The 1928 Macdonald Brier Tankard, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held February 28 to March 2 at the Granite Club in Toronto.1928 MacDonald Brier - Curlingzone

For the first time, a tiebreaker playoff would determine the Brier champion, as Alberta, Manitoba, and Toronto all finished round robin play with 7–2 records. Team Manitoba, which was skipped by Gordon Hudson defeated both Toronto and Alberta in the playoff to win the Brier.

Event summary After a successful Brier in 1927, the 1928 edition of the tournament was held again at the Granite Club in Toronto. For the first time, teams from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan brought their own teams to the Brier. This increased the Brier field from 8 to 10 teams, which would last until 1931. In addition, regulation games would be shortened from 14 ends to 12 ends.

After a 7-0 start, it appeared that Team Manitoba would cruise to a Brier championship. But Manitoba would lose their last two games and finish in a three-way tie with Alberta and Toronto with 7-2 records, necessitating a tiebreaker playoff between those three teams. The trustees of the event did not anticipate a three way tie, so had to scramble to devise a format to resolve it. They opted for a round robin between the three teams.The Brier, by Bob Weeks, pg 29 Manitoba defeated Alberta 12–7 in the first game, and then beat Toronto in the second game, 10–6 to claim the Brier Tankard. Alberta then beat Toronto 12–11 to finish in second place.

Teams The teams are listed as follows: ManitobaNorthern OntarioRosetown CC, Rosetown, SK Skip: Joe Heartwell Third: Charles Taylor Second: John Lang Lead: Allan DuncanStrathcona CC, Winnipeg Skip: Gordon Hudson Third: Sam Penwarden Second: Ron Singbusch Lead: Bill GrantGranite CC, Montreal Skip: William Hutchison Third: N.D.McLeod Second: T. Howard "Thane" Stewart Lead: Roy OrmistonThistle CC, Saint John Skip: Johnny Malcolm Third: Bill Shaw Second: John Trigg Lead: Frank WhiteSudbury CC, Sudbury Skip: Albert Tobey Third: Frank Muirhead Second: Bob Morrison Lead: Jim ScottOntarioSydney CC, Sydney Skip: Harry Stevenson Third: Hugh Ross Second: W.D. MacKay Lead: J.B. LynchGranite CC, Toronto Skip: Vic McWilliams Third: Ed Brower Second: John Brandon Lead: Bob HamiltonVictoria CC, Quebec City Skip: S.G. Newton Third: E.L. Altheer Second: W.J. Banks Lead: J.E. PurcellRegina CC, Regina Skip: W.L. McGillivray Third: Fred Graham Second: Ralph Teasdale Lead: C.S. PaceLakeview CC, Toronto Skip: Charlie SnowThe Brier, Bob Weeks, pg 26 Third: Harvey Sproule Second: Stu Graham Lead: Thomas Dale

Map of teams

Round-robin standings KeyTeams to Tiebreaker TeamSkipWLPFPA Gordon Hudson 7 2 111 60 Alberta Joe Heartwell 7 2 108 71 Toronto Charles Snow 7 2 108 95 Ontario Vic McWilliams 6 3 120 88 Northern Ontario Albert Tobey 5 4 94 105 Saskatchewan W.L. McGillivray 5 4 108 87 Harry Stevenson 4 5 78 104 New Brunswick Johnny Malcolm 3 6 93 102 Quebec S.G. Newton 1 8 75 131 Montreal William Hutchison 0 9 81 133

Round-robin results Draw 1 Tuesday, February 28 (morning)

Draw 2 Tuesday, February 28 (afternoon)

Draw 3

Draw 4

Draw 5

Draw 6

Draw 7

Draw 8

Draw 9

Tiebreakers Friday, March 2

Provincial and territorial playdowns 1928 Alberta Provincial Playoffs (Alberta–British Columbia). The winning Heartwell rink had lost in the Saskatchewan playdowns, and decided to then play in the Alberta playdowns as well. No residency rule existed at the time.Weeks, pg 28 1928 Macdonald Brier Event at the Manitoba Bonspiel (Manitoba) Composite rink: Montreal 1928 New Brunswick Championship (New Brunswick) Holt, Renfrew Trophy Winners at the Quebec Bonspiel (Quebec) Regina Bonspiel (Saskatchewan) 1928 Canada Life Trophy (Toronto)

References