Don Getty: 1933-2016

Don Getty served as premier of Alberta, and played ten years as a quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos.

Getty Was Born In Montreal

Donald Ross Getty was born Aug. 30, 1933, in Montreal.

He was the second of five children to Ross and Beatrice.

He had a tough childhood, and his family at times was on welfare.

After his father took a new job, the family moved to Ontario where Getty attended the University of Western Ontario.

Meeting Margaret

Getty played basketball and football, where he fell in love with cheerleader Margaret Mitchell.

In 1955, he graduated with a business administration degree. Two weeks later he married Mitchell, and the pair headed to Alberta where Getty joined the Edmonton Eskimos.

The couple would go on to have four children.

'The Dino'

The quarterback was known as "the Dino," thanks to his fellow teammate Norman Kwong who later become Alberta's lieutenant-governor.

Getty spent 10 seasons with the Eskimos, and was with the team for two Grey Cup wins.

Transitioning Into Politics

After leaving football, Getty worked in oil and gas and later founded his own company — Baldonnel Oil and Gas.

In 1967, former Eskimo Peter Lougheed recruited Getty to run provincially for the Progressive Conservative party.

Getty won a seat in the 1967 election, which served as the beginning of the PCs four-decade-long dynasty.

Getty was Alberta's first minister of federal and intergovernmental affairs, and later took over the critical energy portfolio.

Premier Getty

He left politics in 1979, before returning to run for party leader in 1985 when Lougheed retired.

Shortly after becoming premier, oil prices tanked and Getty was blamed for many of the provinces failures.

Getty won again in 1986, and his party won in 1989 but Getty lost his seat. He stepped down as party leader three years later.

His Legacy

Getty is remembered for his many accomplishments — founding Family Day, defusing a land disputing with the Lubicon Cree, and passing the new Metis Settlement Act.

Getty was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 1998.