Lou Marsh Trophy

Hockey player Wayne Gretzky has won the Lou Marsh Trophy four times, more than any other athlete.

The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936. It is named in honour of Lou Marsh, a prominent Canadian athlete, referee, and former sports editor of the Toronto Star. Marsh died in 1936 and the trophy was named in his honour. The trophy is made of black marble and stands around 75 centimetres high. The words "With Pick and Shovel" appear above the engraved names of the winners. The voting panel consists of eleven registered voters including representatives from the Toronto Star, the Canadian Press, FAN590, the Globe and Mail, CBC, Rogers Sportsnet, CTV/TSN, La Presse and the National Post.

The Trophy has been awarded 71 times and won by 60 individual athletes and three pairs. Wayne Gretzky has won the trophy four times, more than any other athlete, while Barbara Ann Scott has won the trophy three times, more than any other woman. It was not awarded from 1942 to 1944 due to World War II. There were ties between different athletes in 1978 and 1983. The most recent winner is Patrick Chan, a figure skater who won gold at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships.

Winners

Kurt Browning, 1990 winner

Donovan Bailey, 1996 winner

Jacques Villeneuve, 1995 and 1997 winner

Jamie Salé & David Pelletier, 2001 winners

Mike Weir, 2003 winner

Adam van Koeverden, 2004 winner

Steve Nash, 2005 winner

Sidney Crosby, 2007 and 2009 winner

Joey Votto, 2010 winner

Key

• * = Also won the Lionel Conacher Award as Canadian male athlete of the year
• ^ = Also won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canadian female athlete of the year

Year	Winner	Sport	Win #
1936	Edwards, PhilPhil Edwards *	Track and field	1
1937	Cleland, MarshallMarshall Cleland	Equestrian	1
1938	Pearce, BobbyBobby Pearce	Rowing	1
1939	Pirie, BobBob Pirie	Swimming	1
1940	Côté, GérardGérard Côté *	Marathon	1
1941	Dubois, TheoTheo Dubois	Rowing	1
1942	zzz !None	-	-
1943	zzz !None	-	-
1944	zzz !None	-	-
1945	Scott, Barbara AnnBarbara Ann Scott	Figure skating	1
1946	Krol, JoeJoe Krol *	Football	1
1947	Scott, Barbara AnnBarbara Ann Scott ^	Figure skating	2
1948	Scott, Barbara AnnBarbara Ann Scott ^	Figure skating	3
1949	Lumsdon, CliffCliff Lumsdon	Swimming	1
1950	McFarlane, BobBob McFarlane	Football & track and field	1
1951	Streit, MarleneMarlene Streit	Golf	1
1952	Genereux, GeorgeGeorge Genereux	Shooting	1
1953	Hepburn, DougDoug Hepburn *	Weightlifting	1
1954	Bell, MarilynMarilyn Bell ^	Swimming	1
1955	Whittall, BethBeth Whittall	Swimming	1
1956	Streit, MarleneMarlene Streit ^	Golf	2
1957	Richard, MauriceMaurice Richard *	Ice hockey	1
1958	Wheeler, LucileLucile Wheeler ^	Alpine skiing	1
1959	Barbara Wagner & Bob Paul	Figure skating	1
1960	Heggtveit, AnneAnne Heggtveit ^	Alpine skiing	1
1961	Kidd, BruceBruce Kidd *	Track and field	1
1962	Jackson, DonaldDonald Jackson	Figure skating	1
1963	Crothers, BillBill Crothers	Track and field	1
1964	Roger Jackson & George Hungerford	Rowing	1
1965	Burka, PetraPetra Burka ^	Figure skating	1
1966	Tanner, ElaineElaine Tanner ^	Swimming	1
1967	Greene, NancyNancy Greene ^	Alpine skiing	1
1968	Greene, NancyNancy Greene ^	Alpine skiing	2
1969	Jackson, RussRuss Jackson *	Football	1
1970	Orr, BobbyBobby Orr *	Ice hockey	1
1971	Filion, HervéHervé Filion	Harness racing	1
1972	Esposito, PhilPhil Esposito *	Ice hockey	1
1973	Hawley, SandySandy Hawley	Horse racing	1
1974	Jenkins, FergusonFerguson Jenkins *	Baseball	1
1975	Clarke, BobbyBobby Clarke *	Ice hockey	1
1976	Hawley, SandySandy Hawley	Horse racing	2
1977	Lafleur, GuyGuy Lafleur *	Ice hockey	1
1978	Smith, GrahamGraham Smith	Swimming	1
1978	Read, KenKen Read *	Alpine skiing	1
1979	Post, SandraSandra Post ^	Golf	1
1980	Fox, TerryTerry Fox	Marathon of Hope	1
1981	Nattrass, SusanSusan Nattrass	Shooting	1
1982	Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky *	Ice hockey	1
1983	Hansen, RickRick Hansen	Wheelchair racing	1
1983	Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky *	Ice hockey	2
1984	Boucher, GaétanGaétan Boucher	Speed skating	1
1985	Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky *	Ice hockey	3
1986	Johnson, BenBen Johnson *	Track and field	1
1987	Johnson, BenBen Johnson *	Track and field	2
1988	Waldo, CarolynCarolyn Waldo ^	Synchronized swimming	1
1989	Gretzky, WayneWayne Gretzky *	Ice hockey	4
1990	Browning, KurtKurt Browning *	Figure skating	1
1991	Laumann, SilkenSilken Laumann ^	Rowing	1
1992	Tewksbury, MarkMark Tewksbury *	Swimming	1
1993	Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux *	Ice Hockey	1
1994	Bédard, MyriamMyriam Bédard ^	Biathlon	1
1995	Villeneuve, JacquesJacques Villeneuve *	Auto racing	1
1996	Bailey, DonovanDonovan Bailey *	Track and field	1
1997	Villeneuve, JacquesJacques Villeneuve *	Auto racing	2
1998	Walker, LarryLarry Walker *	Baseball	1
1999	Brunet, CarolineCaroline Brunet	Kayaking	1
2000	Igali, DanielDaniel Igali	Wrestling	1
2001	Jamie Salé & David Pelletier	Figure skating	1
2002	Doan, Catriona Le MayCatriona Le May Doan ^	Speed skating	1
2003	Weir, MikeMike Weir *	Golf	1
2004	van Koeverden, AdamAdam van Koeverden	Kayaking	1
2005	Nash, SteveSteve Nash *	Basketball	1
2006	Klassen, CindyCindy Klassen ^	Speed skating	1
2007	Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby *	Ice hockey	1
2008	Petitclerc, ChantalChantal Petitclerc ^	Wheelchair racing	1
2009	Crosby, SidneySidney Crosby *	Ice hockey	2
2010	Votto, JoeyJoey Votto	Baseball	1
2011	Chan, PatrickPatrick Chan *	Figure Skating	1

Winners by sport

Figure skater Barbara Ann Scott has won the trophy three times, more than any other woman.

Terry Fox, who was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy for the Marathon of Hope rather than participation in a sport in general, is not included in this table.

Wins	Sport	# of Individuals
12	Ice hockey	8
9	Figure skating	7
7	Swimming	7
	Track and field	6
5	Alpine Skiing	4
4	Rowing	4
	Golf	3
3	Baseball	3
	Football	3
	Speed skating	3
2	Kayaking	2
	Shooting	2
	Wheelchair racing	2
	Auto racing	1
	Horse racing	1
1	Basketball	1
	Biathlon	1
	Equestrian	1
	Harness racing	1
	Marathon	1
	Synchronized swimming	1
	Weightlifting	1
	Wrestling	1

See also

• List of members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
• Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame
• Lionel Conacher Award
• Bobbie Rosenfeld Award
• Velma Springstead Trophy
• Sport in Canada
• Athlete of the Year

References

General

• Bob Ferguson, Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., 2005, p. 532 (through 2004).
• "Winners of the Lou Marsh Trophy". The Globe and Mail. 2006-12-11. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061211.wsptmarshlist11/BNStory/GlobeSportsOther. Retrieved 2007-12-11. 
• "Lou Marsh winners". Toronto Star. 2008-12-09. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/546390. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 
• "Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.cshof.ca/accessible/collection_trophies_detail.php?i=1. Retrieved 2007-12-11. 

Specific