A few months before Ed Snider died, his team, the Philadelphia Flyers, paid him a visit at his Montecito home. They'd been at Goleta's Ice in Paradise earlier that New Year's Eve morning to practice for an hour or so before a game against the Los Angeles Kings later in the week, but Snider was too ill to attend. They wanted to see him, and they stopped by his house for lunch. On Monday, "the Father of the Flyers" died at the age of 83 after a two-year fight against cancer.
The NHL team Snider formed in 1966, the Philadelphia Flyers, won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, and made it to the finals six other times. Bob Clarke, captain of the championship teams, praised Snider's dedication to his players, telling Philly.com that the Flyers became a franchise that players wanted to join. Jack Norqual, a hockey fan who grew up in Minnesota, recalled how Snider had players "from many, many years ago" at a Flyers game signing autographs: "He was so loyal to his players," Norqual said.
Norqual brought Snider to the effort to build Ice in Paradise, a skating rink out by Girsh Park that has been in the making for decades. He thought Snider was a "perfect fit" for Ice in Paradise because of his dedication to skating as well as his reputation as a philanthropist. Snider's Youth Hockey Foundation has built practice rinks around Philly and offers as many as 3,000 kids free hockey — floor and ice — as well as homework help and social and academic support.