Goldstick, Cecil "Tiger"

Goldstick, Cecil "Tiger"

Cecil "Tiger" Goldstick was born in Edson, Alberta in 1915. The Goldstick family moved to Edmonton in 1929 where Mr. Goldstick continued his education, eventually studying at the University of Alberta before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1939. While in the navy, Mr. Goldstick became the navy's lightweight wrestling champion and earning the nickname "Tiger." In 1945, Mr. Goldstick was awarded the 1939- 1945 award for exemplary service, and returned to Alberta to become a sportswriter for the Edmonton Bulletin Newspaper from 1946- 1948. Starting in 1947, Mr. Goldstick became involved as a trainer or coach with several Edmonton area professional sports teams including the Edmonton Eskimos baseball and football clubs, the Edmonton Flyers hockey club and also acted as a scout for the Montreal Canadians hockey team. In 1966, Tiger Goldstick began working for CFRN radio and television as a sportscaster, a position he held until his retirement. Throughout his life Mr. Goldstick was a passionate supporter of amateur sport and children's charities in Edmonton. In 1938, he started the first PeeWee Hockey league in the city and founded a charitable program to give sports equipment and Christmas gifts to underprivileged children. Though Mr. Goldstick operated the charity informally for a number of years, in 1991 the charity was formally set up and called Sports Central. Sports Central, with Tiger as the honourary chairman, distributed used sports equipment to underprivileged youth in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Sports central was still in operation in 2002. In 1946, he founded the Edmonton Eskimo Knothole Club and Tiger's Safety Club. Mr. Goldstick continued his involvement with traffic safety by becoming an honourary captain and active participant in the Alberta Motor Association's School Patrol Program. Mr. Goldstick received many honours over the years including being named a honourary member of many local sports organizations, the City of Edmonton Citation for Untiring Effort for Youth, and in 1946, he was named Edmonton Sportsman of the Year. Mr. Goldstick was awarded the Order of Canada in 1990. The City of Edmonton honoured Tiger Goldstick and his father Rabbi Goldstick by opening Goldstick Park in east Edmonton in 1986. Mr. Goldstick married Hazel Winters in 1961. Mrs. Goldstick passed away in 1979. Cecil Goldstick died in February, 2006.

Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton and Northern Alberta