Gordon Sturtridge

Gordon Sturtridge

Date of birth:	1929
Place of birth:	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Date of death:	December 9, 1956(1956-12-09) (aged 27)
Place of death:	Mount Slesse, British Columbia, Canada
Career information
CFL status:	Non-import
Position(s):	DE
CJFL:	Winnipeg Rods
High school:	St. Paul's, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Organizations
As player:
1951-1956	Saskatchewan Roughriders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star:	1954, 1955, 1956
Awards:	1953 - Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy
Retired #s:	73 (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Gordon Henry Sturtridge, (1929 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people that died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, on December 9, 1956.^[1]

Sturtridge played his entire five-year professional football career as a defensive end for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union, and his #73 jersey is one of eight that has been retired by the club.

Amateur football career

Sturtridge played amateur Canadian football in the Canadian Junior Football League, and was a member of the Winnipeg Rods.^[2]

Professional career

Sturtridge signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he starred for five years.^[1] In 1953 he won the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy as best rookie in the Western Conference. He was a three-time Western All-Star (in 1954, 1955, and 1956), and was on his way back to Regina, Saskatchewan, on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 after playing in the East–West All-Star Game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on December 8, 1956.^[1]

Death

Sturtridge, his wife, Mildred, Roughriders teammates, Mario DeMarco, Mel Becket, and Ray Syrnyk, were passengers on Flight 810 with another WIFU player, Calvin Jones, of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.^[1] All five players were present at the 1956 All-Star game in Vancouver, British Columbia, and were headed back to their respective teams' home cities. The five players and Mildred were accompanied by 53 other passengers, and 3 crew members who all lost their lives in Western Canada's worst aviation disaster on December 9, 1956.^[1]

Gordon and Mildred were survived by their three young children who were home in Regina at the time of the crash.^[1]

Legacy

In 1957, a youth football league in North Vancouver, British Columbia was named in memory of Strurtridge.^[1] The Gordon Sturtridge Football League is for players aged 6 to 15.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} O'Keefe, Betty (2006). Disaster on Mount Slesse. Caitlin Press. ISBN 1-894759-21-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=uoRGAAAAYAAJ&q=disaster+on+mount+slesse&dq=disaster+on+mount+slesse&ei=qW3-SteRBoqQlQT-z5miDw. 
2. ^ "CJFL Alumni in the CFL". footballcanada.com. 2008. http://www.footballcanada.com/useredits/File/CJFL%20alumni.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-14. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Gordon Sturtridge Youth Football League

Persondata
Name	Sturtridge, Gordon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 1, 1929
Place of birth	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Date of death	December 9, 1956
Place of death	Mount Slesse, British Columbia, Canada