Ernest M. Richardson, CM (born August 4, 1931) is a four-time

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 ...

and world

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

champion. Richardson mainly curled with his brother and two cousins, until an injury forced him to replace one of his cousins. He was nicknamed "The King", and has been inducted into the World Curling Federation Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Richardson was the skip of the Regina-based team made up of his brother

Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

and cousins Arnold and Wes during the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1963, Wes Richardson was suffering from back issues, and was replaced on the team by Mel Perry. The team was dominant on the Canadian curling scene during this time. Starting in 1959, Richardson's team won the Canadian Championship four times in five years and captured four

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. With their first victory in 1959, they were the youngest team to win the Brier at the time. In 1978, in recognition of his contributions to the sport of curling, Ernie Richardson was 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 ...

. Along with his brother and cousins, he was elected to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1968) and the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1973). Richardson was also awarded the World Curling Freytag Award in 2000. Later, when the World Curling Federation changed their criteria for honouring individuals, Richardson was inducted into the

WCF Hall of Fame The WCF Hall of Fame is an international curling Hall of Fame that was established by the World Curling Federation The World Curling Federation (WCF) is the world governing body for curling accreditation, with offices in Perth, Scotland. It wa ...

, along with all other previous award recipients.

Personal life

Richardson was nicknamed "The King" due to his early and frequent success as a curler. After his retirement, Richardson authored several books on curling. Richardson was married. With his wife, Rikki, he had five children. He is a fan of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

. After his retirement from curling, Richardson started a lighting business that his family still operates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Ernie 1931 births Living people Curlers from Saskatchewan Members of the Order of Canada World curling champions Brier champions Canadian male curlers 20th-century Canadian people