Individual Gold and Team Silver medal winner Eric Lamaze is one of twenty two named candidates for this year’s Lou Marsh Trophy. The Trophy honouring Canada’s outstanding athlete of the year will be awarded this month. Read the profiles of each athlete here and browse their stories. Then, scroll down to vote in the poll. If your choice is not on the list, use the comments section at the bottom of the article to pass on your choice.
Who was Lou Marsh?
Lou Marsh was a pioneer of sports journalism who worked for the Toronto Star for 43 years.
A natural athlete, Marsh played on the Toronto Senior Argonaut football team and was a good swimmer. He raced iceboats and small speedboats, and also competed in track and field and lacrosse. In later life, he was a referee for both hockey and boxing, and could also be found at the racetrack, where he served as a steward or judge.
Marsh was just 14 when he answered an ad for an office boy at The Star in 1893. He went on to become an acclaimed writer and editor. His daily column from 1925 to 1936 was entitled “With Pick and Shovel,” a testament to his tenacity in obtaining in-depth analyses of the sporting scene.
He died suddenly in 1936 at age 58.
The Lou Marsh Award
First awarded in 1936, the award goes to Canada’s top athlete, either professional or amateur, as judged by a panel of journalists. It is awarded in December each year.
Made of black marble, the trophy stands about 75 centimetres high. The words “With Pick and Shovel” appear above the engraved names of the winners.
The first winner was middle-distance runner Dr. Phil Edwards in 1936. The record for winning the honour is held by hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, who won the award four times.
More from Horse Sport:
