Episode 9 - Ed Lukowich

Jan 2, 2017

Ed Lukowich has been there in Curling.  "Fast" Eddy has been central to some of the greatest shifts in the history of the game.  He learned to curl in Speers, Saskatchewan, back while the sliding rules were being shaped.  Four decades later he won the Moncton 100, the no-hit bonspiel that ushered in the Free Guard Zone era.  From the Richardsons to Kevin Martin, he's battled Legends from every living generation.  In 1973, with a chance to join a young Paul Savage, Ed may have been one of the first players to move across country solely for a curling opportunity.  You might be surprised to hear who Ed nearly replaced on that Ontario squad (rhymes with wrench).  In 1978, Ed took advantage of new rules that allowed a Calgary player to team with his Medicine Hat rink, and with Mike Chernoff captured the Macdonald Brier in Vancouver. They also won the event with horsehair push brooms, a first, and with Mike calling the game while Eddy threw fourth stones, something not commonly seen back then.  1988 saw Ed become the first ever mens skip to represent Canada in an Olympics, when curling was a demonstration sport at the Calgary Winter games.  Controversy over provincial residence has often been an issue in past seasons, and Ed was embroiled in it in the early 90s when second Rick Vallette shifted his playdown efforts from Saskatchewan to join Lukowich in Alberta, and also during the Merv Bodnarchuk era in BC.  Ed's efforts hatched a professional curling league which eventually became the World Curling Tour and he later became one of the early Canadians to assist a foreign nation in curling, becoming an advisor to USA during the early part of the new century.

 

In its day, Ed's book "The Curling Book" started many youngsters on the path to the roaring game.  He now writes Science Fiction and you can find out more at http://www.trillionist.com/.  Ed's Curling Tips Video bring you back the 1980s and for a read on Merv Bodnarchuk, check out "Merv Curls Lead".  You can also watch Eddy in the 2016 Canadian Masters final.  No surprise, "The Brier" by Bob Weeks and Jean Sonmor's "Burned by the Rock" are essential reading for more on "Fast" Eddy Lukowich.

 

Next Episode: Mike Riley