Watson, Grant

Year Inducted / Année Intronisé:

1974

Province / Province:

Manitoba

Category / Catégorie:

Curler

Biography / Biographie:

1936, 1942 & 1949 Ken Watson Teams

1936 Team: Marvin McIntyre, Grant Watson, Charles Kerr, Ken Watson

1942 Team: Grant Watson, Jimmy Grant, Charlie Scrymgeour, Ken Watson

1949 Team: Grant Watson, Lyle Dyker, Charlie Read, Ken Watson

Manitoba’s champions are always considered contenders, and even favorites, at the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship. However, it was Ken Watson and his teams from the Strathcona Curling Club who set the early standard for ALL Canadian teams. The Watsons were the first to win the Macdonald Brier three times.

Ken Watson and his brother Grant hold the enviable record of finishing first every time they played in the Canadian Championship.

In 1936, Ken and Grant were joined by Marvin McIntyre and Charles Kerr for a season in which they won the city championship, were undefeated in winning the Manitoba British Consols title, and captured the Macdonald Brier Dominion Championship with only one loss in nine games. This team made appearances in the 1937, 1938 and 1939 Manitoba championships and won the MCA Bonspiel Grand Aggregate in 1939.

In 1942, now with Charlie Scrymgeour and Jimmy Grant, the Watsons again captured the MCA Bonspiel Grand Aggregate and again were undefeated in the Manitoba provincial championship. Returning to the Brier, they again posted an 8-win, 1-loss record to capture Manitoba’s tenth Canadian title.

In 1943, Lyle Dyker replaced Jimmy Grant and the team repeated as Manitoba champions but due to the wartime cancellation of the Brier they missed their opportunity to repeat as Canadian champions.

But Dyker got his chance to win the Brier in 1949. By then, Charles Read had replaced Scrymgeour to continue the Watson team record of excellence. After qualifying but falling short in the Manitoba playoffs in 1947 and 1948, in 1949 they were undefeated in the Manitoba championship. This time, they improved on the previous Brier appearances, recording a perfect 9-win, no-loss in their run to the third national title for the Strathcona Curling Club team.

The Watson championship teams were all enshrined in the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame in 2012. Prior to that Ken Watson, Grant Watson, Lyle Dyker, and Charlie Scrymgeour were all inducted into the Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame for their individual accomplishments. Ken and Grant Watson are both honoured individually in the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and Ken Watson was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.