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By Root 536 0

crazy, and he didn’t mind one bit. An enthusiastic curler from Wallaceburg, Ontario, Murphy was known as Crazy Legs for the manner in which he danced—and for what he did on the curling ice. At his annual curling bonspiel at the Sydenham Curling Club, he would slide down a sheet of curling ice perched atop a stone, often waving flags or playing a trombone. At the extreme level, Murphy placed the legs of a ladder on four stones and then scrambled to the top rung, where he sat as the rocks travelled over the ice. He became so famous for his act that he appeared on television and at big curling events. He also ran a famous bonspiel that, at its peak in the late 1980s, had a five-year waiting list.

SPIEL OF A DIFFERENT KIND

Every weekend during the curling season, there are bonspiels of all shapes and sizes held all over the world. Most fall into a couple of broad categories: men’s, women’s, or mixed; competitive or social; one-day or longer. However, a few almost defy description. Here is a sampling of some rather unusual bonspiels held over the years:

Heavyweight Spiel: organized by legendary promoter Doug Maxwell on behalf of a Toronto delicatessen chain, the total weight of the team members could be no less than 1,000 pounds, and individually, no competitor could weigh less than 225.

Left-Handers Spiel: Every spring at the Oakville Curling Club outside of Toronto, the World Lefthanders Championship is held where southpaws battle it out to become global port-sider champion.

Grits vs. Tories: Back in the 1850s, this annual affair pitted the two sides of the government of the day with the losers required to buy a meal of oysters for the winners.

Summer Spud: Capitalizing on being one of Canada’s great summertime playgrounds, folks at the Crapaud Curling Club in Prince Edward Island hold an annual spiel … in August! It includes a lobster feast and 18 holes of golf.

Watson Lake Outdoor Bonspiel: Curling outside in the middle of February in the Yukon Territory might not seem that appealing, but obviously some folks like it. Played on the lake from which the bonspiel takes its name, this is the longest-running outdoor bonspiel in Canada.

THE LONG BRIER ROAD

In Canada, approximately 7,000 curlers enter the playdowns every year that lead to the Brier, the Canadian championship. Of course, at the end of it, only four stand atop the highest step on the podium.

ROCK-SOLID POLITICS

Paul Delorey proved that politics and curling do mix. Delorey represented the Yukon/Northwest Territories at the 1987 Canadian Mixed. He is also the Speaker of the Northwest Territories Legislature.

ROCKIN’ RICK

Thunder Bay, Ontario, has produced many great curling champions, but the best may be Rick Lang, the three-time Canadian men’s champion who some believe is the best third to have played the game.

Some interesting facts about Lang:

• Ed Werenich calls him the best curler ever to play the game.

• Lang won his first Brier in 1975 playing for Bill Tetley. In 1985, he won his third with Bill’s son, Ian, playing second.

• Lang joined forces with skip Al Hackner in 1980 and lost the Canadian final. The very next year, Kerry Burtnyk scored three in the 10th end of the final to beat them 5-4.They finally won the title in 1982 and again in 1985.

• At many events, Lang would bet anyone willing to put up $20 that he could throw a rock down a sheet and drink a beer before the rock arrived at the other end. With the money on the table, Lang would throw a slow draw with a mighty spin cranked on the handle so the stone turned like a 78 rpm record, thereby taking a long time to reach its destination. Lang could also drink a beer quickly.

• On the way home from winning the 1985 World Curling Championships in Germany, a flight attendant, noticing there was a lot of attention being paid to Lang, said to him, “Are you who we think you are?” Lang, thinking they knew him as the curler, replied, “Yes I am.” The flight attendant squealed, “Mr. Jagger, may I have your autograph.” Lang bears a striking