Samuel Goldstein

1964 Paralympic Qualifier At the National Wheelchair Olympics in New York, Goldstein won three events in swimming, table tennis and bowling, gaining a birth with 60 other paralympians to the World Paralympics in Tokyo held from November 8–15, 1964.

1964 Tokyo Paralympics Around the age of 19, as a participant in swimming at the November, 1964 Tokyo Paralympics, he captured two silver medals in freestyle events, one bronze in the breaststroke and one silver medal in doubles table tennis.

1967 Stoke Mandeville Games At the 1967 Stoke Mandeville Games in slalom track para skiing, a skiing competition featuring frequent turns, Goldstein captured a gold medal. He won a silver in the backstroke competition. The Stoke Mandeville games had a history as one of the earliest of paralympic events, and were initially held in July, 1948, in the rural town of Buckinghamshire, England, about 36 miles or 60km from London, England. Neurosurgeon Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, Director of the National Spine Clinic at Stoke Mandeville Hospital was responsible for organizing the first Stoke Mandeville Games, and was assisted ably by his administrator Joan Scrutin, who helped open the games to women.

In July 1968, while competing for the Central Pennsylvania Wheelers, Goldstein was chosen as a wheelchair racer with a group of seven paralympians to compete at the International Paralympic Competition in Israel. With the Wheelers who competed in a variety of events, Goldstein was coached by Louis Neishloss of Norristown, Pennsylvania. Neishloss, degreed in therapeutic recreation from Temple University, founded the Central Penn Wheelers wheelchair team, and was an accomplished athlete in race walking. At the 1968 Summer Paralympics held in Tel Aviv, Israel, Neishloss coached the U.S. National team, which Goldstein had qualified for in July, 1968, though there is no record he attended.

Marriage In January 1968, Goldstein announced his engagement to Margaret Mary Miller, of Hannover, Pennsylvania. Miller was a 1965 graduate of Delone Catholic High School, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and a laboratory graduate in 1968 of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania's Holy Spirit Hospital majoring in histology. Histology is the microscopic study of living cells, which could focus on blood cells and pathology. Miller was an amputee, who had also competed in the Paralympics. At the time of their marriage, she worked in the research department of Philadelphia's Albert Einstein Medical Center. The couple were married on the afternoon of September 28, 1968, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Conewago, Pennsylvania, with participation by the bride's father and her sister as matron of honor. Louis Neishloss, Goldstein's coach with the Central Penn Wheelers served as Best Man.

Careers In 1968, Goldstein worked as a design draftsman for Philadelphia's Proctor Silex Company, primarily a manufacturer of kitchen appliances. After his more elite athletic career as a paralympian, Goldstein worked in customer relations and sales for Philadelphia's American Interlining Corporation. Interlining products are fabric linings that are inserted between other layers of fabric to provide stability and support, and may include such fabrics as garments, items for home decor including drapes and curtains, and other items that decorate a home including upholstery cover used with furniture including sofas and armchairs. of Guillain–Barré syndrome which he developed after receiving a swine flu inoculation two months earlier. When Goldstein died, his son Craig was around two years old. Paralysis, often of the legs, is a common symptom of Guillain-Barre and pneumonia is frequently a complication of the syndrome. The swine-flu vaccine of 1976, strongly advocated by the U.S. government, was later considered a questionable decision, and of the 40 million Americans vaccinated with the swine flu vaccine, according to several sources, approximately 300-400 developed Guillain-Barre syndrome. In early 1977, David Sencer, a head of the CDC, made a public statement that Guillain-Barre could be a side effect of the swine flu vaccine.

Goldstein was buried at Mount Jacob Cemetery in Glenolden, Pennsylvania, Southwest of Philadelphia where his wife Margaret would be buried in 2023. A funeral for Goldstein was held on Monday, January 17, at the Joseph Levin Funeral Home. After his death, Goldstein's family filed a claim which came under the legal jurisdiction of the federal Swine Flu Act of 1976, which gave sole liability to the U.S. government for injuries related to the swine flu vaccine. Around 1982, five years after his death, Goldstein's wife, the former Margaret M. Miller, and his six-year-old son Craig received a generous settlement of $850,000 from the suit resulting from his death, with one source quoting a figure of $906,781, a record at the time. A few physicians believed the blood disease he contacted in his teens was a factor leading to his death.

Honors He was inducted to the Pennsylvania Wheelchair Hall of Fame, as its first member, in 1979, and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.