End and linebacker: 1954 to 1967
Norm Fieldgate was the longest serving original BC Lions player suiting up for the team’s first 14 seasons in the league. He missed only one game in his illustrious career and was named to the Western All-Star team on three occasions. A truly versatile player, Norm played offensive and defensive end, linebacker and even safety over his career intercepting 37 passes (second only to Larry Crawford) and led the team in that category four times.
He was a member of the first team to go to the Grey Cup in 1963 and led the team to the first-ever win in 1964 in Toronto (even taking all of the kickoffs in that game). A specialist at blocking kicks, he got a piece of 6 in his career and recovered a pair of them for touchdowns. Norm was the acknowledged leader of the B.C. defense throughout his career and the number of times he made crucial tackles for the team cannot be counted. After retiring, Norm was the last President of the community-owned team in 1989 and has been in and around the club for the last 52 years. He is a fixture at all the home games and remains active with the Lions in a variety of ways. Norm was elected to the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1970 (the first Lion to be so honoured) and to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
Norm passed away on March 6, 2020.
