JULY 18, 1954

OJIBWE AL HACKNER BORN– HALL OF FAME CURLER

Born in Nipigon, Ontario, Hackner is a member of the Red Rock Indian band.  His greatest curling successes were playing for Northern Ontario though he did represent Alberta at the 1972 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships.  Nicknamed “the Iceman,” he is a 2-time Brier and World Champion skip.  He “skipped” 9 Brier Cup teams and won the Cup in 1982 & 1985.  In 1985, to win, he made a near impossible double-take out known in curling history as the “Al Hackner Double.”  In 2004, Al was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.  He won the Canadian Senior Curling Championships in 2006 & took silver at the World Senior Curling Championships in 2007.  In 2013, Hackner briefly retired, but returned in 2015, losing in the provincial final.  Undaunted, Hackner “skipped” Northern Ontario to the 2017 Canadian Masters Curling Championships.  He was on the staff of the Team USA women’s team from 2012-14, and coached in 2017.  In the 2018 Winter Olympics, the team finished eighth.  

Source:  “Al Hackner,” Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, 2019.  Retrieved 5/28/2020, https://oshof.ca/index.php/honoured-members/item/40-al-hackner
Graphic:  Earl Andrew, English Wikipedia, 8/30/2010.  The Hackner Double.  Public Domain.