Bernie Sparkes

{{short description|Canadian curler}}

{{Infobox curler

| name = Bernie Sparkes

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|10|15}}

| birth_place =Claresholm, Alberta

| Brier appearances = 12 ({{Brier|1966}}, {{Brier|1967}}, {{Brier|1968}}, {{Brier|1969}}, {{Brier|1972}}, {{Brier|1973}}, {{Brier|1974}}, {{Brier|1976}}, {{Brier|1978}}, {{Brier|1983}}, {{Brier|1984}}, {{Brier|1987}})

| World Championship appearances = 3 ({{WMCC|1966}}, {{WMCC|1968}}, {{WMCC|1969}})

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's curling }}

{{MedalCountry | {{CAN}} }}

{{MedalCompetition | World Curling Championships }}

{{MedalGold | 1966 Vancouver | }}

{{MedalGold | 1968 Pointe Claire | }}

{{MedalGold | 1969 Perth | }}

{{MedalCompetition | Macdonald Brier }}

{{MedalCountry | {{AB}} }}

{{MedalGold | 1966 Halifax | }}

{{MedalGold | 1968 Kelowna | }}

{{MedalGold | 1969 Oshawa | }}

{{MedalCountry | {{BC}} }}

{{MedalSilver | 1978 Vancouver | }}

{{MedalBronze | 1976 Regina | }}

}}

Bernard Leslie Sparkes{{cite news|title=Larry Wood|date=March 9, 1968|page=18|newspaper=Calgary Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45940387/calgary-herald/|accessdate=March 1, 2020}} (born October 15, 1940) is a former world champion curler.

Sparkes's first major curling championship success came when he won the 1957 Alberta Schoolboys.[https://bcsportshall.com/honoured_member/bernie-sparkes/ BC HOF].{{Retrieved | accessdate=2011-01-01}} He would later go on to win 4 Alberta (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969) championships and 3 Canadian Brier and World Championships (1966, 1968, 1969) He was voted all star second at 4 consecutive Briers as the second for the Ron Northcott team. He is a member of the Lethbridge Sports Hall Of Fame (baseball), the Southern Alberta Curling Hall Of Fame,[http://www.saca.ca/Hall%20of%20Fame.htm Southern Alberta HOF] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706202529/http://www.saca.ca/Hall%20of%20Fame.htm |date=July 6, 2011 }}.{{Retrieved | accessdate=2011-01-01}} the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame (1974){{cite web |url=https://www.curling.ca/hof/people/sparkes-bernard-l-bernie/ |title=Sparkes, Bernie — CCA Hall of Fame — ACC Temple de la Renommée Virtuelle |language=en |accessdate=2022-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410170217/https://www.curling.ca/hof/people/sparkes-bernard-l-bernie/ |archive-date=2022-04-10 }} and the WCF Hall of Fame (2021).{{cite web |url=https://worldcurling.org/2021/06/hof-2021/ |title=World Curling inducts 2021 Hall of Fame recipients |publisher=World Curling Federation |date=2021-06-01 |language=en |accessdate=2022-04-10 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327171919/https://worldcurling.org/2021/06/hof-2021/ |archivedate=2022-03-27 }} Sparkes moved to British Columbia in 1970 and went on to win 9 more men's provincial curling championships 1 Masters over 70 in 2014 and 1 mixed championship. He was elected to the B.C. Sports Hall Of Fame in 1995. He was elected to the World Curling Hall of Fame in 2021.

One of his leisurely pursuits is painting. He paints still life and animal paintings. One of his most famous paintings is a chair in a lawn, surrounded by bouquets and flowers.[http://www.asham.com/store/bernie_sparkes_curling_prints Curling Prints].{{Retrieved | accessdate=2011-01-01}}

At the time of the 1967 Brier, he was a stationary salesman. He was an avid baseball player in his youth, and was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.{{cite news|title=Are We Satisfied?|date=March 12, 1966|page=43|newspaper=Edmonton Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96987772/edmonton-journal/|accessdate=March 5, 2022}}