| 1989 Labatt Brier | |
| Host City: | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Arena: | Saskatchewan Place |
| Dates: | March 5–12[1] |
| Winner: | |
| Curling Club: | Ottewell CC, Edmonton |
| Skip: | Pat Ryan |
| Third: | Randy Ferbey |
| Second: | Don Walchuk |
| Lead: | Don McKenzie |
| Alternate: | Murray Ursulak |
| Finalist: | (Rick Folk) |
| Attendance: | 151,538 |
| Prev: | 1988 |
| Next: | 1990 |
The 1989 Labatt Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, was held from March 5 to 12 at the Saskatchewan Place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[2]
Pat Ryan of Alberta defeated Rick Folk of British Columbia to win his second Brier.
Pat Ryan's team was well known for its hitting style. Once they got the lead, the team would just peel off every opposition stone to win the game. This defensive strategy was heavily criticized for being boring. Whenever Ryan switched to this style of play, fans began shouting "bor-ing". However, the strategy worked for Ryan, who won the Brier. The score of the final game (3–2), remains the lowest total score for a final game in Brier history. This caused the implementation of the free guard zone a few years later to cause more offence in the game.[3]
Also of note at the 1989 Brier was Ontario skip Russ Howard's loss of his voice. Howard was nicknamed "the Wounded Moose" for the way he screamed in the first few draws of the event. However, he would lose his voice by Tuesday, and could barely speak. So, the team opted to use Walkie-talkies to communicate with their skip. This went unnoticed until their walkie-talkie signals jammed the official's walkie-talkie signals. The Canadian Curling Association (CCA) was quite upset about the matter, but Howard pointed out there was nothing in the rules against their usage, and insisted on continuing to use the walkie-talkies. So, the CCA decided midway through the event to ban the use of walkie-talkies, marking the first time that the rules had been changed in the middle of a tournament.[4]
The teams were listed as follows:[5]
| British Columbia | Manitoba | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottewell CC, Edmonton Skip Don McKenzie | Kelowna CC, Kelowna Skip: Rick Folk Third: Bert Gretzinger Second: Rob Koffski Lead: Doug Smith Alternate: Fred Trussell | Lac du Bonnet CC, Lac du Bonnet Skip: Orest Meleschuk Third: John Usackis Second: John Hyrich Lead: Sean Meleschuk Alternate: Bob Lesko | |
| New Brunswick | Newfoundland | Northern Ontario | |
| Thistle St. Andrews CC, Saint John Skip: Gary Mitchell Third: Brian Dobson Second: Mark Armstrong Lead: Terry Roach Alternate: Arnie Dobson | St. John's CC, St. John's Skip: Lorne Henderson Third: Alex Smith Second: Peter Hollett Lead: Marc Brophy Alternate: Ken Thomas | Fort William CC, Thunder Bay Skip: Al Hackner Third: Bill Adams Second: Jim Adams Lead: John Salo Alternate: Keith Dolph | |
| Nova Scotia | Ontario | Prince Edward Island | |
| Truro CC, Truro Skip: Ragnar Kamp Third: Bruce Lohnes Second: Rod McCarron Lead: Peter Neily Alternate: Ted Lohnes | Penetanguishene CC, Penetanguishene Skip: Russ Howard Third: Glenn Howard Second: Tim Belcourt Lead: Kent Carstairs Alternate: Larry Merkley | Charlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Doug Weeks Third: Blair Weeks Second: Roy Rodd Lead: David Weeks Alternate: Allan Ledgerwood | |
| Quebec | Saskatchewan | Yukon/Northwest Territories | |
| Buckingham CC, Buckingham Skip: Pierre Charette Third: Andre Lafleur Second: Don Westphal Lead: Richard Bisson Alternate: Ted Butler | Estevan CC, Estevan Skip: Jim Packet Third: Bob Doerr Second: Lloyd Schmidt Lead: Dallas Duce Alternate: Peter Shykitka | Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife Skip: Al Delmage Third: Roy Giles Second: Bill Strain Lead: Ron Kapicki Alternate: Brad Robertson |
Final Round Robin standings
| width=225 | Locale | width=140 | Skip | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 3 | 60 | 51 | 39 | 36 | 12 | 7 | 82% | |||||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | 62 | 56 | 43 | 40 | 15 | 11 | 81% | |||||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | 67 | 51 | 47 | 40 | 6 | 16 | 80% | |||||||||||||
| 7 | 4 | 64 | 64 | 41 | 44 | 7 | 7 | 75% | |||||||||||||
| 7 | 4 | 65 | 58 | 45 | 43 | 12 | 7 | 79% | |||||||||||||
| 7 | 4 | 65 | 45 | 46 | 31 | 8 | 16 | 77% | |||||||||||||
| 6 | 5 | 67 | 53 | 40 | 38 | 15 | 12 | 81% | |||||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 75 | 68 | 46 | 45 | 11 | 8 | 77% | |||||||||||||
| 3 | 8 | 55 | 71 | 40 | 43 | 10 | 9 | 72% | |||||||||||||
| 3 | 8 | 55 | 75 | 40 | 48 | 6 | 7 | 76% | |||||||||||||
| 2 | 9 | 52 | 73 | 37 | 47 | 7 | 8 | 77% | |||||||||||||
| 2 | 9 | 54 | 76 | 37 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 75% |
| Player Percentages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83% | 93% | |||
| 65% | 78% | |||
| 84% | 81% | |||
| 80% | 64% | |||
| Total | 78% | Total | 79% |
| Player Percentages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 80% | |||
| 85% | 83% | |||
| 79% | 76% | |||
| 93% | 86% | |||
| Total | 84% | Total | 81% |
Round Robin only
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
| valign=top |
|
Round Robin only
| Province | Skip | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | |||
| 81 | |||
| 81 | |||
| 80 | |||
| 79 | |||
| 77 | |||
| 77 | |||
| 77 | |||
| 76 | |||
| 75 | |||
| 75 | |||
| 72 |
. Bob Weeks. The Brier: The History of Canada's Most Celebrated Curling Championship. 1995. Gage Learning Corporation. 978-0-7715-7544-0. 201–204.
. Bob Weeks. Curling for Dummies, 2nd Edition. 2006. John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.. Mississauga, Ontario. 978-0-470-83828-0. 107.