The 1949 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 7 to 11, 1949 at Hamilton Forum in Hamilton, Ontario.
Team Manitoba, skipped by Ken Watson, captured the Brier Tankard by finishing round robin play unbeaten with a 9-0 record. This was Manitoba's twelfth Brier championship and the sixth time that a team finished the Brier unbeaten. Watson would become the first skip to win the Brier three times, as his rink won previously in 1936 and 1942.
This was the first Brier in which two teams (Manitoba and British Columbia) entered the final draw unbeaten, and the first Brier since 1936 to feature a "winner take all" match in the round robin to decide the Brier champion.
This was also the fourth Brier in which there were no extra ends.
Event summary
Both Manitoba and the defending champion British Columbia dominated the 1949 Brier as they were both unbeaten heading into the final draw, which would be a "winner take all" match to decide the Brier.
In the deciding game, BC opened with 3 in the first end, but Manitoba would score 7 in the next five ends to take a 7-3 lead through the halfway point. BC would score 3 in the seventh to cut Manitoba's lead to 7-6, but Manitoba would counter in the next end with 3 of their own to increase the lead to 10-6. The next two ends ended in similar fashion as BC scored 2 in the ninth and Manitoba countering with 2 in the tenth. BC would score 1 in the eleventh end and trailed 12-9 heading into the last end needing a big steal to keep their hopes alive. Manitoba would clinch the Brier with 2 in the final end for a 14-9 victory, securing Watson's place in Brier history as the first skip to win three Briers.
Teams The teams are listed as follows: British ColumbiaManitobaNorthern OntarioBlackie CC, Blackie Skip: Stu Beagle Third: Walker Evans Second: Ray Wellman Lead: Ed SeneyTrail CC, Trail Skip: Reg Stone Third: Hugh Miller Second: Roy Stone Lead: Scotty RossGranite CC, Winnipeg Skip: Ken Watson Third: Grant Watson Second: Lyle Dyker Lead: Charles ReidNewcastle CC, Newcastle Skip: Bob Galloway Third: Waldo Crocker Second: Clarence McDonald Lead: Arthur GallowayMcIntyre CC, Schumacher Skip: Jimmy Sutherland Third: Elmer Dick Second: Ken Vail Lead: Hugh CalverleyOntarioPrince Edward IslandHalifax CC, Halifax Skip: Horace Webb Third: Urban Harrington Second: Bernard Cleveland Lead: Ted SievertChatham Granite Club, Chatham Skip: Peter Gilbert Third: Gord Gilbert Second: Don Painter Lead: John DeKoningCharlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Russ Cruikshank Third: Heath McIntyre Second: James Howatt Lead: Hiram AtkinsonC de C Matane, Matane Skip: Roderique Cote Third: Herm Gagnon Second: Charles Cote Lead: Maurice PiuzeCaledonia CC, Regina Skip: Harold Horeak Third: Edward Richter Second: John Heaney Lead: Ernest Kittleson
Round robin standings KeyBrier champion ProvinceSkipWLPFPA Ken Watson 9 0 130 70 British Columbia Reg Stone 8 1 119 76 Northern Ontario Jimmy Sutherland 7 2 121 84 Ontario Peter Gilbert 5 4 102 96 Saskatchewan Harold Horeak 4 5 95 100 Horace Webb 4 5 98 90 Prince Edward Island Russ Cruikshank 3 6 77 109 New Brunswick Bob Galloway 2 7 77 112 Roderique Cote 2 7 72 112 Alberta Stu Beagle 1 8 68 110
Round robin results Draw 1
Draw 2
Draw 3
Draw 4
Draw 5
Draw 6
Draw 7
Draw 8
Draw 9
References