MONTREAL – Dr. David Fleiszer, a McGill University graduate who led the football team to the 1969 Yates Cup championship and a berth at the Vanier Cup, was recently presented with a King Charles III Coronation Medal.
 
Fleiszer, a 1999 inductee to the McGill Sports Hall of Fame, graduated with a bachelor of science in 1969, followed by a medical degree (1973) and a master's in science (1979). He was among a group of Coronation Medal laureates that included his son Tim Fleiszer, who played in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes after graduating from Harvard. They were presented with the award by Anna Gainey, a member of Parliament who represents the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount riding, in a ceremony held March 20 at the Westmount Armoury on St. Catherine Street, situated just west of downtown Montreal.

The medal recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region, or community in Canada, or attained an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to our country.
 
"All my life, I have aspired to be like my father," wrote his son in a social media post.  "He is a Hec Creighton Trophy winner (Canadian Heisman) at McGill, a revered physician at the MUHC, and an incredible role model as a father. Last week, I had the honour of standing beside him, as we both received the Charles III Medal in recognition of our contributions to Canada.

"… Through my work with Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada, I am privileged to serve Canadian Veterans, athletes, survivors of violence and accidents, and children, as we advocate for brain injury education, research and support… Most importantly, my three young boys were there to witness this special moment. If I can be even half the father to them that my dad has been to me, I will serve them well."
 
A 6-foot-1, 180-pound fullback, David Fleiszer also played stints at inside linebacker and cornerback over his five seasons with the varsity football team from 1966 to 1970. He became the first (and only) McGill player to win the Hec Crighton trophy in 1969 as the most outstanding player in the nation. That season, he won his second consecutive conference rushing title en route to helped McGill win the Yates Cup as champions of the Ontario-Quebec conference. He tallied two touchdowns in the 1969 Vanier Cup game, a 24-15 loss to Manitoba.
 
Fleiszer won the D. Stuart Forbes Trophy in 1969-70 as the athlete who brought most credit to McGill. He was a two-time recipient of the Students' Society Trophy as team MVP (1968 & 1969) and won the team's Lois Obeck Trophy as the most improved player in 1968.
 
He scored 21 touchdowns (16 rushing, 5 receiving) in 27 regular season McGill games and held the team's all-time rushing record for 20 years with 2,177 yards on 373 carries, for 5.8 average until broken by Michael Soles (2,231 in 20 games) in 1989 and then by Shawn Linden (2,323 in 32 games) in 1998.

Fleiszer still holds the McGill single-game rushing record with a 298-yard effort on 30 carries while scoring three TDs in a 48-8 win versus Waterloo on Nov. 9, 1968. That year, Fleiszer set a McGill and OQAA single-season rushing record with 925 yards in seven games. He won the OQAA scoring title in 1969 with 10 TDs in seven contests.
 
The medal was created to mark the Coronation of King Charles III, which took place on May 6, 2023. It is the first Canadian commemorative medal to mark a coronation. It was manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint, designed by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and approved by King Charles.
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca