First Championship Recognition in 1907

When Fritz was 16 years-old, he and his older brother Rudolph were on a Wetaskiwin soccer team that won the 1907 Alberta Football Championship.  

He Played Sterling Golf

Fritz was one of the early members and shareholders of the Wetaskiwin Golf Club and served on the board in the 1920’s.  He was the club champion in 1925.  In 1928 he was the winner of the first Wetaskiwin Open Golf Tournament, a tournament he won again in 1934.   In those days the Wetaskiwin Golf Course and courses in the small Alberta towns were nine-hole courses with sand greens.  During his golfing years Fritz golfed against many of the top golfers in Edmonton and our surrounding central Alberta towns. A quote from the history booklet produced for the 100th Anniversary of Wetaskiwin Golf Club (1923-2023) said “Fritz put the Wetaskiwin Golf Club on the regional map in the 1920’s, winning many local tournaments”. Fritz was awarded a Life Membership by the Wetaskiwin Golf Club in 1955.   

Fritz also won the Eastern Alberta Golf Tournament (Camrose) in 1934.  According to the Camrose Canadian newspaper, “…..he played sterling golf throughout to win the final match of the championship flight.  Mr. Kirstein, who has been a strong competitor for several years, is a popular champion”.  According to the article in the Wetaskiwin Times “Playing sound and at times brilliant golf, Fritz Kirstein of Wetaskiwin was the winner of the fifth annual golf tournament”.  It was also noted in the Edmonton Journal,” Fine putting in the pinches was a feature of Kirstein’s game”. In many of the newspaper articles he was often described as a popular winner or a popular member of the Wetaskiwin Golf Club and it sounds like all facets of his golf game were strong. 

Provincial Champions Soccer  1907 
  1 - F. Priest, manager,     2 -  J. Coates, captain, R.B   3 - H. Kemp, LB    
  4 - O.N. Woods, vice-capt, C.F    5 - L.S. Page, sec-treas, C.H 
  6 - H. Adam, IL     7 - F. Kirstein, O.L   
  8 - J. Rowelston, O.R      9 - A. Maquire, R.H  
10 - R. Kirstein, L.H    11 - G. Grabham, Goal  

This Sportsman had Natural Athletic Ability

Fritz was also a pretty talented curler.  In the 1920’s Fritz competed against teams from other centres with a Wetaskiwin group composed of two curling teams.  They won the competition and were awarded the Ash Trophy for Central and Northern Alberta.  Wetaskiwin curlers frequently traveled to Edmonton to compete in city bonspiels, Fritz did so during the ’20’s and early 30’s.  

In 1928 Fritz was on a team that won Edmonton Bonspiel Visitors’ Competition.  

  Winner of Visitors' Competition, Edmonton Bonspiel 1928 
Left to Right:  S.L. Poole,  R.R. Cleland, George Grabham,  Fritz Kirstein

We have to remember that in the 1920’s and 1930’s the main highway to Edmonton was a gravel road and probably the routes to Camrose and other central Alberta towns were dirt roads so travel couldn’t have “been that easy or speedy”!  Fritz purchased his first car in 1916 so he must have driven those roads many times.     

Besides his golf and curling prowess, Fritz was an avid sportsman.  Hunting and fishing were lifelong pursuits, and he was a “fixture” on Ma-Me-O Beach during the 30’s, 40’s & ’50’s, either fishing from the pier or at the north end of the beach near the weeds.  He was a good pool player and frequented the local pool halls.  His natural athletic ability was especially evident when he was wielding a knife at his meat market often carving intricate designs on the beef carcasses.

1935-36 Wetaskiwin Colonels

Back row, left to right:   
F.T. (Fritz) Kirstein, Gus Hays,  Johnny Maduk, Kells McMurdo,  Wayne Spencer,  Jim Paton,  Charlie Gibson, Forbes Atkinson
Front row, left to right:  
Alex Sims, Bert Brown, Sandy Morrison, Johnny Gleason, Ken Kirstein,  Pete Maduk, Wardy Somers

champions speak next