Fred Etcher: Mormon Athlete

Fred Etcher played hockey for the Canadian team that included players from the Whitby Dunlops, which represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games held in Squaw Valley, California. His team won the silver medal. He led the scoring for the team with twelve goals. he also had nine assists. Overall, he had twenty-one points in seven games, a record that has stood for more than a half-century.

Etcher had missed the 1958 World Championships due to a broken bone in his ankle, but traveled to Oslo, Norway, with the team to cheer them on. The team took the championship over the Soviets.

Etcher was born on August 23, 1932. He played hockey as a teenager moving up the ranks. While competing with the Whitby Dunlops, he helped the team take two Allan Cup amateur titles.

Following the 1960 Olympics, Etcher signed as a playing coach for the Uxbridge Ontario Black Hawks. During the summer he played fast pitch softball, for such teams as the Oshawa Tony’s of the Toronto Beaches League.

He was an industrial engineer with General Motors. He and his wife, Mary Jane, had four children. He died on November 25, 2011, in London, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.