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Northern Star Award

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Hockey player Wayne Gretzky has won the Northern Star Award four times, more than any other 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 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, 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 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 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

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Kurt Browning, 1990 winner
Donovan Bailey, 1996 winner
Jacques Villeneuve, 1995 and 1997 winner
Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, 2001 winners
Mike Weir, 2003 winner
Adam van Koeverden, 2004 winner
Steve Nash, 2005 winner
Sidney Crosby, 2007 and 2009 winner
Joey Votto, 2010 and 2017 winner
Penny Oleksiak, 2016 winner
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, 2020 winner
Key
Year Winner Sport Win #
1936 Phil Edwards * Track and field 1
1937 Marshal Cleland Equestrian 1
1938 Bobby Pearce Rowing 1
1939 Bob Pirie Swimming 1
1940 Gérard Côté * Marathon 1
1941 Theo Dubois Rowing 1
1942 None
1943
1944
1945 Barbara Ann Scott Figure skating 1
1946 Joe Krol * Canadian football 1
1947 Barbara Ann Scott ^ Figure skating 2
1948 Barbara Ann Scott ^ Figure skating 3
1949 Cliff Lumsdon Swimming 1
1950 Bob McFarlane Canadian football & track and field 1
1951 Marlene Streit Golf 1
1952 George Genereux Shooting 1
1953 Doug Hepburn * Weightlifting 1
1954 Marilyn Bell ^ Swimming 1
1955 Beth Whittall Swimming 1
1956 Marlene Streit ^ Golf 2
1957 Maurice Richard * Hockey 1
1958 Lucile Wheeler ^ Alpine skiing 1
1959 Barbara Wagner & Bob Paul Figure skating 1
1960 Anne Heggtveit ^ Alpine skiing 1
1961 Bruce Kidd * Track and field 1
1962 Donald Jackson Figure skating 1
1963 Bill Crothers Track and field 1
1964 Roger Jackson & George Hungerford Rowing 1
1965 Petra Burka ^ Figure skating 1
1966 Elaine Tanner ^ Swimming 1
1967 Nancy Greene ^ Alpine skiing 1
1968 Nancy Greene ^ Alpine skiing 2
1969 Russ Jackson * Canadian football 1
1970 Bobby Orr * Hockey 1
1971 Hervé Filion Harness racing 1
1972 Phil Esposito * Hockey 1
1973 Sandy Hawley Horse racing 1
1974 Ferguson Jenkins * Baseball 1
1975 Bobby Clarke * Hockey 1
1976 Sandy Hawley Horse racing 2
1977 Guy Lafleur * Hockey 1
1978 Graham Smith Swimming 1
Ken Read * Alpine skiing
1979 Sandra Post ^ Golf 1
1980 Terry Fox[10] Marathon of Hope 1
1981 Susan Nattrass Shooting 1
1982 Wayne Gretzky * Hockey 1
Rick Hansen[9] Wheelchair racing
1983 Wayne Gretzky *[11] Hockey 2
1984 Gaétan Boucher Speed skating 1
1985 Wayne Gretzky * Hockey 3
1986 Ben Johnson * Track and field 1
1987 Ben Johnson * Track and field 2
1988 Carolyn Waldo ^ Synchronized swimming 1
1989 Wayne Gretzky * Hockey 4
1990 Kurt Browning * Figure skating 1
1991 Silken Laumann ^ Rowing 1
1992 Mark Tewksbury * Swimming 1
1993 Mario Lemieux * Hockey 1
1994 Myriam Bédard ^ Biathlon 1
1995 Jacques Villeneuve * Auto racing 1
1996 Donovan Bailey * Track and field 1
1997 Jacques Villeneuve * Auto racing 2
1998 Larry Walker * Baseball 1
1999 Caroline Brunet Kayaking 1
2000 Daniel Igali Wrestling 1
2001 Jamie Salé & David Pelletier Figure skating 1
2002 Catriona LeMay Doan ^ Speed skating 1
2003 Mike Weir * Golf 1
2004 Adam van Koeverden Kayaking 1
2005 Steve Nash * Basketball 1
2006 Cindy Klassen ^ Speed skating 1
2007 Sidney Crosby * Hockey 1
2008 Chantal Petitclerc ^[6] Wheelchair racing 1
2009 Sidney Crosby *[12] Hockey 2
2010 Joey Votto[13] Baseball 1
2011 Patrick Chan *[14] Figure skating 1
2012 Christine Sinclair ^[15] Soccer 1
2013 Jon Cornish[16] Canadian football 1
2014 Kaillie Humphries[17] Bobsleigh 1
2015 Carey Price *[18][19] Hockey 1
2016 Penny Oleksiak ^[20] Swimming 1
2017 Joey Votto[21] Baseball 2
2018 Mikaël Kingsbury *[22] Freestyle skiing 1
2019 Bianca Andreescu ^[23] Tennis 1
2020 Alphonso Davies *[8] Soccer 1
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif [8] American football
2021 Damian Warner *[24] Track and field 1
2022 Marie-Philip Poulin ^[25] Hockey 1
2023 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander *[26] Basketball 1

Winners by sport

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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.

Wins Sport # of
Individuals
14 Ice hockey 10
9 Figure skating 7
8 Swimming 8
8 Track and field 7
6 Alpine skiing 5
4 Rowing 4
Gridiron football 4
Baseball 3
3 Golf 3
Speed skating 3
2 Kayaking 2
Shooting 2
Wheelchair racing 2
Soccer 2
Auto racing 1
Horse racing 1
Basketball 2
1 Biathlon 1
Bobsleigh 1
Equestrian 1
Harness racing 1
Marathon 1
Synchronized swimming 1
Weightlifting 1
Wrestling 1
Tennis 1
Freestyle skiing 1

See also

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Notes

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References

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General
  • Bob Ferguson, Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., 2005, p. 532 (through 2004).
  • "Winners of the Lou Marsh Trophy". The Globe and Mail. 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  • "Lou Marsh winners". Toronto Star. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
  • "Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "There's a new name to honour Canada's top athlete — The Northern Star Award". The Toronto Star. 2022-11-16.
  2. ^ "Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  3. ^ a b "Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh award". Toronto Star. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  4. ^ "Sidney Crosby wins Lou Marsh Award". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  5. ^ Dave Perkins (2006-12-12). "Turin queen reigns in 2006". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-12-12. [permanent dead link]
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b "Another honor for Oiler star". 1982-12-17. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  10. ^ "Fox's courage earns him Marsh Award". 1980-12-18. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  11. ^ "Gretzky snares award again". 1983-12-22. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ The Toronto Star (2011-12-14). "Patrick Chan wins Lou Marsh award". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  15. ^ "Christine Sinclair wins Lou Marsh Award". 2012-12-10. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Canadiens goaltender Price wins Lou Marsh Trophy". NHL. 15 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Price earns the Lou Marsh Award". Montreal Canadiens. 15 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Swimmer Penny Oleksiak wins Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete". The Globe and Mail. December 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "Moguls skier Mikael Kingsbury wins 2018 Lou Marsh award - Sportsnet.ca".
  23. ^ Armstrong, Laura (December 9, 2019). "Bianca Andreescu named unanimous winner of Lou Marsh Award". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  24. ^ "Damian Warner crowned Canada's top athlete of 2021 with Lou Marsh Trophy". Cbc.ca. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  25. ^ "Hockey star Marie-Philip Poulin named Canada's top athlete of 2022". Cbc.ca. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  26. ^ "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins Northern Star Award as Canada's athlete of the year". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
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