1974 Macdonald Brier

The 1974 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship was held from March 4 to 9, 1974 at the London Gardens in London, Ontario. The total attendance for the week was 48,170.[1]

1974 Macdonald Brier
Host cityLondon, Ontario
ArenaLondon Gardens
DatesMarch 4–9
Attendance48,170[1]
Winner Alberta
Curling clubSt. Albert CC, St. Albert
SkipHec Gervais
ThirdRon Anton
SecondWarren Hansen
LeadDarrel Sutton
« 1973
1975 »

Team Alberta, who was skipped by Hec Gervais captured the Brier tankard by finishing round robin play 8–2. This was Alberta's twelfth title overall and the second skipped by Gervais, who previously won in 1961.

The Gervais rink would go onto represent Canada in the 1974 Air Canada Silver Broom, the men's world curling championship held in Bern, Switzerland where they lost in the semifinal to Sweden.

Alberta's 4–2 victory over Quebec in Draw 11 set then Brier records for lowest combined score by both teams in one game (6) and most blank ends in one game (7). These records would be Macdonald era (until 1979) records that were matched twice in that era and eventually broken later.[2]

Event Summary

After the Thursday evening draw (Draw 8), there were five teams that were in contention for the championship. Alberta led the way with a 7–1 record with Quebec and Saskatchewan tied for second at 5–2, New Brunswick right behind at 5–3, and Northern Ontario at 4–3.

The Friday afternoon draw saw the standings tighten. First place Alberta lost big to Ontario 12–5, Quebec defeated Newfoundland 9–4, Saskatchewan rolled past Nova Scotia 11–3. Northern Ontario would be eliminated from contention with an 11–6 loss to British Columbia while New Brunswick draw a bye. With Alberta, Quebec, and Saskatchewan all with two losses, this Brier would come down to the last two draws or even a tiebreaker.

The penultimate draw on Friday evening (Draw 10) saw Alberta draw a bye meaning the other three teams could catch some ground heading into Saturday afternoon. However, the only contender who won was Saskatchewan as they beat Newfoundland 8–5. Quebec would lose to Ontario 8–5 while New Brunswick would be eliminated after losing 10–8 to BC. With Saskatchewan's win, both Alberta and Saskatchewan were tied for first with 7–2 records while Quebec sat at 6–3. The final draw would pit Alberta against Quebec while Saskatchewan would play Ontario. Anything from an outright championship, two-way tiebreaker, or a three-way tiebreaker was possible after the final draw.

The featured matchups in the final draw were anti-climatic in different ways. The Ontario and Saskatchewan matchup saw the game tied at 1 after three ends. This is as close as Saskatchewan would get as Ontario scored three in the fourth and stole one the next two ends to take a commanding 6–1 lead through the halfway point. Saskatchewan would attempt a comeback, but Ontario would counter each Saskatchewan score as Ontario would eventually win 11–8 meaning that Saskatchewan would need some help from Quebec to force a three-way tiebreaker.

Alberta and Quebec would be a low-scoring affair as five of the first seven ends were blanked with the score tied at 1. Alberta would break the ice a bit with two in the eighth and taking a 3–1 lead in the process. Quebec cut the lead down to 3–2 in the ninth end. The next two ends were blanked and Alberta would clinch the Brier tankard with a single in the last end for a 4–2 win giving Gervais his first Brier title since 1961.

The official Dominion Curling Association stones were said to be so bad at the event, that nine of the 11 competing skips petitioned to have the rocks replaced (only the skips of New Brunswick and Newfoundland didn't sign, as this had been their first Brier). Sure enough, the rocks would be sold-off that summer, and would never be used at the Brier again.[3]

The 1974 Brier was also the final year where throwers were not allowed to slide past the hog line on their throws. However, after enforcing the rules earlier in the tournament, officials stopped part way through due to backlash from some of the curlers. Then later on, officials changed the rules mid-week to state that curlers could slide over the line as long as they had released the rock first.[3]

Teams

The teams are listed as follows:[4]

Alberta British Columbia Manitoba
St. Albert CC, St. Albert

Skip: Hec Gervais
Third: Ron Anton
Second: Warren Hansen
Lead: Darrel Sutton

 Richmond WC, Richmond

Skip: Jim Armstrong
Third: Bernie Sparkes
Second: Gerry Peckham
Lead: Clark Winterton

 Glenboro CC, Glenboro

Skip: Don Barr
Third: Daniel Hyrich
Second: Jack Fraser
Lead: James Thornborough

New Brunswick Newfoundland Northern Ontario
Capital WC, Fredericton

Skip: John Clark
Third: Brian Mackin
Second: Shelly Palk
Lead: John Cormier

 St. John's CC, St. John's

Skip: Fred Wight
Third: Damien Ryan
Second: Douglas Hudson
Lead: Keith Wight

 Idylwylde G&CC, Sudbury

Skip: John Ross
Third: Frank Bell
Second: Robert Tate
Lead: Russell Tate

Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island
Halifax CC, Halifax

Skip: Barry Shearer
Third: Kenneth Langille
Second: Tom Fetterly
Lead: Robert Little

 Scarboro G&CC, Scarborough

Skip: Paul Savage
Third: Bob Thompson
Second: Ed Werenich
Lead: Ron Green

 Charlottetown CC, Charlottetown

Skip: Bob Dillon
Third: John Fortier
Second: James Muzika
Lead: Merrill Wiggington

