James Kenneth Watson, (August 12, 1904 – July 26, 1986) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

curler.

Biography

Watson was born in

Minnedosa, Manitoba Minnedosa is a town in the southwestern part of the Canadian province of Manitoba situated 50 kilometres (32 mi) north of Brandon, Manitoba on the Little Saskatchewan River. The town's name means "flowing water" in the Dakota language. Th ...

and moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

later. He was the first man to skip his rink to three Brier championships in 1936, 1942 and 1949. After his career as a curler ended, he became a sports broadcaster, co-hosting

CBC Championship Curling CBC Sports covered the sport of curling from 1962 to 2011. The CBC began it curling coverage with the 1962 Macdonald Brier. From 2007 to 2011, it covered the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. Previously, CBC's broadcasting rights have included t ...

with Alex Trebek in 1966. He died in St. Boniface, Manitoba.

Honours

* 1969 – inducted into the national Sports Hall of Fame * 1973 – elected to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame * 1975 – made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

* 1978 –

Elmer Freytag Award Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

* 1980 - inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

* 2016 - designated a National Historic PersonKen Watson (1904-1986), Parks Canada backgrounder, Feb. 15, 2016
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Books

* ''Ken Watson on Curling'', 1950

References

External links

a
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
1904 births 1986 deaths Curlers from Winnipeg Members of the Order of Canada Curling broadcasters Brier champions People from Minnedosa, Manitoba Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) {{Canada-curling-bio-stub