Greatest Ever Canadian Sports Events
When you think of great moments in Canadian sports history, the list is almost endless: Paul Henderson’s goal at the 1972 Summit Series, the Soviet Red Army playing the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-3 draw on New Year’s Eve 1975, Donovan Bailey winning gold in the 100m dash at the 1992 Summer Olympics… we could go on like this for years.
However, when it comes to choosing the top five greatest ever Canadian sports events here at Bodog Sportsbook, we have to narrow the field to events that were held entirely within these borders. The Summit Series was shared between Canada and the Soviet Union, the “Super Series ‘76” that included Red Army vs. Montreal was held across North America, and the 1992 Games were in Barcelona.
There’s still plenty more beyond this. The list below contains the five most iconic sporting events ever held in Canada, and our countdown starts at No. 5 with one of the founding stories of our national identity.
5. 1951 Stanley Cup Finals
There is one rivalry above all others in Canadian sports: the Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Montreal Canadiens. They were the only two Canadian teams in the Original Six, after the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Maroons folded in the 1930s. The Leafs and Canadiens represent the two most populated cities in the country, Montreal being the largest until 2001, and back in the Golden Age of hockey, this was a pitched battle between French- and English-speaking nations.
This was also a battle Toronto won more often than not during the postwar years. The Maple Leafs were at their peak then, and their 1950-51 squad was the best of the bunch, led by captain Ted Kennedy up front. But it was defenceman Bill Barilko who scored the overtime Cup-winner in Game 5 of the 1951 Finals. The story of Barilko and his tragic death the following year in a floatplane crash has been retold many times in this country, including by the Tragically Hip in their 1993 hit “Fifty Mission Cap.”
4. 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Canadians have always had mixed feelings about the Royal Family, but Queen Elizabeth II herself was a beloved figure, in part because she emphasized the independence of the “Commonwealth realm” states, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand – which remain in the Commonwealth today.
As part of this recognition, the British Empire Games changed their name after Queen Elizabeth took the throne in 1952, and for the first time, the 1954 Games in Vancouver included nations from the larger Commonwealth. But these games are remembered most for the “Miracle Mile” run by Roger Bannister (England) and John Landy (New Zealand), shown live on television to eager viewers across the world; both ran the mile under four minutes at Empire Stadium, with Bannister overtaking Landy to the gold.
3. 1988 Winter Olympics
Of the three times Canada has hosted the Olympic Games, the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary were the most successful. The 1976 Summer Games in Montreal were saddled with debt and a non-functioning roof at Olympic Stadium, while the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver were a waterlogged mess – and well past the IOC’s expiration date as a credible institution.
Those 1988 Games showed what amateur Canadian sport is all about. We didn’t win any gold medals that year, but Brian Orser and Brian Boitano (USA) fought an epic duel in men’s figure skating, and Elizabeth Manley became a star after taking the women’s silver behind Katarina Witt (East Germany). All this, plus “Eddie The Eagle” Edwards and the Jamaican national bobsleigh team as well.
2. 1976 Summer Olympics
They may have put the city $1 billion in debt, and Olympic Stadium may have ultimately led to the demise of the Montreal Expos, but the 1976 Montreal Olympics were still the biggest thing that’s ever happened in Canadian sports – and as a result had to feature in our list of the greatest ever Canadian sports events. That clip of Greg Joy triumphantly winning the silver medal in the men’s high jump was played every night during the national anthem as part of the CBC’s sign-off.
As for the stadium, the “Big O” was absolutely stunning for its time. And the Games themselves gave us signature moments like Nadia Comaneci (Romania) scoring the first perfect 10 in the history of Olympic gymnastics – and doing it six more times, earning three gold medals in the process.
1. Terry Fox Marathon of Hope
Only one thing in Canadian sports history could top the Summer Olympics. Terry Fox competed in basketball and track as a high-schooler in Port Coquitlam, just outside of Vancouver, and continued to play at Simon Fraser University until 1977, when his right leg was amputated because of bone cancer.
That didn’t end Fox’s athletic career. He won three national titles playing wheelchair basketball, and continued his distance running with the help of an artificial leg. Most importantly, Fox became heavily involved in cancer research, and on April 12, 1980, he launched his “Marathon of Hope” run across Canada by dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean near St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Running the equivalent of a marathon every day, Fox gained more and more attention as he made his way West; by the time he arrived in Ottawa for Canada Day, Fox was a national hero. He had to stop his run just outside Thunder Bay after his cancer returned, but Fox had raised $1.7 million for cancer research up to that point, a successful result by any measure.
It was only the beginning. More money came in as Fox’s story made headlines around the world, and while Fox succumbed to cancer in June 1981, the donations keep coming thanks to the creation of the Terry Fox Run, which millions of Canadians participate in every year. Hope springs eternal.
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