The Muddied History of the Lou Marsh Trophy

Susan Nattrass, the recipient of the 1981 Lou Marsh trophy, was chosen over a young Wayne Gretzky.

by: Matt Padanyi

Greatness in sport is nothing new to Canada – the nation’s history is rich and steeped in the tradition of achievement.

Names like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Donovan Bailey and Barbara Ann Scott are not just dear in the hearts of Canadians but of sports fans across the world.

All of the above have been recipients of the Lou Marsh Trophy, given annually to the country’s best athlete. In fact, Gretzky won it four times, more than anyone else in the award’s 72-year history (1936 was the inaugural year however the trophy was not awarded between 1942 and 1944 because of the war).

Yet Canada’s top sporting honour has been mired in criticism, both in past and now in the present.

For starters, amateur athletes are nearly guaranteed to win in years coinciding with the Olympic Games.

The last time a non-Olympic athlete won when the games were showcased was in 1998 – the award went to Canada’s most famous slugger Larry Walker.

Yet even the timing of that award seems odd.He won the year after winning the National League MVP award, a season which saw the Maple Ridge native blast 49 home runs, 130 runs batted in while hitting at a .366 clip and swiping 33 bases.

In 1998, when he won the Lou Marsh Trophy, Walker managed a relatively puny 23 long balls and 67 RBI.

Perhaps there is a chance for Canadian mixed martial artist Georges St. Pierre to win it in 2010, but with the Winter Olympics being held in 2010 it seems unlikely.

Another criticism of the award is that its selection committee is comprised of a small and ‘elite’ group of board members, as opposed to a wide spectrum of editors and writers like used by the Canadian Press in their annual awards, the Lionel Conacher Award for the top male and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award for top female.

That might explain why in 1981 Susan Nattrass, an amateur trapshooter, beat out Gretzky for the honours when he scored an incredible 164 points in his sophomore season with the Edmonton Oilers.

It’s quite possible the old boys’ club that is the selection committee may bar St. Pierre for some political reasoning, regardless of his achievements.

The other final thing against the fight to get GSP a Lou Marsh Trophy is the fact that no Canadian striking-combat athlete has ever won the award.

George Chuvalo, long considered to have the best chin in boxing history never won it.

And contemporaries like Steve Molitor and the late Arturo Gatti were likely never even considered. And unlike MMA, the general public views boxing as a legitimate sport.

So fans, do you part and sign the petition to get GSP the national recognition he deserves. Go to http://www.petitiononline.com/gsp4lm09/petition.html and sign today, and then tell all your friends to do it too.