TANKARD TOTAL

When Labatt took over sponsorship of the Brier in 1980, it needed a trophy of some sort to present and decided that a budget of $5,000 would deliver it a suitable award. Labatt’s Grant Waterman was put in charge of the job and he commissioned what would become a piece of Canadian sporting history, the Labatt Tankard, a large gold stein with the company’s logo on the front. He managed to keep the trophy hidden from press and even his co-workers until an unveiling at a press conference in Calgary, site of the 1980 Brier, where the Tankard would be presented for the first time. When it was revealed to the press, the reaction was positive, and as photographers snapped away, Labatt vice-president Sid Oland sidled over to Waterman and congratulated him on the trophy.

“How much did it cost?” he asked.

“$35,000,” said Waterman.

Shocked, Oland asked what happened to the $5,000 budget.

“The case cost $10,000,” Waterman exclaimed.

While there were a lot of upset people in the Labatt financial department, the move paid off a few years later when the Tankard was valued at $350,000.