[1] His grandfather was John Goldie, a botanist originally from Ayrshire, Scotland who toured Upper Canada in the early nineteenth century and settled in Ayr, Ontario in 1844.

[2] Cited as one of the community's most popular nineteenth century mayors, Goldie was well known for his policies of modernization, as during his tenure Guelph hired its first civil engineer.

[2]However, despite his successful careers in both industry and politics, Goldie is most prominently remembered for his involvement and promotion of amateur field sports in Ontario.

The Guelph champions of 1869 included “locally born machinists, as well as a butcher, a tinsmith, a miller, and a Methodist clergyman.”[1] By the mid-1880s, however, the team was facing financial trouble in the semi-professional circuit.

[2] Following this dissolution, Goldie shifted his interests to other sports such as lacrosse, cricket, curling, horse racing and speed skating.

Goldie's personal reputation as an athlete was in cricket, his favourite sport, which he played in his youth as a member of Toronto's Albany Club.

[2] Goldie's contributions to the sporting, business and municipal life of Ontario were warmly remembered in tributes published in Toronto and Guelph newspapers, which praised him for his amiable nature, generosity, and public service.