Russ Howard

Russell W. "Russ" Howard, CM, ONL (born February 19, 1956, in Midland, Ontario) is a Canadian curler and Olympic champion, based in Regina, Saskatchewan, but originally from Midland, Ontario. He lived in Moncton, New Brunswick, from 2000 to 2019. Known for his gravelly voice, Howard has been to the Brier 14 times (8 as Ontario, 6 as New Brunswick), winning the title twice (both as Ontario). He is also a two-time world champion, winning in 1987 and 1993. He has also won three TSN Skins Games in 1991, 1992, and 1993, and participated in two Canadian Mixed Curling Championships in 2000 and 2001. He won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He played in two Canadian Senior Curling Championships in 2008 and 2009 finishing with a silver medal both of those years. Russ Howard was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently a curling analyst and commentator for TSN’s Season of Champions curling coverage.

Career In 2005, he joined team Gushue to call the shots for Brad Gushue's team at the Canadian Olympic Trials, while he played second. Howard, along with Gushue (who throws last rocks), lead Jamie Korab and third Mark Nichols, went on to win the trials, giving them the right to represent Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal, defeating Finland 10–4 in the final match. It was the first time that a Canadian team had won the gold medal for men's curling.

In the 2009-10 curling season, although he played in bonspiels throughout the year, Howard did not curl in the New Brunswick Tankard due to his broadcasting commitments with The Sports Network (TSN). Howard has been commentating curling events for TSN since 2001.

In 2006, he was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada and inducted into the WCF Hall of Fame in 2015.

Brier records At the end of the 2009 Brier, Howard had appeared in more Briers than any other player (14), and played more games at the Brier than any other player (174). The 2012 Brier saw his brother Glenn Howard tying his record for Brier appearances and breaking his record for most career games played at the Brier. As of 2017, Russ had appeared in the second most Brier games ever, behind his brother Glenn.

Broadcasting career Howard stepped into the broadcast booth for the first time in 2001, serving as an analyst for TSN’s coverage of the Brier.

Outside of curling, Howard worked as a real estate agent for Royal LePage Atlantic, in addition to his commentator work with TSN, and as a curling coach in Switzerland. He moved to Regina, Saskatchewan in 2019 to be closer to his children.

Teams Season Skip Third Second Lead 1979–80 Russ Howard Larry Merkley Robert Ruston Kent Carstairs 1985–86 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Tim Belcourt Kent Carstairs 1986–87 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Tim Belcourt Kent Carstairs 1988–89 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Tim Belcourt Kent Carstairs 1989–90 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Peter Corner 1990–91 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Peter Corner 1991–92 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Peter Corner 1992–93 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Peter Corner 1993–94 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Middaugh Peter Corner 1994–95 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Peter Corner Ken McDermot 1995–96 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Peter Corner Noel Herron 1996–97 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Scott Patterson Phil Loevenmark 1997–98 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Noel Herron Steve Small 1998–99 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Tallon Peter Corner Rick Perron Neil Harrison Grant Odishaw 1999–00 Russ Howard Glenn Howard Wayne Tallon Peter Corner Rick Perron Neil Harrison Grant Odishaw 2000–01 Russ Howard James Grattan Rick Perron Grant Odishaw 2001–02 Russ Howard James Grattan Marc LeCocq Grant Odishaw 2002–03 Russ Howard James Grattan Marc LeCocq Grant Odishaw 2003–04 Russ Howard James Grattan Marc LeCocq Grant Odishaw 2004–05 Russ Howard James Grattan Grant Odishaw Marc LeCocq 2005 Russ Howard Mark Dobson Steven Howard Grant Odishaw 2005–06 Brad Gushue (fourth) Mark Nichols Russ Howard (skip) Jamie Korab 2006–07 Russ Howard Grant Odishaw Mark Dobson Steven Howard 2007–08 Russ Howard Grant Odishaw Mark Dobson Steven Howard 2008–09 Russ Howard James Grattan Jason Vaughan Peter Case 2009–10 Russ Howard James Grattan Jason Vaughan Peter Case

Publications Howard has released two books: Hurry Hard: The Russ Howard Story (2007), an autobiography that vividly describes his journey to becoming an Olympic gold medallist, and Curl to Win (2008).