Carl Ridd

Carl Ridd was a Canadian basketball player, religious leader, and university professor whose eclectic talents made him well-known nationally in all of his chosen fields. He began his sporting career at the age of 12 and, from 1945 through 1947, he brought the Gordon Bell Panthers of Winnipeg, Manitoba to three consecutive provincial championships. Continuing his passion as an undergraduate at the University of Manitoba, he was the fourth-highest North American collegiate scorer in 1949 and 1950. Perhaps his best year, however, came in 1952 when he was selected to help represent Canada at the 1952 Summer Olympics and offered a contract to play for the NBA’s Milwaukee Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks). Although he rejected the latter opportunity, Ridd did travel to Helsinki where, although the Canadian team won all their matches in the qualification round, he was eliminated in Round One after the squad failed to win a single game. 1954 was also an eventful year, which had Ridd claim a Canadian national championship with the Winnipeg Paulins and end up four points shy of being the top scorer at the 1954 FIBA World Championships. He retired from the sport a year later and was eventually named to the Manitoba (1983) and Canadian (1980) Basketball Halls of Fame, as well as the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. For many years he remained active as an amateur basketball coach.

Even while capturing the title of lead scorer in the Winnipeg Senior Men’s League on six occasions, Ridd was active academically, earning a Master’s Degree from United College and, after his career, a PhD from Drew University in New Jersey. Three years after his athletic retirement he was ordained by the United Church of Canada and served as a minister in both Canada and the United States until 1966, when he returned to Winnipeg to join the Religious Studies Department at United College, now known as the University of Winnipeg. Remaining there until 1995, he received the Robson Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1973 and was equally lauded for his achievements within the community, earning the Clarence Atchison Award for Excellence in Community Service in 1989. In addition to his peace and justice activism, he served on the Manitoba Environmental Council from 1980 through 1985 and chaired the Manitoba Energy Council from 1983 through 1988. The author of over 400 articles across numerous disciplines, his talents extended to economics, where he was an editor of a four-page quarterly on the topic called The Eyeopener, and music, where he was an avid flutist. He died in March 2003, following a short struggle against leukemia.