PODCAST · sports
Curling Legends Podcast
by Kevin Palmer
Conversations with the players and storytellers who shaped Curling from the 1940's to the modern era.
Episodes
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Episode 101 - Team Bruce Roberts
Bruce Roberts was intense. Disappointments at the 1966 and '67 World Championships drove him to push his young recruits to the top of the podium at the 1976 Air Canada Silver Broom in Duluth, Minnesota. The episode opens on a group discussion which took place in 2022, featuring Bruce, his younger...
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Episode 100 - Kerry Burtnyk
Kerry Burtnyk was a gambler. He pioneered an aggressive style of play that puzzled and panicked his opponents. Inspired by the Kenny Rogers song, the young team from Winnipeg attempted a freeze on their first stone of the 1981 Brier. A week later Burtnyk, barely 22 years old, became the youngest...
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Special Episode - Colleen Jones
This episode is a rerelease of the Around The House Podcast from January 28, 2015. Colleen Jones joined hosts Kevin Palmer and Gerry Guerts to discuss many topics, including curling in Halifax, the 2014 Olympics, relegation, Brad Gushue's struggles at the Brier, and preview the 2015 Scotties....
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Episode 99 - John Kawaja
John Kawaja was obsessed. His competitive drive led to a Brier Championship as second for Ed Werenich in 1983 when John was just 21 years old. Joined by third Paul Savage and lead Neil Harrison, the "Dream Team" went on to win the men's World Championship, then known as the Air Canada Silver…
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Episode 98 - Bob Nichols
Bob Nichols was on a mission. His goals were to become an accountant and a curling world champion. Bob captured his first Air Canada Silver Broom in 1974, playing third for Bud Somerville. It was the inagural season for the team from Wisconsin, which included Bill Strum and Tom Locken at front…
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Episode 97 - Beau Welling
Beau Welling followed a peculiar path. From studying physics to designing golf courses and eventually becoming the President of World Curling. Beau shares his origin story and how the cancellation of a European business trip led him on a quest to explore curling in Bemidji, Minnesota. Beau offers...
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Episode 96 - Ken Horton, Part 2
In Part 2 of my conversation with Ken Horton we begin after the 1977 men's world championship, progressing to the 1983 worlds and the controversy surrounding Swedish corn brooms. Ken shares an assortment of stories including a Paul Gowsell tale, tin foil at the 1989 worlds and a trouser mishap…
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Episode 95 - Ken Horton, Part 1
Ken Horton was obsessed about curling. He honed his skills at the Crossmyloof Ice Rink in Glasgow, eventually teaming with skip Robert Kelly and the front end of Willie Jamieson and Keith Douglas to win the Scottish Junior Mens title in 1976. They were the home team at the Uniroyal Junior Men's...
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Episode 94 - Andrea Schoepp
Andrea Schoepp could focus on the game and nothing else. Her skills developed from curling outdoors with her family in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At the age of fifteen, Andrea skipped her team, including her mother Elinore at third and Monika Wagner at lead, to a bronze medal at the European...
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Episode 93 - Toby McDonald
Toby McDonald always chose to wake up with a smile. From his beginnings at the St. John's Curling Club, Toby had a passion for the sport and its evolution in Newfoundland and Labrador. His crowning acheivement was winning the Brier in 1976 with skip Jack MacDuff and the front end of Doug Hudson…
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Special Episode - Don Finkbeiner
Don Finkbeiner speaks at the banquet celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Manitoba Men's Provincial Curling Championship. Resby Coutts provides the introduction and later shares a story of Mark Olson's grandfather in-law's dog to close out the evening.
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Episode 92 - Bryan Wood
Bryan Wood led the seventies. Woody learned to curl on a two sheet natural ice club in the small community of Justice, Manitoba. His legacy began when he was recruited by Don Duguid at a urinal in the Granite Curling Club. He went on to become the first player to win five purple hearts in…
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Episode 91 - Ron Braunstein
Ron Braunstein missed the Scotch Cup. Committed to his exams, Gordon McTavish went in Ron's place and Canada lost its first world championship in men's curling in 1965. Back in 1958, Gord had helped Ron and brother Terry join the men's league at the Granite Curling Club, becoming the first Jewish...
