but guided them through the ups and downs of the week, serving more as a coach than chauffeur.
• Curling fans in Newfoundland and Labrador became almost rabid as the team kept winning games. The MacDuff team received so many telegrams that the bellboys were carrying them to their room by the armload, and the telegrams managed to cover every square inch of wall space in one of the team’s hotel rooms.
• Newfoundland Premier Frank Moores called the team midweek and said down the line, “A lot of people here don’t know a thing about curling, but they’re going crazy anyway.”
• The last game of the round robin was against Ontario, and a win would give Newfoundland the Brier. In the 10th end of a 12-end game, Ontario gave up a steal of 3 to give MacDuff a 9-3 lead. Ontario skip Joe Gurowka went to concede the game and the title to the Newfoundlanders, but Doug Maxwell of the CBC came out and said, “You have to keep playing, this game is on television and we’ve got another hour to go.”
• Prior to skipping his own team, MacDuff played three years for Bob Cole, best known as the longtime hockey broadcaster for CBC.
• Following the win, MacDuff had his curling shoes bronzed and put on display at the St. John’s Curling Club.
• The team didn’t fare so well at that year’s world championship, compiling a record of 2-9, the worst by a Canadian rink.
• So well known was Jack MacDuff ’s win, he received a congratulatory card from Western Canada addressed simply to “Jack MacDuff, Newfoundland.”
• The team’s third, Toby McDonald, served as coach for Brad Gushue’s team, which won the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics.
HAMMER TIME
Last rock is supposed to be a significant advantage to top teams, but that’s not always the case. In 1986, Alberta’s Ed Lukowich recorded an 11-0 win over Newfoundland’s Fred Durant, and Lukowich stole all 11 points.
GOING LONG
If a curling game goes long, expect Northern Ontario to come out on top. The record for the longest game in Brier history is 15 ends, which has happened twice. In 1927, the Brier’s first year, all games were 14 ends. Twice, Northern Ontario had to go to an extra end to determine a winner. The first came against Toronto while the second was in a match against Quebec. Northern Ontario won both times by a score of 11-10.
THE REAL WORLD
Unlike most other top athletes, top curlers usually hold down full-time jobs and try to combine curling and work. Some players have rather unusual vocations. Here’s a look at some notable curlers and their full-time occupations: