Northern Star Award
The Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy[1] and Lou Marsh Award[2][3] 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.[2]
The voting panel consists of eleven registered voters[4] 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.[2]
The Trophy has been awarded 68 times and won by 58 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 Sidney Crosby, a hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins who is the first hockey player to win the trophy since Mario Lemieux in 1993.
Criticism
The Lou Marsh Trophy voting committee has been accused of having an anti-hockey bias because in many years, Canadians will be among the top athletes in the National Hockey League yet rarely contend for the Marsh.[5] Alternatively, the committee rarely awards the trophy to a professional athlete in a league other than the NHL.[6] It has been noted the trophy tends to be awarded to amateur rather than professional athletes on years that the Olympics are held.[7] For example, in 1981, Susan Nattrass, an amateur trapshooter, beat Wayne Gretzky, who had scored 164 points in his sophomore season in the National Hockey League.[5] Similarly, in 2002, Olympic gold medallist speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan beat Steve Nash, who had been one of the top players in the National Basketball Association.[7]
The voting panel itself has been described as a "small, elite group" and the Canadian Press's annual awards—the Lionel Conacher Award (male athlete of the year) and Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (female athlete of the year)—have been said to be more valuable because they are voted on by editors and columnists from across Canada.[8]
Winners
- 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 | Phil Edwards * | Track and field | 1 |
| 1937 | Marshall Cleland | Equestrian | 1 |
| 1938 | Henry "Bobby" Pearce | Rowing | 1 |
| 1939 | Bob Pirie | Swimming | 1 |
| 1940 | Gérard Côté * | Marathon | 1 |
| 1941 | Theo Dubois | Rowing | 1 |
| 1942 | None | - | - |
| 1943 | None | - | - |
| 1944 | None | - | - |
| 1945 | Barbara Ann Scott | Figure skating | 1 |
| 1946 | Joe Krol * | Football | 1 |
| 1947 | Barbara Ann Scott ^ | Figure skating | 2 |
| 1948 | Barbara Ann Scott ^ | Figure skating | 3 |
| 1949 | Cliff Lumsdon | Swimming | 1 |
| 1950 | Bob McFarlane | Football & track and field | 1 |
| 1951 | Marlene Streit | Golf | 1 |
| 1952 | George Genereux | Shooting | 1 |
| 1953 | Doug Hepburn * | Weightlifting | 1 |
| 1954 | Marilyn Bell ^ | Swimming | 1 |
| 1955 | Beth Whittall | Swimming | 1 |
| 1956 | Marlene Streit ^ | Golf | 2 |
| 1957 | Maurice Richard * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1958 | Lucile Wheeler ^ | Alpine skiing | 1 |
| 1959 | Barbara Wagner & Bob Paul | Figure skating | 1 |
| 1960 | Anne Heggtveit ^ | Alpine skiing | 1 |
| 1961 | Bruce Kidd * | Track and field | 1 |
| 1962 | Donald Jackson | Figure skating | 1 |
| 1963 | Bill Crothers | Track and field | 1 |
| 1964 | Roger Jackson & George Hungerford | Rowing | 1 |
| 1965 | Petra Burka ^ | Figure skating | 1 |
| 1966 | Elaine Tanner ^ | Swimming | 1 |
| 1967 | Nancy Greene ^ | Alpine skiing | 1 |
| 1968 | Nancy Greene ^ | Alpine skiing | 2 |
| 1969 | Russ Jackson * | Football | 1 |
| 1970 | Bobby Orr * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1971 | Hervé Filion | Harness racing | 1 |
| 1972 | Phil Esposito * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1973 | Sandy Hawley | Horse racing | 1 |
| 1974 | Ferguson Jenkins * | Baseball | 1 |
| 1975 | Bobby Clarke * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1976 | Sandy Hawley | Horse racing | 2 |
| 1977 | Guy Lafleur * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1978 | Graham Smith | Swimming | 1 |
| 1978 | Ken Read * | Alpine skiing | 1 |
| 1979 | Sandra Post ^ | Golf | 1 |
| 1980 | Terry Fox | Marathon of Hope | 1 |
| 1981 | Susan Nattrass | Shooting | 1 |
| 1982 | Wayne Gretzky * | Ice hockey | 1 |
| 1983 | Rick Hansen[9] | Wheelchair racing | 1 |
| 1983 | Wayne Gretzky * | Ice hockey | 2 |
| 1984 | Gaétan Boucher | Speed skating | 1 |
| 1985 | Wayne Gretzky * | Ice hockey | 3 |
| 1986 | Ben Johnson * | Track and field | 1 |
| 1987 | Ben Johnson * | Track and field | 2 |
| 1988 | Carolyn Waldo ^ | Synchronized swimming | 1 |
| 1989 | Wayne Gretzky * | Ice hockey | 4 |
| 1990 | Kurt Browning * | Figure skating | 1 |
| 1991 | Silken Laumann ^ | Rowing | 1 |
| 1992 | Mark Tewksbury * | Swimming | 1 |
| 1993 | Mario Lemieux * | Ice Hockey | 1 |
| 1994 | Myriam Bédard ^ | Biathlon | 1 |
| 1995 | Jacques Villeneuve * | Auto racing | 1 |
| 1996 | Donovan Bailey * | Track and field | 1 |
| 1997 | Jacques Villeneuve * | Auto racing | 2 |
| 1998 | Larry Walker * | Baseball | 1 |
| 1999 | Caroline Brunet | Kayaking | 1 |
| 2000 | Daniel Igali | Wrestling | 1 |
| 2001 | Jamie Salé & David Pelletier | Figure skating | 1 |
| 2002 | Catriona Le May Doan ^ | Speed skating | 1 |
| 2003 | Mike Weir * | Golf | 1 |
| 2004 | Adam van Koeverden | Kayaking | 1 |
| 2005 | Steve Nash * | Basketball | 1 |
| 2006 | Cindy Klassen ^ | Speed skating | 1 |
| 2007 | Sidney Crosby *[2] | Ice hockey | 1 |
Winners by sport
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Ice hockey | 8 |
| 8 | Figure skating | 6 |
| 7 | Swimming | 7 |
| Track and field | 6 | |
| 5 | Alpine Skiing | 4 |
| 4 | Rowing | 4 |
| Golf | 3 | |
| 3 | Football | 3 |
| Speed skating | 3 | |
| 2 | Baseball | 2 |
| Kayaking | 2 | |
| Shooting | 2 | |
| Auto racing | 1 | |
| Horse racing | 1 | |
| 1 | Basketball | 1 |
| Biathlon | 1 | |
| Equestrian | 1 | |
| Harness racing | 1 | |
| Marathon | 1 | |
| Synchronized swimming | 1 | |
| Weightlifting | 1 | |
| Wheelchair racing | 1 | |
| Wrestling | 1 |
See also
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". Globe and Mail. December 11, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- Specific
- ^ "Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ^ a b c d "Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh award". Toronto Star. December 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh Award". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Dave Perkins (December 12, 2006). "Turin queen reigns in 2006". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Steve Simmons (December 9, 2007). "Hockey player should be named Canada's top athlete". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Steve Buffery (June 15, 2005). "B.C. natives stick together". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Steve Simmons (December 22, 2002). "The Last Word". Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Jim Hunt (December 23, 2003). "Habs, Leafs joy to watch". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Honoured members - Rick Hansen". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-12-11.