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Episode 90 - George Fink
George Fink is unflappable. Raised on a farm in Saskatchewan, he began curling with his family on a two sheet club with natural ice. George won the Brier and World Championship in 1966 as third for Ron Northcott. The team, which included Bernie Sparkes and Fred Storey at front end, started as an...
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Episode 89 - John Cullen/Warren Hansen
John Cullen joins Kevin to discuss his new podcast series Broomgate: A Curling Scandal. John explains how the project came together, what he learned through the experience and what surprised him. John shares stories left out of the show and they discuss how sweeping is impacting the sport today....
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Episode 88 - Dorenda Bailey
Dorenda Bailey did it all by twenty-two. Growing up in Moose Jaw, a provincial High School championship was followed by multiple collegiate victories representing the University of Saskatchewan. Junior girls curling was limited to regional events in the sixties but the women's ranks offered a...
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Episode 87 - Jim Waite
Jim Waite learned honour in curling at an early age. Playing lead in a bonspiel final, their opponent's last stone picked and Jim's skip, Don Anderson, allowed Alfie Phillips Sr. to throw it again. Jim got his purple heart in 1968, winning Ontario as second for Don Gilbert. He later moved to...
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Episode 86 - Susan Seitz
Susan Seitz kept knocking at the door. After winning an Alberta Junior Championship in 1968 it would take 13 years and several close calls before capturing her first women's provincial championship. Susan and third Judy Erickson, second Myrna McKay and lead Betty McCracken, travelled east to St....
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Episode 85 - Larry McGrath
Larry McGrath rode horses to the curling club. His father would take him via horse and sleigh on Saturday mornings to practice on a sheet of natural ice in Dodsland, Saskatchewan. Larry honed his skills in local bonspiels as a teenager and eventually came up against the famous Richardsons, and…
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Episode 84 - Eugene Hritzuk
Eugene Hritzuk walked over to curl after hockey practice. Planted in goal with no face mask, the team took shots at him. After one puck whizzed past Eugene's ear and another hit him in the collarbone, it was time to try a safer sport. Strapping on suspenders and gnawing on straw from his corn...
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Episode 83 - Hersh Lerner/Wally Ursuliak and Will Pacarynuk
Hersh Lerner says if you're not nervous it's BS. Hersh grew up in Winnipeg, learning to curl at the Maple Leaf Curling Club. His talent for golf was matched by his prowess on the ice, scoring three 8-enders in one season. Joined by Coleman Staniloff, Robert Lemecha and Allan Dudar, Hersh first…
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Episode 82 - George Karrys
George Karrys bought The Curling News. February 15, 2023 was the 25th anniversary of the Olympic men's curling final in Nagano, Japan. George and teammates Mike Harris, Richard Hart and Collin Mitchell of Canada won a silver medal after losing to Patrick Hurlimann of Switzerland. Five years…
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Episode 81 - Heather Houston
Heather Houston isn't a stereotypical skip. She never felt a need to be the centre of attention, often avoiding the limelight. When Heather and Lorraine Lang formed a new team in 1987 with Diane Adams and Tracy Kennedy at front end, quick success made it difficult to evade public attention. After...
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Episode 80 - Al Hackner
Al Hackner always concentrated on the game. His deep focus, cool demeanor and absence of emotional display led to his nickname "the Iceman". Al's partnership with third Rick Lang in 1979 led to four trips to the Brier final in the next 6 years. They won their first in 1982 with Bob Nicol and…
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Episode 79 - Joe Gurowka
Joe Gurowka believes curling associations need to engage players. He shared this perspective in his retiring address as Ontario Curling Association (OCA) president in 1984. Joe's career as a player and administrator covers over half a century. He skipped Tom Howat, Ken Ingo and Donald Mackey...
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Episode 78 - Orest Meleschuk
Orest Meleschuk could accept when an opponent threw a good stone. But he was less tolerant when chaff from a corn broom turned a terrible miss into a made shot. In 1972 the luck of the chaff fell his way and together with third Dave Romano, second John Hanesiak and lead Pat Hailley, they won the...
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Episode 77 - Georgina Wheatcroft
Georgina Wheatcroft always wanted to be an Olympian. Initially kept out of the evaluation camps, she needed a Scotties victory with Pat Sanders in 1987 to qualify for the first ever Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. She eventually reached her goal, winning bronze at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake...
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Episode 76 - Don Lewis
Don Lewis was an innovator. Being a curling icemaker in the 1970s was as much art as science. Don learned the craft in Saskatchewan, honed his skills with winter sojourns to Toronto in the early sixties and eventually became head icemaker for 14 Briers and 18 World Championships. He was inducted...
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Episode 75 - Erika Brown
Erika Brown started young. At the age of 15 she qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games and would compete in her first World Junior Championships a month after her appearance in Calgary. Erika shares her experiences growing up in the first family of Madison curling, playing third for Lisa…
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Special Episode - Jim Wilson
There are many legendary nicknames in curling. The Wrench, Snake, Moose, Arrow, Ice Man and the Round-Mound-Of-Come-Around are only a few. But you may not have heard the legend of "Rock Bottom". Coach for Team Epping at the 2021 Tim Horton's Brier is Jim Wilson, aka R.B. Jim shares the origin of...
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Episode 74 - Rae Kells/Donna Boyle
Rae Kells was prepared for the challenge. Her experience as a probations officer provided ideal training for work as a curling official. Her steady approach to controversial finishes at the 1993 Canadian Junior Women's and '94 Junior Men's championships led to nearly 3 decades officiating…
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Episode 73 - Don Aitken
Don Aitken misses corn brooms. With two players pounding in unison, the sound and rhythm was a thing of beauty. In the 1970s, Don practiced on linoleum during summer months and by winter, helped sweep up purple hearts, winning Quebec Provincial titles throughout the decade-first with skip Bill…
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Episode 72 - Terry Jones
Terry Jones wanted to have fun. As a kid he ran errands for the press box during the local baseball tournament and saw the thrill of being a sportswriter. Over his career "Jonesy" has covered it all, including succeeding Don "Buckets" Flemming as the curling scribe for the Edmonton Journal. Terry...
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Episode 71 - Elaine Dagg-Jackson
Elaine Dagg-Jackson pursued her passion to coach curling. The decision led her to amazing experiences across the globe and eventually her dream job as National Women's Coach with Curling Canada. Her introduction to the sport came from father Lyall, winner of the 1964 Brier and World Championship....
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Episode 70 - Bert Gretzinger
Bert Gretzinger has a few stories to tell. Born in Winnipeg, he spent his middle-school years in Calgary and eventually landed in Vancouver, winning his first purple heart as vice for Bernie Sparkes in 1976. After moving to Kelowna, Bert next won the BC Provincials in 1989 with Rick Folk. They…
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Episode 69 - Resby Coutts
Resby Coutts is a real life Les Nessman. Farm reporting was the primary job but having been a member of the Murray Nye team that lost the final of the 1981 Manitoba Tankard, curling was added to his radio duties. Resby shares how starting early at a one sheet club sparked a lifetime in the…
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Episode 68 - Lindsay Sparkes
Lindsay Sparkes was driven by a desire to improve rather than by competition. Leaving figure skating for curling she replaced judges with a scoreboard and by focusing on her own ability, eventually the winning took care of itself. Joined by childhood friends Dawn Knowles, Robin Klassen and…
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Episode 67 - Glen Jackson/Doug Wilson
Glen Jackson was young and brash but made a mature decision when it mattered. A coin flip to determine who would be third for Paul Gowsell on their high school rink went to Neil Houston and Glen chose to stay with the team. Joined by Kelly Stearne at lead, the long haired teenagers with their…
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Episode 66 - Matt Hames/Warren Hansen
Matt Hames was a mad man. Once a copywriter, just like fictional TV character Don Draper, Matt gave up three martini lunches at Bay and Bloor for six packs and road trips to bonspiels in Thunder Bay and a chance to make the Olympics. After falling short to reach the 1997 Olympic Trials with John...
