In the latest episode of Blacklight on Sports, host Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald sat down with Erick Goodlow, a St. Paul Central graduate, Hamline University alumnus, community leader, and co-founder of two organizations making an impact in the Twin Cities. Charles Hallman was away on assignment.
A Man of Many Lives
Goodlow describes himself as a man of many lives, but two stand out right now. The first is Fairway Foundation, a nonprofit golf program he has helped run for 25 years dedicated to getting inner-city youth access to the sport.
“Most golf courses aren’t on bus routes,” Goodlow said. “They’re not in the neighborhoods where you just walk by like maybe a basketball court. We have to get our kids there to get them exposed to this lifelong sport.”
Fairway Foundation has operated entirely on a volunteer basis, with no paid staff, sustained through the dedication of Goodlow, his father, Robert Foster, and others who have committed their personal time for over two decades.
The second is Formula, an architectural and design firm he co-founded with partners James Garrett and Nathan Johnson. Goodlow describes Formula as what he believes to be the only fully Black-owned architectural firm in the Midwest staffed entirely by Black and women employees, and home to two architectural Bush Fellows.
“We need to get our shine on a little bit more than we do,” he said.
Golf Was Not His Idea
Goodlow’s relationship with golf began not by choice but by his father’s decree. His dad, David Goodlow, a lifelong coach who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, made football, basketball, and golf non-negotiable for his children. Early morning practice sessions at 4 and 5 a.m. were the norm.
“I did not like it,” Goodlow admitted. “But as I think back to it, I wish I would have had more love for it because I could play. I was a pretty good player.”
His competitive golf career began at age 10 at the Bronze Tournament at Hiawatha Golf Course, one of the largest African American golf events in the upper Midwest. By high school he was competing on the Minnesota Junior PGA Tour, where he was often the only Black player on the course.
“I started realizing the access,” he said. “I see what they’re doing. I see the access they’ve got. Now I understand what my dad was trying to give me.”
Goodlow was recruited to play golf at HBCUs including Jackson State under head coach Eddie Payton, Walter Payton’s older brother, and Tennessee State, both of which offered him full rides. He ultimately chose Hamline University to play football, a decision his parents quietly encouraged so they could see him compete in person. He said he has no regrets, though the Jackson State chapter remains a fond what-if.
St. Paul Central Pride
Goodlow’s football career at St. Paul Central was a source of deep community pride. He spoke warmly about competing during an era when Central consistently fielded elite talent from the Rondo neighborhood and the broader St. Paul community, building on a legacy that included figures like Dave Winfield and others who came before him.
He credited McDonald’s coverage in the Spokesman-Recorder as motivation for the team, recalling how players would talk about getting coverage at practice.
“You were a huge motivation in our football,” Goodlow told McDonald. “When you came saying if y’all win, I’m going to print it, we were talking about that at practice the whole time.”
30 Years at Medtronic
Goodlow spent 30 years at Medtronic, beginning in operations as a senior manager for customer service and transitioning into risk management and eventually the company’s global insurance program. He is now preparing to retire at 55.
“I’ve been diligent enough to where I don’t have to do this anymore,” he said. “Corporate takes a certain level of work beyond the work and I’m tired. I don’t want to kill myself here.”
He reflected on navigating corporate America as a Black man, describing how early in his career he made a point to identify and build relationships with Black leaders in the company, including emailing executives directly for lunch meetings to understand how they built their careers.
“I just emailed him. I called him and said, ‘Can we do lunch?’ And he said sure,” Goodlow recalled. “It wasn’t even necessarily about being Black. It was more about saying, I see somebody that looks like me and I want to get there.”
What Comes Next
Retirement will mean more time for Fairway Foundation, where Goodlow hopes to eventually bring on an executive director to help grow the program’s reach. He also has plans he is keeping close for now, though he was quick to note that he will figure it out.
“If you see me coming over with the DoorDash, you know, that’s it,” he said with a laugh.
Pearls of Wisdom
Goodlow closed with a message directed at younger generations, urging them to put down their phones and connect with their elders before those stories and that history are lost.
“Take your head out of the thing and just say hello,” he said. “Get a number from your grandparents or your parents’ friends and just give them a call. They’ll give you so much wisdom, so much knowledge.”
He pointed to a moment in his classroom when students did not recognize the name Jesse Jackson as proof of an urgent generational gap.
“They had no idea what he did. Didn’t know he ran for president. The name didn’t even ring a bell,” Goodlow said. “That kind of says it right there.”
Read Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald and Charles Hallman every week in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.