Eric Whitehead immigrated to the United States as a child and moved to Vancouver in 1945. In 1947, he became a sports columnist for the Province newspaper, a position he held for over thirty years. Whitehead became well known in the sports world as a contributor of feature articles for Sports Illustrated in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as for later authoring two excellent books on well-known BC sports figures: ‘The Patricks: Hockey’s Royal Family’ and ‘Cyclone Taylor: A Hockey Legend.’

He founded and chaired the BC Athletic Round Table, an organization designed to assist and promote amateur sport, in 1953.

As a member of several committees, he was heavily involved with the promotion of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. Due largely to his efforts, plans for a temporary stadium were abandoned in favour of building a permanent structure that eventually resulted in Empire Stadium.

Whitehead organized the first Canadian East-West College Football Championship, between UBC and Queen’s, in the 1953-1954 season.

After being asked to develop and promote a provincial Sports Hall of Fame for British Columbia, he promptly went to work on what is today the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. From its opening in 1966, he worked tirelessly as curator for the BC Sports Hall of Fame in its formative years and was named honourary curator in 1975.

In 1980, he was appointed sports consultant to the Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Government Services.