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Episode 65 - John Ferguson
John Ferguson developed management skills from behind the tee-line. Dealing with a contentious boardroom seemed easy after numerous years as vice for two of the most eccentric skips in curling history. As third for Paul Gowsell, John won the 1977 Canadian Juniors and 1978 Uniroyal World...
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Episode 64 - Guy Hemmings
Guy Hemmings found curling by accident. Having moved to Montreal for University, during a Sunday morning walk he saw a sign to try curling at the Outremont Club. This chance encounter would eventually lead him to skip Quebec to the Brier finals. Twice. Guy, along with Pierre Charette, Guy...
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Episode 63 - Alison Goring
Alison Goring likes to be around people. Socializing was also a form of sports psychology. She couldn't face the alternative of quiet solitude in a hotel room the night before a big game. Alison won the 1983 Canada Winter Games and Canadian Juniors with Kristin Holman (now Turcotte), Cheryl...
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Episode 62 - Julie Skinner
Julie Skinner was always driven. Recognizing this, she was hesitant to return to curling when Kelley Law asked her to play third years after she'd stepped away. With the support of her family, Julie jumped head first into her second act and it led to a World Championship and Olympic medal. We...
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Episode 61 - Don Bartlett, Part 3
Don Bartlett returns for more conversation. He shares thoughts on the Brier boycott era and Team Martin with Carter Rycroft. Don discusses the Ferbey Four, playing a bonspiel with Paul Gowsell, split times and 5 rock Free Guard Zone. You can also hear Don Bartlett on Episodes 39 and 40.
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Episode 60 - Peter Gallant
Peter Gallant never took to skating. His father was a hockey coach and while his older brother reached for a stick and puck, he chose a broom and slider. His choice led to nine Brier appearances with Prince Edward Island and a Canadian Mixed title in 1987. Peter started coaching with son Brett,...
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Episode 59 - Ray Grant
Ray Grant's father Andy felt one trip to the Brier was enough. After skipping Ontario at the first Regina Brier in 1955, Andy's experience was so fantastic he believed every competitive curler should be given a chance to go. However, they did return to the 1958 Brier in Victoria, with Murray...
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Episode 58 - Bernie Sparkes
Bernie Sparkes loves the Brier. From his first purple heart as second for Ron Northcott in 1966 to his twelfth and final appearance skipping British Columbia in 1987, every visit to the Canadian Men's Curling Championship meant as much as the last. Bernie shares stories of the highs and lows at…
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Episode 57 - Earle Morris
Earle Morris always knew how to prepare. Years before appearing in a Brier he studied the best teams, collecting binders of notes on how to approach the game. Travelling with the military made it difficult to establish himself but eventually Earle skipped Team Manitoba at the Brier in 1980. He…
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Episode 56 - Pat Sanders
Pat Sanders was always determined to knock over obstacles. Still a knee slider when starting university, she changed her delivery and fought to make the school team, later moving from toe slide to flat foot to improve even further. Reaching the womens ranks, she by-passed the pecking order of...
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Epsiode 55 - Larry Wood
Larry Wood doesn't like puff pieces. He became editor of the Tankard Times, a daily newspaper at the Brier, on one condition; he wasn't going to pull any punches. As columnist at the Calgary Herald, Larry was scribe to many of the greatest moments in curling history. His first Brier was 1960 in...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Conversations with the players and storytellers who shaped Curling from the 1940's to the modern era.
HOSTED BY
Kevin Palmer
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Curling Legends Podcast have?
Curling Legends Podcast currently has 104 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Curling Legends Podcast about?
Conversations with the players and storytellers who shaped Curling from the 1940's to the modern era.
How often does Curling Legends Podcast release new episodes?
Curling Legends Podcast publishes regularly with 104 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Curling Legends Podcast?
You can listen to Curling Legends Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Curling Legends Podcast?
Curling Legends Podcast is created and hosted by Kevin Palmer.
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