Doodie Bloomfield

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameDavid Donald "Doodie"•Bloomfield
Used nameDoodie•Bloomfield
Born8 August 1918 in Montréal, Québec (CAN)
Died14 November 1950 in Montréal, Québec (CAN)
Measurements178 cm
AffiliationsYMHA, Montréal (CAN)
NOC Canada

Biography

A lifelong basketball player, Doodie Bloomfield first gained prominence as a star player with the Workers Sport of the Mount Royal Independent Basketball League in 1936. The following year he joined the junior squad of the Young Men’s Hebrew Association in Montreal and helped bring them to the national finals, where they finished runner-up to the Ontario provincial champions. After a year at the intermediate level he advanced to the varsity team in 1939 and brought them their first city championship in their 21-year history. That year it was the senior “Blues” that made it to the national finals, but they too had to settle for second place against the Vancouver Maple Leafs. World War II arrived soon after and Bloomfield quickly signed up with the Royal Canadian Air Force, but he continued to make the most of his talents by playing on the RCAF’s basketball squad. When the conflict ended he was honourably discharged and returned to the YMHA, helping the Blues become a dominant force in Canadian basketball.

Although his squad lost to Vancouver in the national championships, such was Bloomfield’s prowess and reputation on the court that he was selected as one of the few members of Canada’s 1948 Olympic basketball delegation not to have played for the University of British Columbia. At that year’s Summer Games the Canadians did not reach the quarter-finals and placed ninth in the classification rounds. Upon his return from London the senior Blues finally captured the national championship in 1949, but the sport was beginning to take its toll and Bloomfield played many games in pain. He edged closer to retirement, declining an invitation to represent Canada at the 1950 Maccabiah Games, but his place in Canadian basketball history was assured: he had twice won the Ben Hockenstein Most Valuable Player Award (1947 and 1950) and was voted nationally as one of the best players of the first half of the 20th century. His sudden death on November 14, 1950, at the age of 32, shocked the amateur sporting world and memorial clubs and awards were quickly established in his honour. The YMHA retried his number, 8, in 1951 to preserve his legacy not only as an astounding player, but as an exceptional sportsman as well.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1948 Summer Olympics Basketball (Basketball) CAN Doodie Bloomfield
Basketball, Men (Olympic) Canada 9