Canadian curler Matt Baldwin, credited with popularising the long slide, has died at the age of 96 ©Curling Canada

Canada’s curling community is mourning the passing of Matt Baldwin, a pioneer in the sport who has died only a few weeks short of his 97th birthday.

Baldwin is credited with popularising the "long slide" technique which he used to win the Canadian Championships known as "The Brier" in 1954,1957 and 1958.

In their tribute to him, Curling Canada claimed that "Baldwin did for curling what Arnold Palmer did for golf."

The "long slide" manoeuvre had been pioneered by Ken Watson, another three time Brier winner, who won titles before and after the Second World War.

But Baldwin was the first to use it widely in major championships.

Matt Baldwin, second from right, receives the Brier Tankard after his third victory in 1958 ©Macdonald Tobacco
Matt Baldwin, second from right, receives the Brier Tankard after his third victory in 1958 ©Macdonald Tobacco

Curling historian and author Warren Hansen, a former Curling Canada event operations director, watched Baldwin slide in 1954.

"It had such a profound impact on the sport, particularly in Edmonton," Hansen recalled.

"At that point he was decades younger than people who were skipping teams in the Brier, It was such a change from where the sport was, it took the game in a new direction,Matt was a showman who played the crowd, he was very flamboyant."

It was estimated that around a dozen curling rinks were established in the area as a result of Baldwin's first win in the Brier.

Baldwin was born in Blucher in Saskatchewan in Western Canada in May 1926.

He claimed he was "conscripted" into playing curling as a teenager during the Second World War but immediately took to the sport.

Baldwin later moved to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta, but remained an enthusiastic curler.

His own assessment embodied his attitude to the sport.

"I figured curling was a helluva sport, four guys can get together and drink, play cards and have a great time," Baldwin once reflected.

"I figured it was too good for just the old guys."

Baldwin also built a successful business in oil well servicing.

He later became a director and then President of the Edmonton Eskimos, a team in the Canadian Football League.

Baldwin was one of the original inductees to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame and also recognised outside the sport with inclusion in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

He was also elected a member of the Saskatchewan Petroleum Industry Hall Of Fame.

In 2019, he received the Order of Canada for his "philanthropy and entrepreneurship and for his prowess as a champion curling skip."