Northern Star Award

Northern Star Award
Wayne Gretzky has won the most Lou Marsh Awards with 4 wins
Given for	Top athlete in Canada
History
First award	1936
First winner	Phil Edwards (Track and field)
Most wins	Wayne Gretzky (4) (Ice hockey)
Most recent	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Basketball)

The Northern Star Award is a trophy that is given to the top athlete in Canada. It is voted on by sports media from across the country. The award was first named the Lou Marsh Trophy, Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and the Lou Marsh Award after well-known Canadian athlete and Toronto Sun sports editor Lou Marsh.

On November 16, 2022, the award would be renamed after racist language that Marsh used became known.^[1]

The trophy was first awarded in 1936 to track and field runner Phil Edwards, who had won a bronze medal at the Olympics that year.^[2] The award has been won the most time by hockey player Wayne Gretzky with four wins (1982, 1983, 1985, 1989).^[3] There have been two ties in the history of the Northern Star Award. Swimmer Graham Smith and alpine skier Ken Read both tied in 1978, as well as, soccer player Alphonso Davies and American football player Laurent Duvernay-Tardif both winning in 2020.^[4]

The current holder of the Northern Star Award is basketball player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.^[5]

1. ↑ "Lou Marsh Trophy to be renamed over concerns about racist language in his work". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
2. ↑ "Dr. Phil Edwards Class of 1936". McGill Athletics. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
3. ↑ "Lou Marsh embodied the ideals of sport. Here are some of the greats who got the award in his name". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
4. ↑ "Soccer star Alphonso Davies, Super Bowl champ Duvernay-Tardif share Lou Marsh Trophy". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
5. ↑ "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins Northern Star Award as Canada's athlete of the year". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 7, 2024.