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Lou Marsh
Lewis Edwin Marsh (February 17, 1879 – March 4, 1936) was a Canadian multi-sport athlete, referee, and newspaper columnist. He is considered a pioneer of sports journalism in Canada, writing the Pick and Shovel daily column at the Toronto Star from 1925 to 1936. The "Lou Marsh Trophy" was awarded annually to the best athlete in Canada as decided by a panel of journalists, but was renamed to the Northern Star Award in 2022.
Marsh was born in Campbellford, Ontario, and lived there until the age of nine, when he moved with his family to Toronto.
As an athlete, Marsh's first love was sailing, and through his life he played a wide variety of sports. At the age of 21 he became interested in rugby, and played with some of the top teams in Toronto, including the Toronto Argonauts.
Marsh once defeated Canadian and Olympic champion Robert Kerr in a 120-yard hurdle race.[when?] He became a supporter of Tom Longboat and accompanied him to the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
In May 1914, Marsh was aboard the first passenger airplane flight out of Toronto, taking off from Toronto and flying to Hamilton, Ontario and back.[citation needed]
During World War I, Marsh was an officer with The Canadian Grenadier Guards in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, enlisting with the 180th (Sportsmen) Battalion, CEF in 1916. He briefly served with the 87th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards) in France before being sent back to Canada after being diagnosed with heart problems. He rose to the rank of major while serving in the military.
Marsh was one of the top boxing and hockey referees of his era. He also worked as a referee in professional wrestling. During a match in Toronto in 1921, Marsh surprised the wrestlers after 30 minutes of showmanship by telling them that it was time to stop their exhibition and wrestle a real contest. He brought a similar attitude to his work as a boxing referee where, over the course of thousands of bouts, Marsh wasn't reluctant to demand action from the fighters. He was a referee in the National Hockey League, and saw action in Stanley Cup playoff games.
While in his 40s he was advised by doctors to stop working as a referee. Marsh's final appearance in the NHL was in the 1929 playoffs. In the late 1920s, he developed an interest in racing small outboard hydroplanes, which he called sea fleas. One of the most successful sea flea racers in Toronto was future Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard.
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Lou Marsh
Lewis Edwin Marsh (February 17, 1879 – March 4, 1936) was a Canadian multi-sport athlete, referee, and newspaper columnist. He is considered a pioneer of sports journalism in Canada, writing the Pick and Shovel daily column at the Toronto Star from 1925 to 1936. The "Lou Marsh Trophy" was awarded annually to the best athlete in Canada as decided by a panel of journalists, but was renamed to the Northern Star Award in 2022.
Marsh was born in Campbellford, Ontario, and lived there until the age of nine, when he moved with his family to Toronto.
As an athlete, Marsh's first love was sailing, and through his life he played a wide variety of sports. At the age of 21 he became interested in rugby, and played with some of the top teams in Toronto, including the Toronto Argonauts.
Marsh once defeated Canadian and Olympic champion Robert Kerr in a 120-yard hurdle race.[when?] He became a supporter of Tom Longboat and accompanied him to the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
In May 1914, Marsh was aboard the first passenger airplane flight out of Toronto, taking off from Toronto and flying to Hamilton, Ontario and back.[citation needed]
During World War I, Marsh was an officer with The Canadian Grenadier Guards in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, enlisting with the 180th (Sportsmen) Battalion, CEF in 1916. He briefly served with the 87th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards) in France before being sent back to Canada after being diagnosed with heart problems. He rose to the rank of major while serving in the military.
Marsh was one of the top boxing and hockey referees of his era. He also worked as a referee in professional wrestling. During a match in Toronto in 1921, Marsh surprised the wrestlers after 30 minutes of showmanship by telling them that it was time to stop their exhibition and wrestle a real contest. He brought a similar attitude to his work as a boxing referee where, over the course of thousands of bouts, Marsh wasn't reluctant to demand action from the fighters. He was a referee in the National Hockey League, and saw action in Stanley Cup playoff games.
While in his 40s he was advised by doctors to stop working as a referee. Marsh's final appearance in the NHL was in the 1929 playoffs. In the late 1920s, he developed an interest in racing small outboard hydroplanes, which he called sea fleas. One of the most successful sea flea racers in Toronto was future Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard.