1961 Macdonald Brier

June 2026 Canadian men's curling championship March 2026 1961 Macdonald Brier Calgary, Alberta Stampede Corral March 6–10 51,575 Alberta Alberta Avenue CC, Edmonton Hec Gervais Ron Anton Ray Werner Wally Ursuliak 1960 1962 The 1961 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 6 to 10, 1961 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta. A total of 51,575 fans attended the event, which was only 150 fans short of the record set in 1955 Brier in Regina.EE22_BrierSouvenirProgramFinal.pdf https://www.curling.ca/files/2022/03/EE22_BrierSouvenirProgramFinal.pdf Curling Canada 25 April 2022 59 25 April 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220425203008/https://www.curling.ca/files/2022/03/EE22_BrierSouvenirProgramFinal.pdf live Due to issues during the 1960 Brier with brooms shredding (causing numerous delays to clean the ice during games), curlers no longer could choose their own broom and instead could only use brooms provided by the Brier committee. Previously, the Brier committee had always supplied brooms, but curlers were permitted to use their own if desired.Choice of Broom No Longer Curler's https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102022721/calgary-herald/ 17 May 2022 Calgary Herald newspapers.com March 7, 1961 7 Team Alberta, skipped by Hec Gervais, captured the Brier Tankard with a record of 9–1 in round robin play. This was the eighth time in which Alberta had captured the Brier championship and the first of two Briers in which Gervais won as a skip. At the age of 27 years and 4 months, Gervais became the youngest skip to win a Brier at the time, surpassing Matt Baldwin's record by six months when he won the 1954 Brier.Bilych George Scott Dunc Thrilling Finish with Ontario https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102032285/calgary-herald/ 17 May 2022 Calgary Herald newspapers.com March 11, 1961 7 Gervais' rink (with Vic Raymer in place of Ron Anton) would go on to complete in the 1961 Scotch Cup in Scotland, and eventually capture Canada's third straight World Championship. Event Summary section June 2026 Heading into the Thursday evening draw (Draw 9), there were seven teams that were mathematically alive to win the 1961 Brier. Alberta was unbeaten with a 7–0 record and two games ahead of second place teams Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, who all tied with 5-2 records. Prince Edward Island was sitting at 5-3 while Northern Ontario and Nova Scotia were both 4–3. That evening, Northern Ontario beat Ontario 12–9, Manitoba would hold off Quebec 14–12, Saskatchewan eliminated Nova Scotia handily 11–3, and PEI handed Alberta their first loss of the tournament with an 11–7 victory. With Alberta's loss, the standings would tighten up heading into the final day of the Brier. The Friday morning draw (Draw 10) saw Saskatchewan beat Ontario 9-5 and Manitoba beat Northern Ontario 6–5, thus eliminating both Ontario and Northern Ontario from championship contention. With Alberta's 12–4 victory over Nova Scotia, thus eliminating PEI who had drawn a bye. The final draw of the tournament on Friday afternoon would come down to Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan with the latter two playing each other. An Alberta loss to Ontario would force a tiebreaker against the winner of the Manitoba/Saskatchewan matchup. In the game on Sheet B between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan led 3-1 after the third end but Ontario would counter and score one in each of the next two ends to tie the game at 3. However, Saskatchewan would score three in the sixth to take a 6–3 lead halfway through the game. Manitoba would cut the lead to 6-5 after a score of two in the seventh, but Saskatchewan would put the game out of reach with three in the eighth and a steal of two in the ninth and eventually beat Manitoba 12–7. Meanwhile, on Sheet C, the Alberta and Ontario game was going in similar fashion as the game was tied 3-3 after four ends. To the delight of the Saskatchewan fans, Ontario would put up three in the fifth and a steal of two in the sixth to go up 8-3 after halfway and would lead 9-4 through eight ends. That delight would be short lived however as Alberta would rally back and tie the game at 9 with four in the eighth and a steal of one in the ninth. After a blank end in the eleventh, it would come down to the final end. With Alberta having the shot rock, it would come down to Ontario skip Thomas Caldwell's final rock. Caldwell threw an out-turn on his final stone, but the stone was too far outside and smashed against the Alberta guard giving Alberta a 10–9 victory for Gervais' first Brier and a spot in the 1961 Scotch Cup. Teams The teams are listed as follows:https://stats.curling.io/macdonald-brier/1961 1961 MacDonald Brier - Curling Canada Stats Archive 2022-05-17 2021-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20210509165305/https://stats.curling.io/macdonald-brier/1961 live white AlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitoba#FFFF00 New BrunswickAlberta Avenue CC, Edmonton Skip: Hec Gervais Third: Ron Anton Second: Ray Werner Lead: Wally UrsuliakPeace Arch CC, White Rock Skip: Tony Folk Third: James Kilburn Second: George Klotz Lead: Neil EybenWest Kildonan CC, Winnipeg Skip: John-David Lyon Third: Leroy Herman Second: William Zaporzan Lead: Leo KelschCampbellton CC, Campbellton Skip: John MacDonald Third: Jack Cummins Second: Reginald Murphy Lead: Guy MarcouxNewfoundlandNorthern Ontariowhite Nova ScotiaOntarioBlomidon CC, Corner Brook Skip: Alexander Fisher Third: Harry Stanley Second: Reginald Goldburg Lead: James TulleyKirkland Lake CC, Kirkland Lake Skip: Jack Polyblank Third: Frank Macdonald Second: Earl MacInnes Lead: Murvin SmithDartmouth CC, Dartmouth Skip: James Florian Third: Peter Hope Second: Kenneth Bell Lead: Donald StanhopeChamplain CC, Orillia Skip: Thomas Caldwell Third: Ross Coward Second: J.A. Behan Lead: Frank MilliganPrince Edward Islandwhite Quebecgold SaskatchewanCharlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Douglas Cameron Third: George Dillon Second: Allison Saunders Lead: Arnold LlewellynWhitlock G & CVC, Hudson Skip: Tom Welch Third: John Crombie Second: Eugene Hodgson Lead: Graham PerryAvonlea CC, Avonlea Skip: John Keys Third: Garnet Campbell Second: Robert Pickering Lead: Glen Campbell Round-robin standings KeyBrier Champion ProvinceSkipWLPFPA Alberta Hec Gervais 9 1 116 74 Saskatchewan John Keys 8 2 106 65 Manitoba 1905 John-David Lyon 7 3 104 93 Northern Ontario Jack Polyblank 6 4 100 87 Prince Edward Island Douglas Cameron 6 4 98 79 Ontario Thomas Caldwell 5 5 86 87 James Florian 5 5 81 100 Tony Folk 5 5 91 83 Tom Welch 2 8 85 119 Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland Alexander Fisher 1 9 74 121 New Brunswick John MacDonald 1 9 77 110 Round-robin results All draw times are listed in Mountain Time (UTC-07:00)The Draw For The Week https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102022553/calgary-herald/ 17 May 2022 Calgary Herald newspapers.com March 6, 1961 1 Draw 1 Monday, March 6 3:00 PM A Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 3 2 1 0 0 12 Ontario (Caldwell) 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 7 B Saskatchewan (Keys) 0 4 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 11 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 5 9 C Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 9 (Folk) 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 10 D Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 6 (Welch) 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 2 3 12 E Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 6 Alberta (Gervais) 0 3 0 1 1 0 4 0 1 1 0 1 12 Draw 2 Monday, March 6 8:00 PM A Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 0 3 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 3 0 12 Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 9 B Alberta (Gervais) 2 3 0 4 0 3 2 0 2 0 1 0 17 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 9 C Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 9 Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 2 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 10 D Ontario (Caldwell) 2 0 0 1 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 11 (Florian) 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 10 E (Folk) 1 0 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 9 Saskatchewan (Keys) 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 10 Draw 3 Tuesday, March 7 9:30 AM A Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 2 0 2 0 15 (Florian) 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 1 7 B (Folk) 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 10 Alberta (Gervais) 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 11 C Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 6 Saskatchewan (Keys) 1 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 3 0 3 0 13 D Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 3 0 0 3 0 2 0 4 1 0 4 0 17 (Welch) 0 4 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 11 E Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 2 1 2 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 13 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 6 Draw 4 Tuesday, March 7 3:00 PM A Saskatchewan (Keys) 4 0 3 4 0 4 2 0 1 0 0 2 20 (Welch) 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 6 B Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 0 1 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 9 (Folk) 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 10 C (Florian) 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 11 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 1 9 D Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 1 9 Ontario (Caldwell) 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 6 E Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 7 Alberta (Gervais) 0 2 0 3 3 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 13 Draw 5 Wednesday, March 8 3:00 PM A New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 5 Ontario (Caldwell) 2 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 9 B Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 