Lou Marsh Trophy

The Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada’s best athlete, as decided by a committee of Canadian sports journalists. Named after Louis Edwin Marsh, a former sports editor of the Toronto Star, the trophy was first awarded in 1936. It was not awarded from 1942 to 1944, during the Second World War. The most recent recipient is Bianca Andreescu (2019), who is the first tennis player to win the award.

Louis Edwin Marsh

Louis Edwin Marsh died on 5 March 1936 after 43 years as a journalist and was regarded as the dean of Canadian sports journalism. In his youth he was an excellent all-around athlete. He played on the Toronto Senior Argonaut football team and was a good sprinter and strong swimmer, being credited with some 15 rescues in the water. He raced iceboats and small speedboats, for which he coined the term "sea fleas," and was a highly regarded referee in boxing and ice hockey. His daily sports column in the Toronto Starfrom 1925 to 1936 was entitled "With Pick and Shovel," describing his tenacious ability to obtain an in-depth analysis of the sporting scene.

Lou Marsh Trophy

Made of black marble, the Lou Marsh Trophy stands about 75 cm high. The words "With Pick and Shovel" appear above the engraved names of the winners, which include the first recipient, track athlete Dr. Phillip Edwards (1936), swimmer Marilyn Bell and figure skater Petra Burka. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky received the award the most times, four, followed by figure skater Barbara Ann Scott with three. A number of athletes have twice received the trophy: golfer Marlene Streit, skier Nancy Greene, jockey Sandy Hawley, sprinter Ben Johnson, auto racer Jacques Villeneuve and hockey player Sidney Crosby. The Lou Marsh Trophy has been shared on two occasions: between skier Ken Read and swimmer Graham Smith in 1978, and between Gretzky and wheelchair racer Rick Hansen in 1983.

The trophy is kept on exhibit at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Lou Marsh Trophy Winners

Year	Athlete	Sport
1936	Phil Edwards	Track and Field
1937	W. Marshall Cleland	Equestrian
1938	Bob Pearce	Rowing
1939	Bob Pirie	Swimming
1940	Gérard Côté	Track and Field
1941	Theo Dubois	Rowing
1942	Not awarded
1943	Not awarded
1944	Not awarded
1945	Barbara Ann Scott	Figure Skating
1946	Joe Kroll	Football
1947	Barbara Ann Scott	Figure Skating
1948	Barbara Ann Scott	Figure Skating
1949	Cliff Lumsden	Swimming
1950	Bob McFarlane	Football, Track and Field
1951	Marlene Streit	Golf
1952	George Genereux	Shooting
1953	Doug Hepburn	Weightlifting
1954	Marilyn Bell	Swimming
1955	Beth Whittall	Swimming
1956	Marlene Streit	Golf
1957	Maurice Richard	Hockey
1958	Lucille Wheeler	Skiing
1959	Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul	Figure Skating
1960	Ann Heggtveit	Skiing
1961	Bruce Kidd	Track and Field
1962	Don Jackson	Figure Skating
1963	Bill Crothers	Track and Field
1964	George Hungerford and Roger Jackson	Rowing
1965	Petra Burka	Figure Skating
1966	Elaine Tanner	Swimming
1967	Nancy Greene	Skiing
1968	Nancy Greene	Skiing
1969	Russ Jackson	Football
1970	Bobby Orr	Hockey
1971	Hervé Filion	Harness Racing
1972	Phil Esposito	Hockey
1973	Sandy Hawley	Horse Racing
1974	Ferguson Jenkins	Baseball
1975	Bobby Clarke	Hockey
1976	Sandy Hawley	Horse Racing
1977	Guy Lafleur	Hockey
1978	Ken Read Graham Smith	Skiing Swimming
1979	Sandra Post	Golf
1980	Terry Fox	Marathon of Hope
1981	Susan Nattrass	Shooting
1982	Wayne Gretzky	Hockey
1983	Wayne Gretzky Rick Hansen	Hockey Wheelchair Racing
1984	Gaetan Boucher	Speed Skating
1985	Wayne Gretzky	Hockey
1986	Ben Johnson	Track and Field
1987	Ben Johnson	Track and Field
1988	Carolyn Waldo	Synchronized Swimming
1989	Wayne Gretzky	Hockey
1990	Kurt Browning	Figure Skating
1991	Silken Laumann	Rowing
1992	Mark Tewksbury	Swimming
1993	Mario Lemieux	Hockey
1994	Myriam Bédard	Biathlon
1995	Jacques Villeneuve	Auto Racing
1996	Donovan Bailey	Track and Field
1997	Jacques Villeneuve	Auto Racing
1998	Larry Walker	Baseball
1999	Caroline Brunet	Kayak
2000	Daniel Igali	Wrestling
2001	Jamie Salé and David Pelletier	Figure Skating
2002	Catriona Le May Doan	Speed Skating
2003	Mike Weir	Golf
2004	Adam van Koeverden	Kayak
2005	Steve Nash	Basketball
2006	Cindy Klassen	Speed Skating
2007	Sidney Crosby	Hockey
2008	Chantal Petitclerc	Wheelchair Racing
2009	Sidney Crosby	Hockey
2010	Joey Votto	Baseball
2011	Patrick Chan	Figure Skating
2012	Christine Sinclair	Soccer
2013	Jon Cornish	Football
2014	Kaillie Humphries	Bobsleigh
2015	Carey Price	Hockey
2016	Penny Oleksiak	Swimming
2017	Joey Votto	Baseball
2018	Mikael Kingsbury	Freestyle Skiing
2019	Bianca Andreescu	Tennis