| 1951 Macdonald Brier | |
| Host City: | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Arena: | Dalhousie Memorial Arena |
| Dates: | March 6–10 |
| Attendance: | 17,000 |
| Winner: | |
| Curling Club: | Kentville CC, Kentville |
| Skip: | Don Oyler |
| Third: | George Hanson |
| Second: | Frederick Dyke |
| Lead: | Wallace Knock |
The 1951 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 6 to 10, 1951 at Dalhousie Memorial Arena in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A total of 17,000 fans attended the event.[1] This would be the first Brier in which a team from Newfoundland would compete, increasing the field from 10 to 11 teams. This arrangement would last until 1975, when a combined Northwest Territories/Yukon entry was added to the field.
Team Nova Scotia, who was skipped by Don Oyler won the Brier Tankard as they finished round robin play unbeaten with a 10–0 record. This was the second time in which Nova Scotia had won the Brier, with their previous title being the inaugural event in 1927. This was the seventh time in which a team finished a Brier undefeated and the first non-Manitoban team to do so. Oyler would quit competitive curling after his Brier championship due to a sore wrist, which effected his delivery.[2]
British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan all tied for second with 7-3 records, necessitating a tiebreaker playoff between the three teams for runner-up. British Columbia would ultimately be the runner-up as they defeated Saskatchewan 8–0 in the second tiebreaker game. Saskatchewan defeated Manitoba 9–7 in the first tiebreaker game. This was the last time in the Macdonald era in which there would be a tiebreaker playoff contested for runner-up as going forward, tiebreaker playoff games would only be played if two or more teams were tied for first place.
British Columbia's win over Saskatchewan in the second tiebreaker was the first game in Brier history in which there was a shutout.[3]
The teams are listed as follows:[4]
| bgcolor=#0033FF width=200 | British Columbia | Manitoba | bgcolor=#000000 width=200 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite CC, EdmontonSkip: William Gray Third: Glenn Gray Second: John Ferry Lead: Warren Scott | Trail CC, TrailSkip: Alf Chesser Third: John J. Cameron Second: Maxwell Gordon Lead: Harry Rothery | Strathcona CC, WinnipegSkip: Roy Forsythe Third: Lorne Stewart Second: Alixter McDiairmid Lead: Arthur Meers | Bathurst CC, BathurstSkip: Nicholas Thibodeau Third: Huntley Ferguson Second: Charles McArdle Lead: John E. Cameron | ||
| Newfoundland | Northern Ontario | bgcolor=#0080C0 width=200 | bgcolor=#FF0000 width=200 | Ontario | |
| St. Johns CC, St. John'sSkip: Thomas Hallett Third: Claude Hall Second: Frederick Wylie Lead: Edmund Hiscock | Copper Cliff CC, Copper CliffSkip: Walter Johnstone Third: Arnold Boyd Second: Walter Flowers Lead: William MacKay | Kentville CC, KentvilleSkip: Don Oyler Third: George Hanson Second: Frederick Dyke Lead: Wallace Knock | The Granite Club, TorontoSkip: Gordon Campbell Third: Stanley Jones Second: Reginald Mooney Lead: Colin Campbell | ||
| Prince Edward Island | bgcolor=#009900 width=200 | ||||
| Charlottetown CC, CharlottetownSkip: Frank Acorn Third: John Squarebriggs Second: William MacNeill Lead: Melvin Jenkins | Sigma CC, Val-d'OrSkip: Merle Thomas Third: Jean Paul Bonneville Second: Augustus Peppard Lead: Albert Randall |
| Key | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brier champion | ||
| Teams to tiebreaker playoff | ||
| Province | Skip | W | L | PF | PA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 114 | 60 | |||
| 7 | 3 | 122 | 89 | |||
| 7 | 3 | 118 | 98 | |||
| 7 | 3 | 109 | 79 | |||
| 6 | 4 | 98 | 84 | |||
| 6 | 4 | 94 | 101 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 98 | 121 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 90 | 113 | |||
| 3 | 7 | 92 | 99 | |||
| 2 | 8 | 95 | 120 | |||
| 1 | 9 | 66 | 132 |
Tuesday, March 6[5]
Tuesday, March 6
Wednesday, March 7
Wednesday, March 7
Thursday, March 8
Thursday, March 8
Friday, March 9
Friday, March 9
Friday, March 9
Saturday, March 10
Saturday, March 10
Saturday, March 10
Saturday, March 10