Award for Canada's top athlete
The
Northern Star Award
,
[1]
formerly known as the
Lou Marsh Trophy
, the
Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy
[2]
and
Lou Marsh Award
,
[3]
[4]
is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top
athlete
, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936. It was named in honour of
Lou Marsh
, a prominent Canadian athlete, referee, and former sports editor of the
Toronto Star
. The trophy is made of black marble and stands around 75 centimetres high. The words "With Pick and Shovel" (the name of Marsh's long-running
Star
column) appear above the engraved names of the winners.
[3]
The voting panel consists of sports media voters from across the country
[5]
including representatives from the
Toronto Star
,
The Canadian Press
,
FAN590
,
The Globe and Mail
,
CBC
,
Rogers Sportsnet
,
CTV/TSN
,
La Presse
and the
National Post
.
[6]
The award has been awarded 79 times and won by 62 individual athletes and three pairs; in the voting for the 2018 Lou Marsh Trophy, it was decided that in the future pairs should not be eligible for the trophy, thereby disqualifying
Tessa Virtue
/
Scott Moir
from consideration.
[7]
Wayne Gretzky
won the trophy four times, more than any other athlete, while
Barbara Ann Scott
won the trophy three times, more than any other woman. It was not awarded from 1942 to 1944 due to
World War II
.
There were ties between different athletes in 1978 and 2020 with
soccer
player
Alphonso Davies
&
American football
player
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
as the most recent co-winners.
[8]
In 1982, Rick Hansen was the auxiliary award of special merit winner (he won nine gold medals at the Pan-American Wheelchair Games) alongside first-time winner Wayne Gretzky, "who was the unanimous choice of the selection committee".
[9]
On November 16, 2022, it was announced that the award would be renamed from the Lou Marsh Award to the Northern Star Award "after concerns were raised about racist language used by Marsh, who died in 1936, during his years of sportswriting."
[1]
Winners
[
edit
]
- Key
Winners by sport
[
edit
]
Not included in this table are
Terry Fox
and
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
, as their respective wins were based on their social contributions, rather than their participation in a sport in general. Fox was awarded for the
Marathon of Hope
; Duvernay-Tardif was awarded for opting out of playing in the
2020 NFL season
for the
Kansas City Chiefs
after winning
Super Bowl LIV
to work as an
orderly
at a
long-term care facility
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"There's a new name to honour Canada's top athlete ? The Northern Star Award"
.
The Toronto Star
. 2022-11-16.
- ^
"Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy"
.
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
. Archived from
the original
on December 6, 2008
. Retrieved
2007-12-11
.
- ^
a
b
"Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh award"
.
Toronto Star
. 2007-12-11
. Retrieved
2007-12-11
.
- ^
"Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh Award"
.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. 2007-12-11
. Retrieved
2007-12-11
.
- ^
Dave Perkins (2006-12-12).
"Turin queen reigns in 2006"
.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
2007-12-12
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
"Petitclerc wins 2008 Lou Marsh Award"
.
The Sports Network
. 2008-12-09. Archived from
the original
on 2011-05-22
. Retrieved
2008-12-09
.
- ^
Kelly, Cathal (2018-12-11).
"Congrats to Kingsbury on the Lou Marsh Trophy. Now here's who should have won"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
2019-08-17
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Davies, Duvernay-Tardif named co-winners of 2020 Lou Marsh Trophy"
. Toronto:
The Sports Network
. December 8, 2020
. Retrieved
December 8,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Another honor for Oiler star"
. 1982-12-17
. Retrieved
2020-12-09
.
- ^
"Fox's courage earns him Marsh Award"
. 1980-12-18
. Retrieved
2020-12-09
.
- ^
"Gretzky snares award again"
. 1983-12-22
. Retrieved
2020-12-09
.
- ^
The Canadian Press (2009-12-15).
"Crosby beats out Kucera, Nash for Lou Marsh Award"
.
The Sports Network
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-12-18
. Retrieved
2009-12-15
.
- ^
The Canadian Press (2010-12-14).
"Votto wins Lou Marsh Award as Canada's athlete of the year"
.
The Sports Network
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-12-17
. Retrieved
2010-12-14
.
- ^
The Toronto Star (2011-12-14).
"Patrick Chan wins Lou Marsh award"
.
The Toronto Star
. Retrieved
2012-12-13
.
- ^
"Christine Sinclair wins Lou Marsh Award"
. 2012-12-10
. Retrieved
2012-12-10
.
- ^
"Stamps' Cornish wins Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Top Athlete"
. 2013-12-09. Archived from
the original
on 2013-12-12
. Retrieved
2013-12-09
.
- ^
"Bobsled pilot Kaillie Humphries wins the Lou Marsh award as Canada's top athlete"
.
Winnipeg Free Press
. December 11, 2014. Archived from
the original
on December 13, 2014
. Retrieved
December 11,
2014
.
- ^
"Canadiens goaltender Price wins Lou Marsh Trophy"
.
NHL
. 15 December 2015.
- ^
"Price earns the Lou Marsh Award"
.
Montreal Canadiens
. 15 December 2015.
- ^
"Swimmer Penny Oleksiak wins Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete"
.
The Globe and Mail
. December 13, 2016.
- ^
"Reds Slugger Joey Votto Wins Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Top Athlete"
.
Sportsnet
. December 12, 2017. Archived from
the original
on December 13, 2017.
- ^
"Moguls skier Mikael Kingsbury wins 2018 Lou Marsh award - Sportsnet.ca"
.
- ^
Armstrong, Laura (December 9, 2019).
"Bianca Andreescu named unanimous winner of Lou Marsh Award"
. Toronto Star
. Retrieved
December 9,
2019
.
- ^
"Damian Warner crowned Canada's top athlete of 2021 with Lou Marsh Trophy"
.
Cbc.ca
. Retrieved
December 9,
2021
.
- ^
"Hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin named Canada's top athlete of 2022"
.
Cbc.ca
. Retrieved
December 7,
2022
.
- ^
"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins Northern Star Award as Canada's athlete of the year"
.
sportsnet.ca
. Retrieved
December 11,
2023
.
External links
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