Billy Walsh (curler)
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William James Walsh (January 20, 1917 – October 7, 1971) was a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
curler from
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. Walsh was a two time Canadian champion skip, having won the Brier for Manitoba in 1952 and 1956. Walsh was born in 1917 in Ontario and moved to Winnipeg as an infant. After graduating from high school, he worked at the Comptroller General's office for the
Government of Manitoba The powers and structure of the provincial Government of Manitoba () are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of the day (formally the Executive Council of Manitoba, ...
, where he worked for the rest of his life. He served with the
Royal Winnipeg Rifles The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (R Wpg Rif) are a Primary Reserve one-battalion infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Nicknamed the "Little Black Devils", they are based at Minto Armoury in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles are part of 3r ...
during World War II. Walsh won his first of two national championships at the
1952 Macdonald Brier The 1952 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 3 to 8, 1952 at Winnipeg Amphitheatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg became the first Canadian city outside of Toronto to host a Brier more than onc ...
in Winnipeg. The Walsh rink, which included
Al Langlois Joseph Albert Oliver "Junior" Langlois (November 6, 1934 – September 19, 2020) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with four teams between 1958 and 1966. Langlois started his NHL career with the Montr ...
, Andy McWilliams and John Watson, went undefeated at the event, winning all ten matches. They clinched the event in their second last game, when they beat Alberta's Art Simpson, 9-7. Simpson had up until then just lost one match, and a win could have forced a tie breaker for the championship. At the
1956 Macdonald Brier The 1956 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 5 to 9, 1956 at Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick. A total of 25,800 fans attended the event. Both Team Manitoba and Team Ontario finished ...
, the Walsh rink finished the round robin with a record of 8-2, tied with Ontario's Alf Phillips. This forced a one game playoff to determine the champion between the two rinks. Walsh won the match 8-7, in an extra end in front of 3200 fans at
Moncton Stadium Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium (), formerly Moncton Stadium (), is a track and field stadium on the campus of the Université de Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, built to host the IAAF 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics. The $17&n ...
to capture his second national title. Walsh's 1956 team consisted of Langlois, Cy White and McWilliams. Walsh died in 1971 after a long illness. He was inducted into the
Canadian Curling Hall of Fame The Canadian Curling Hall of Fame was established with its first inductees in 1973. It is operated by Curling Canada, the governing body for curling in Canada, in Orleans, Ontario. The Hall of Fame selection committee meets annually to choose indu ...
in 1975.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Billy 1917 births 1971 deaths Brier champions Canadian military personnel of World War II Curlers from Ontario Sportspeople from Temiskaming Shores Curlers from Winnipeg Canadian male curlers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen