Career
Born in Glasgow, Foster emigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1912. He is best known for his role in leading Great Britain to its only Olympic gold medal in ice hockey. Foster first rose to prominence as a hockey player in the Winnipeg Junior Hockey League in the early 1920s.
Around this time, he suffered a broken leg and had to briefly leave hockey.
Foster went an astounding 417 minutes without allowing a goal. In 1935, along with the coach of the Moncton Hawks and Foster"s longtime mentor, Percy Nicklin, Foster moved to London to play for the Richmond Hawks.
He was selected to the All-Star team, and his new Hawks finished in a tie for first in the league. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association suspended Foster and teammate Alexander Archer for "leaving the dominion without permission" to play in England.
The International Ice Hockey Federation upheld the decision and the pair were only cleared to play in the Olympics when the Canadians waived the suspensions for the duration of the games.
In the 1936 Winter Olympics, Foster represented Great Britain in ice hockey. Foster, along with eight other British born players who had learned their hockey in Canada, a Canadian born British resident and two British natives, helped to lead Great Britain to its first and only Olympic gold medal in ice hockey, narrowly beating out Canada. In seven games, Foster allowed only three goals, recording four shutouts.
He later played for the Glace Bay Miners and the Quebec Aces.
He was inducted into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950. As he once thought of entering the Church, he was nicknamed "The Parson".