Hall of Famers: 1988

Hudson, Gordon M.
CURLER-BUILDER
Inducted 1988

Gordon Hudson (1894-1959) was the curler who started Manitoba’s success story in the Macdonald Brier.  He skipped championship teams to back-to-back titles in 1928 and 1929 with one change in personnel.  He had Sam Penwarden, Ron Singbush and Bill Grant in 1928; then Don Rollo, Singbush, and Grant the following years.

Hudson made the Manitoba Curling Association Bonspiel his own “happy hunting ground”.  He was just 20 years old and they called him the “Boy Wonder” when he tied for his first Grand Aggregate title in 1914.  He skipped his team to three more Aggregate titles in 1922, 1923, and 1928 and tied for a fifth title in 1941.

Over the years he accumulated a remarkable collection of bonspiel silverware – winning at least 28 trophies.

In City Championship competition he won five times – in 1921, 1929, 1930, 1932 and 1937.

Hudson gave back to the game as a builder.  He was president and secretary of Winnipeg’s Strathcona Curling Club.  He was made an Honourary Life Member of the Strathcona in 1945.  At the Strathcona he was selected as the most illustrious curler in the club’s first 50 years.

He was MCA President in 1934-1935 and later had a period as its secretary.  In 1949-1950 he guided the Dominion Curling Association as president. He was made an Honourary Life Member of the Manitoba Curling Association in 1945 and of the Canadian Curling Association in 1952.

Ken Watson, a curler who followed Hudson to national stardom, once paid the ultimate tribute to Hudson.  He called him the “greatest curler of all time”.

This “gentleman curler” from the Strathcona Curling Club was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1974), the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame (team category) in 1998.

W.E. (Bill) Lumsden (1907 – 1982) may have been the most inspirational leader and builder that curling has ever had in Manitoba and Canada.  For many he was simply “Father Curling”, a centre of influence, a man who walked with the greats of his sport but never lost the common touch.  He was a gifted speaker, and he earned the respect and support of curlers everywhere with a persuasive eloquence.

He was a member of the Elmwood Curling Club for 53 years and liked to refer to it as “the Garden of Eden”.  He served as its president in 1938 -1939 and as its secretary for 15 years.

He advanced to guide the Manitoba Curling Association as president in 1947 – 1948.  Later in 1967 – 1968, he became one of the most dynamic presidents in the history of the Canadian Curling Association.

Bill Lumsden is credited with the international diplomacy that led to the agreement with Air Canada to sponsor the World Curling Championship in 1968.

He was chairman of the Macdonald Brier in 1970 in Winnipeg and played a prominent role in the organization of the 1978 Silver Broom.

Each year, from 1983 to 2007, the Bill Lumsden Memorial Award was presented to an “unsung hero or heroine” in Manitoba curling circles.

W.E. Lumsden was made an Honourary Life Member of the Canadian Curling Association in 1969 is a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.

Lumsden, William E. (Bill) BUILDER
Inducted 1988

Welsh, Jimmy
CURLER
Inducted 1988

Jimmy Welsh (1910-1988) started curling at the Deer Lodge Curling Club in Winnipeg in 1925 and was honored for 50 years of continuous club curling at that club in 1975.  In his career Jimmy Welsh has competed provincially 23 times and nationally 4 times.

Welsh is synonymous with the “running” game in Canadian Curling history.  He was one of the finest hitters curling has ever seen but also retained a remarkable touch for draw weight.

His foursome of Alex Welsh, Jock Reid and Harry Monk won the Canadian Championship title with a perfect 9 and 0 record at the Brier in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1947.  This team curled together for 15 years; going to the Brier again in Edmonton in 1954.

He also has 2 previous Brier appearances as second for John Douglas in 1933 and as a skip in 1937.

Welsh won the Grand Aggregate title in the Manitoba Curling Association Bonspiel 3 times in 1937, 1949 and 1952.  He won the premier Birks Trophy 5 times and the Eaton Trophy twice.

Welsh also served the administrative side of curling.  He was president of the Deer Lodge Curling Club in 1941 -1942 and president of the Manitoba Curling Association in 1964-1965.

Jimmy Welsh was an Honourary Life member of the MCA (1966) and an inductee of the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1983).

Howard Wood (1888-1978) is one of curling’s great legends.  His achievements covered a span of over 70 years and he is listed in the renowned Guinness Book of Records for having curled in 68 consecutive Manitoba Curling Association Bonspiels from 1909 through 1976.  While competing over these many years he won at least 36 MCA Bonspiel awards.

He won the Manitoba championship 4 times in 1925, 1930, 1940, and 1945; then competed in 3 Macdonald Briers.  Howard Wood won as skip in 1930, played third as a replacement on Jim Congalton’s team when they won in 1932 and was back to skip his Granite team to victory in 1940 at the Winnipeg Amphitheatre (when for the first time the Brier was played outside of Toronto.)  In 1945 there was no Brier as national competition was suspended due to World War II.

Howard Wood played on teams winning the Grand Aggregate title of the Manitoba Curling Association Bonspiel 8 times.  He accomplished this while curling for Mac Braden in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1915 and later as a skip in 1925, 1930, 1933 and 1940.

He also had the distinction of winning the first car bonspiel in Nipawin, Saskatchewan in 1947.

“Pappy” Wood received many acknowledgements for his curling prowess: Honourary Life Member of the Manitoba Curling Association (1952), and honoured inductee of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1981), the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1974) and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1977).

Wood, Howard (Sr)
CURLER
Inducted 1988

Casselman – 1965 TEAM Canadian Champions
Inducted 1988

The 1965 Canadian Women’s Champions included skip Peggy Casselman with Val Taylor (third), Pat McDonald (second), and Pat Scott (lead).

In 1965, the Casselman Team won the first Canadian Women’s Championship for Manitoba with an 8W – 1L round robin record.  The team made up of four skips from Winnipeg Wildewood Club, captured the Clay Law Shield as Grand Aggregate winners and the premier Lady Eaton event in the 1966 MLCA bonspiel.  In 1967, they were the finalists for the provincial title.

The proficiency and style this national championship team displayed set the standard for future women curlers.

Peggy as an individual curler played third for Barry Fry on the Canadian Mixed Championship team in 1973.  She also threw lead stones for Joan Ingram’s team in the 1989 Senior Women’s Provincial Championship.