ATHLETE LEGEND
Pilson, Shirley
1921 – 1991
SPORT | Curling
POSITION | Skip
YEAR OF INDUCTION | 2014
Shirley was born in Pembroke and excelled as a youth in several sports including swimming, track, and basketball. In 1946, she married Al Pilson, moved to the Maritimes before coming to Chatham in 1972 when Al was transferred by the Bank of Nova Scotia. While in New Brunswick, Shirley excelled at golf and curling at the local, provincial, and national levels and while in Chatham, she continued her excellence particularly in curling.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1937, 1938, & 1939 – won the Pembroke Ontario Ladies Long Distance Swim
New Brunswick
1960s – played on 6 teams that won the New Brunswick Ladies Curling
Championship – was skip on 4 of these
1968 – was vice-skip of the New Brunswick Mixed Curling Championship team
1971 – won the New Brunswick Senior Ladies Golf Championship and competed in the Canadian Championship
1972 – was runner-up in the New Brunswick Senior Ladies Golf Championships and competed at the Canadian Championships where she was New Brunswick team captain
Ontario
1975 – representing the Chatham Granite Club, skipped her team to the Ontario Senior Ladies Curling Championship – went on to be Finalists at the Canadian Championship
1982 – representing the Chatham Granite Club, skipped her team to the Ontario Senior Ladies Curling Championship – went on to the Canadian Championships
1985, 1986, & 1987 – representing the Chatham Granite Club, skipped her teams to 3 consecutive Southern Ontario Diamond Senior Ladies Curling Championships
1991 – one of the curling teams of which she was a member was inducted into the Bathurst, N.B. Sports Hall of Fame
1992 – received an Appreciation Award from the Southern Ontario Ladies Curling Association for her contributions to curling
2011 – was made an Honourary Life Member of the Ontario Curling Association as a curler who had won at least 5 Ontario Provincial (OCA Sanctioned) Championship
Shirley died in Chatham in 1991, having established herself as one of the top curlers in Canada. She was survived by husband, Al, 3 sons, Ashton, Charles, and Timothy, and 8 grandchildren.