7 Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 3 0 11 C (Welch) 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 7 Alberta (Gervais) 0 0 3 1 1 0 4 0 2 0 2 1 14 D Saskatchewan (Keys) 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 8 Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 5 E (Florian) 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 8 (Folk) 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 Draw 6 Wednesday, March 8 8:00 PM A Alberta (Gervais) 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 4 2 13 Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 B (Florian) 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 1 11 Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 8 C Ontario (Caldwell) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 6 (Folk) 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 D New Brunswick (MacDonald) 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 1 0 8 Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 2 0 3 13 E (Welch) 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 4 11 Draw 7 Thursday, March 9 9:30 AM A (Folk) 0 1 0 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 12 Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 B (Welch) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 8 (Florian) 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 9 C Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 12 Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 7 D Alberta (Gervais) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 7 Saskatchewan (Keys) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 6 E Ontario (Caldwell) 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 4 0 13 Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6 Draw 8 Thursday, March 9 3:00 PM A Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 8 Saskatchewan (Keys) 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 6 B Ontario (Caldwell) 1 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 11 (Welch) 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 9 C Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 1 0 3 0 1 1 3 0 4 3 0 1 17 Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 10 D (Folk) 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 8 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 10 E Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 4 13 (Florian) 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 8 Draw 9 Thursday, March 9 8:00 PM A Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 9 New Brunswick (MacDonald) 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 7 B Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 3 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4 12 Ontario (Caldwell) 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 9 C Saskatchewan (Keys) 3 2 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 X X 11 (Florian) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 X X 3 D Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 2 0 1 2 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 11 Alberta (Gervais) 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 7 E Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 3 0 0 0 0 5 0 3 1 0 2 0 14 (Welch) 0 2 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 12 Draw 10 Friday, March 10 9:30 AM A (Florian) 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 Alberta (Gervais) 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 1 12 B Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 6 Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 C New Brunswick (MacDonald) 2 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 (Welch) 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 1 9 D Newfoundland and Labrador 1952 Newfoundland (Fisher) 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 6 (Folk) 0 3 0 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 12 E Saskatchewan (Keys) 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 9 Ontario (Caldwell) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 Draw 11 Friday, March 10 3:00 PM A (Welch) 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 7 (Folk) 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 9 B Saskatchewan (Keys) 1 0 2 0 0 3 0 3 2 0 0 1 12 Manitoba 1905 (Lyon) 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 7 C Alberta (Gervais) 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 1 10 Ontario (Caldwell) 1 0 2 0 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 9 D (Florian) 0 2 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 10 Prince Edward Island (Cameron) 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 7 E New Brunswick (MacDonald) 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 6 Northern Ontario (Polyblank) 0 1 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 2 0 1 10 References External links Video: LcMOWzEqiSg 1961 MacDonald Brier (Calgary, Alberta) Macdonald Brier, 1961 Category:The Brier Category:Curling competitions in Calgary Macdonald Brier Macdonald Brier Category:1960s in Calgary