Quebec[5] Saskatchewan
St. Laurent CC, Mount Royal

Skip: Jim Ursel
Third: Bill Ross
Second: Alf Berting
Lead: Freddie Topp

 Kindersley CC, Kindersley

Skip: Larry McGrath
Third: Ronald St. John
Second: Wayne St. John
Lead: Rodney St. John

Round Robin standings
Key
Brier champion
Province Skip W L PF PA
 AlbertaHec Gervais827655
 SaskatchewanLarry McGrath738256
 OntarioPaul Savage648264
 British ColumbiaJim Armstrong648264
 ManitobaDon Barr646868
 QuebecJim Ursel646965
 New BrunswickJohn Clark557870
 Northern OntarioJohn Ross465980
 Prince Edward IslandBob Dillon375966
 Nova ScotiaBarry Shearer375783
 NewfoundlandFred Wight195293

Round Robin results

All draw times are listed in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00).[4][6]

Draw 1

Monday, March 4, 2:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 X 8
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 X 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 8
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 5
 Ontario (Savage) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 7
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 6
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 3 9
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 6

Draw 2

Monday, March 4, 7:30 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 2 4 2 X X 16
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X X 1
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 6
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 2 X 11
 Newfoundland (Wight) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 9
 Ontario (Savage) 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 4
 Quebec (Ursel) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 5

Draw 3

Tuesday, March 5, 9:00 am

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Quebec (Ursel) 2 1 1 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 X 9
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 X X 3
 Alberta (Gervais) 1 0 2 0 0 2 4 2 0 3 X X 14
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 X X 3
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 2 2 X X 10
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 6
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 2 0 X 8
 New Brunswick (Clark) 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 X 6

Draw 4

Tuesday, March 5, 2:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 3 0 1 X 8
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 2 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 9
 Quebec (Ursel) 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 10
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X 4
 Manitoba (Barr) 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 X 7
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 X 8
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 X 3
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 8
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 6

Draw 5

Wednesday, March 6, 2:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 2 0 3 0 2 1 1 0 3 0 X 12
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 9
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 7
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 2 X 10
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 3 X X 12
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 X X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 3 0 2 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 X 11
 Quebec (Ursel) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 X 5

Draw 6

Wednesday, March 6, 7:30 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 X 4
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 X 4
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 X 7
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 X 10
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 X 6
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 4 0 0 8
 Quebec (Ursel) 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 7
 Ontario (Savage) 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6

Draw 7

Thursday, March 7, 2:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 6
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 11
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Quebec (Ursel) 1 1 0 3 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 9
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 8
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 X 7
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 7
 New Brunswick (Clark) 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 8
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final
 Newfoundland (Wight) 1 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 11
 Ontario (Savage) 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 3 2 0 10

Draw 8

Thursday, March 7, 7:30 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Quebec (Ursel) 1 1 2 0 4 0 1 0 2 0 X X 11
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 X X 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 7
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 X 7
 New Brunswick (Clark) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 X 4
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 X 5
 Alberta (Gervais) 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 X 7
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 X 5
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 X 9

Draw 9

Friday, March 8, 2:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 X 6
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 X 11
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 8
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 2 0 0 1 0 2 3 0 1 3 X X 12
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 X X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 3 X 11
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 3
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Quebec (Ursel) 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 X 9
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 X 4

Draw 10

Friday, March 8, 7:30 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 6
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 7
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 X 8
 Quebec (Ursel) 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 X 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 New Brunswick (Clark) 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 X 8
 British Columbia (Armstrong) 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 4 0 X 10
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 X 8
 Newfoundland (Wight) 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 X 5

Draw 11

Saturday, March 9, 1:00 pm

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Alberta (Gervais) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 4
 Quebec (Ursel) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Ontario (Savage) 0 1 0 3 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 1 11
 Saskatchewan (McGrath) 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 2 0 8
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Manitoba (Barr) 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 10
 New Brunswick (Clark) 0 0 1 2 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 9
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Nova Scotia (Shearer) 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 1 9
 Northern Ontario (Ross) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 5
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final
 Prince Edward Island (Dillon) 1 0 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 X 12
 Newfoundland (Wight) 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 X 5

Awards

All-Star Team

The media selected the following curlers as All-Stars.[7]

PositionNameTeam
SkipJim Ursel Quebec
ThirdRon Anton Alberta
SecondGerry Peckham British Columbia
LeadRon Green (2) Ontario

Ross G.L. Harstone Award

The Ross Harstone Award was presented to the player chosen by their fellow peers as the curler who best represented Harstone's high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.[8][7]

NameTeamPosition
Larry McGrath SaskatchewanSkip

References
  1. "2023 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. p. 79. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  2. "Macdonald Brier Records". Curling Canada Stats Archive. Curling Canada. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. Palmer, Kevin (March 8, 2023). "Buried Curling Treasure: London Brier 1974". The Curling News. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  4. "1974 MacDonald Brier - Curling Canada Stats Archive". Archived from the original on 2021-05-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  5. "Ursel's St. Laurent rink Quebec curling champs". Montreal Gazette. February 18, 1974. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  6. "Top Western rinks drawn in opener". The Ottawa Journal. Newspapers.com. Canadian Press. March 4, 1974. p. 17. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  7. BRIER INDIVIDUAL AWARDS & ALL-STAR TEAMS
  8. "EE22_BrierSouvenirProgramFinal.pdf" (PDF). Curling Canada. p. 52. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.


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