According to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Bernard on Sunday, three-time Brier champion Matt Baldwin of Blucher, Saskatchewan passed away at the age of 96 on April 8. Baldwin won three Brier titles in 1954, 1957, and 1958 while representing the province of Alberta.
In 1954 in Edmonton, Alberta, Baldwin became the youngest curler at the time to win the Brier as a skip. He was 27 years of age. Team Alberta had a record of nine wins and one loss. In Baldwin’s opening game of the 1954 Brier, he beat a very talented Saskatchewan squad skipped by Garnet Campbell of Avalnlea, Saskatchewan 12-10. In 10 games, Alberta scored a remarkable total of 125 points. Alberta beat Nova Scotia 24-4 thanks to a six ender in the eighth, and Newfoundland 20-6 thanks to five points in the 10th.
In 1957 in Kingston, Ontario, Baldwin went unbeaten with a record of 10 wins and zero losses. It was the 10th time in the history of the Brier that a team had gone undefeated. Baldwin’s most notable win was once again over Campbell. This time the game went into 13 ends before Alberta won 8-7. Alberta won with a stolen point.
In 1958 in Victoria, British Columbia, Baldwin’s team had a record of eight wins and two losses in the round robin. Due to the fact Alberta had the same record as Manitoba, a playoff was required to determine the Brier champion. In the final, Baldwin defeated Terry Braunstein of Binscarth, Manitoba 10-6.
Baldwin was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. He received the Order of Canada in 2019.
