History

Named for a former Toronto Star sports editor who was also a pretty good all-around athlete, the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to the person chosen as Canada's best athlete of the year by a panel of Toronto sportswriters.

The award is unusual in that it's open to athletes from any sport, amateur or professional, male or female.

As a young man, Lou Marsh played Canadian football, was a sprinter in track, a swimmer who was credited with 15 rescues, and a racer of iceboats and speedboats. Later, he also served as an ice hockey official and a boxing referee.

He became a sportswriter in 1893 and, from 1925 until his death in 1936, he wrote a daily sports column, "With Pick and Shovel," for the Toronto Star.

The black marble trophy, which is about 30 inches high, bears the words "With Pick and Shovel" and the names of all the award winners. It is exhibited at the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.

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