Transcript for video of Brian Williams
Lou Marsh, along with the athletes whose names are etched on the trophy that bears his name collectively represent one of the most fascinating mosaics in all of Canadian sports history.
Hello and welcome to this very special exhibit. We invite you today to come and explore the Lou Marsh Legacy Honouring Canada's Top Athletes.
You will discover a most intriguing man, for whom life and sport were intertwined. He was a natural all around athlete, a referee in both hockey and boxing and a pioneer in Canadian sports journalism.
In short, he was entrenched in sport. When Lou Marsh died suddenly in 1936, his impact on the Canadian sports psyche became abundantly clear.
The Lou Marsh Memorial Award was immediately established to be presented each year to Canada's outstanding athlete.
Lou Marsh embodied the highest ideals and principals in sport.
Fearless and fair as a journalist, he would level scathing criticism at anyone inhibiting the honest conduct of sport and yet he was quick to praise the deserving.
His spirit lives on in the ambitious yearly challenge of selecting Canada's Top Athlete from an open slate.
One could only imagine that Lou Marsh would indeed have relished sitting at the table with the Selection Committee.
As a long time member of that committee, I have engaged in the debate and what a debate it is because every year the men and women, the nominees are stronger and stronger.
Today delve into a captivating retrospect that includes video, photographs, artefacts and the Toronto Star archives that date back to the 1920's.
You will see Dr. Phil Edwards' fifth bronze medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was a man of colour who stood up and did it in front of Hitler.
Canada's Olympic Ice Queen and three time Lou Marsh winner, the great Barbara Ann Scott, a gold medalist at St. Moritz in 1948.
Marilyn Bell's heroic swim across Lake Ontario. British Columbia's Nancy Greene and her domination on skis.
The great Russ Jackson out of McMaster University and the Ottawa Rough Riders and his storybook year.
Wayne Gretkzy's four Lou Marsh trophies and of course Mike Weir's green jacket from the Masters in Augusta.
They are all here and so much more. Witness this rich and enduring legacy.
It is a tribute to a truly unique character in Canadian sport and to the outstanding athletes who have made this country proud.