Edwin Gladstone “Eddie” Cass (1893-1985)

Athlete, lawyer.

Born at Winnipeg on 12 July 1893, he was educated at St. Mary’s School and Fordham Prep School (New York) before graduating in 1916 from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he played baseball. He served in the American army in World War One, then attended the College of Law at the University of Manitoba. He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1926 an practiced law for a few years, later entering the insurance business with the Excelsior Life Insurance Company.

He played for a number of Manitoba baseball teams, usually as a first baseman, and also coached. In 1931 he helped start the Winnipeg High School Football League, and he was instrumental in the formation of an annual Catholic field day. He was involved in community affairs throughout his life, serving as Executive Director of the United Way until 1964. He then joined the C.A.M.R. (Manitoba Division) where he established and ran a canoe-a-thon until the late 1970s.

He received numerous honours, including the Centennial Medal of Honour from the Manitoba Historical Society (1970), honorary doctorates from the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, the Golden Boy Award from the Conference of Christians and Jews, and was inducted into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt by the Province of Manitoba (1980). He served on the Board of Misericordia Hospital, St. Boniface Hospital, St. Amant Centre, and St. Joseph’s Vocational School. He was a founding member and president of the Sierra Club of Winnipeg. He is a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

He died at Winnipeg on 23 May 1985 and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 May 1985.

Profile revised: 4 October 2009

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