1927 Macdonald Brier

The 1927 Macdonald Brier Tankard, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held March 1–3 at the Granite Club in Toronto. This edition of the Brier would be the first, with it also being the first time it was hosted in Ontario, and the first time it was hosted in Toronto's Granite Club.

1927 Macdonald Brier Tankard
Host city	Toronto, Ontario
Arena	Granite Club, Toronto
Dates	March 1–3, 1927
Winner	Nova Scotia
Curling club	Halifax CC, Halifax
Skip	Murray MacNeill
Third	Al MacInnes
Second	Cliff Torey
Lead	Jim Donahoe
Finalist	New Brunswick
1928 »

Skip Murray MacNeill of Nova Scotia would win the inaugural tournament, leading his rink of skips (his original team couldn't make the trip) to victory.

The event began with an opening banquet with Ontario Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross and Ontario Premier Howard Ferguson welcoming players.[1]

Event Summary

After successful trips by the winner of the Manitoba Bonspiel in 1925 and their participation in the Quebec Bonspiel being deemed popular enough to consider a national tournament in 1926, the Stewart brothers of Macdonald Tobacco would sponsor what would become the Brier in 1927. Played at the Granite Club in Toronto, the tournament would feature teams from four provinces, two cities, and a representative from Western Canada and Northern Ontario, the latter becoming a fixture at the Brier. It would be the only Brier that would have all games go 14 ends (with two games going to a 15th end to break ties)[2]

Teams

The teams are listed as follows:[3]

Nova Scotia	New Brunswick	Quebec	Montreal
Halifax CC, Halifax Skip: Murray MacNeill Third: Al MacInnes Second: Cliff Torey Lead: Jom Donahoe	Saint John Composite Rink* Skip: Johnny Malcolm Third: Fred Beatteay Second: Reg Shives Lead: Elbridge MacKay	Quebec CC, Quebec City Skip: Major Robert Whyte Third: Robert Morton Second: Malcolm Holliday Lead: Joe Power	Granite CA, Montreal Skip: Peter Lyall Third: Willie Brown Second: Howard Stewart Lead: Bruce Stewart
Toronto	Ontario	Northern Ontario	Western Canada
High Park CC, Toronto Skip: William Scott Third: Ed Peaker Second: Thomas Wright Lead: Fred Lucas	Sarnia CC, Sarnia Skip: Bob McKenzie Third: William Watson Second: J. M. Hunt Lead: Harry Watson	Haileybury, Haileybury Skip: Emmett Smith Third: Dunc Sutherland Second: Dan Millar Lead: Mel Hunt	Yellow Grass CC, Yellow Grass, SK Skip: Oswald Barkwell Third: Alf Hill Second: Hector Hay Lead: Pete Wilken

*Malcolm curled out of the Thistle Curling Club in Saint John, Beatteay out of the St. Andrews Curling Club in Saint John, Shives out of the Campbellton Curling Club (Campbellton) and MacKay out of the Bathurst Curling Club (Bathurst)[4]

Standings

Province	Skip	Club	City	W	L
Nova Scotia	Murray Macneill	Halifax CC	Halifax	6	1
New Brunswick	Johnny Malcolm	Saint John Composite Rink	Saint John	5	2
Toronto	William Scott	High Park CC	Toronto	4	3
Northern Ontario	Emmett Smith	Haileybury CC	Haileybury	3	4
Ontario	Bob McKenzie	Sarnia CC	Sarnia	3	4
Western Canada[5]	Oswald Barkwell	Yellow Grass CC	Yellow Grass	3	4
Quebec	Major Robert Whyte	Quebec CC	Quebec	2	5
Montreal[6]	Peter Lyall	Granite CC	Montreal	2	5

Note: The Oswald Barkwell rink represented all of Western Canada in this tournament, but were from Saskatchewan.

Scores

March 1

Draw 1 (morning)[7]

• Ontario 13-12 Western Canada
• Nova Scotia 13-10 Quebec
• Montreal 15-7 Northern Ontario
• Toronto 11-9 New Brunswick

Draw 2 (afternoon)

• New Brunswick 16-14 Nova Scotia
• Western Canada 13-8 Montreal
• Toronto 13-5 Quebec
• Northern Ontario 11-9 Ontario

March 2

Draw 3 (morning)[8]

• New Brunswick 16-10 Ontario
• Quebec 14-8 Montreal
• Western Canada 17-15 Toronto
• Nova Scotia 15-4 Northern Ontario

Draw 4 (afternoon)

• Northern Ontario 11-10 Toronto (15)
• Nova Scotia 12-9 Western Canada
• Ontario 15-13 Quebec
• Montreal 11-10 New Brunswick[9][10]

Draw 5 (evening)

• Nova Scotia 14-10 Toronto
• New Brunswick 13-5 Quebec
• Ontario 10-8 Montreal
• Western Canada 11-9 Northern Ontario

March 3

Draw 6 (morning)

• Nova Scotia 13-9 Montreal[9]
• New Brunswick 12-11 Western Canada [11]
• Toronto def. Ontario
• Northern Ontario 11-10 Quebec (15)[12]

Draw 7 (afternoon)[13]

• Nova Scotia 13-9 Ontario
• Quebec 11-9 Western Canada
• Toronto 13-10 Montreal
• New Brunswick 16-8 Northern Ontario

Team selection

Teams were chosen by invitation. Many provinces had yet to have provincial championships.[14]

• Western Canada: Winners of the "Macdonald Brier event" playoff between Manitoba and Saskatchewan.[15]
• Nova Scotia: "Four best players (in the province)." Macneill was chosen as winner of the Johnson Cup.
• Montreal: Amalgamation rink.
• Ontario: A selection of the winners of the Ontario Tankard[16]
• Toronto: Winners of the Canada Life trophy.
• Quebec: Winners of the Quebec Bonspiel.[17]

References

1. Weeks, Bob; The Brier, pg 32
2. Tim Hortons Brier#History
3. http://soudogcurling.tripod.com/Brier/1927.htm
4. 2017 Brier Media Guide: Previous Rosters
5. http://sasksportshalloffame.com/inductees/1927-ozzie-barkwell-curling-team/
6. http://www.curling.ca/hof/people/lyall-lt-col-peter-d-l/
7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AbwtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5YsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6808%2C272828
8. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ArwtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5YsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3540%2C402671
9. The Curling News [@curling] (March 4, 2019). "@CurlingMath @brad_savvy73 @mikeharriscurls @TSNCurling @BobWeeksTSN Don't get us started. First page we turned to... #Brier1927 t.co/F8qTDi7ELr" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
10. The Curling News [@curling] (March 4, 2019). "@EarlWashburn @CurlingMath @curlinggeek @brad_savvy73 @mikeharriscurls @TSNCurling @BobWeeksTSN t.co/PUOLX6nrb7" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Twitter.
11. "Halifax rink wins Canadian Championship". Edmonton Journal. March 4, 1927. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
12. http://soudogcurling.tripod.com/Brier/BrierRecords.pdf
13. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A7wtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5YsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6755%2C551972
14. Weeks, Bob; The Brier, pp 22-25
15. "Ossie Barkwell to Curl at Winnipeg". Regina Leader-Post. February 21, 1927. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
16. "Dominion Curling Tourney Proposed". Montreal Gazette. October 18, 1926. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
17. "Eight in First Brier". Regina Leader-Post. March 6, 1976. Retrieved October 10, 2020.