'A giant in life': Saskatchewan Roughriders icon George Reed passes away, aged 83
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George Reed, one of the most prolific running backs in Canadian Football League (CFL) history and a legend of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, has passed away. He was 83.
George Reed, one of the most prolific running backs in Canadian Football League (CFL) history and a legend of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, has passed away. He was 83.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Reed’s passing in a news release Sunday.
“It is with great sadness and broken hearts that the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club, alongside its fans and the entire CFL community, mourns the death of one of its greatest players of all time, George Reed.”
Reed recorded an unparalleled 13 year career with the green and white, retiring in 1976 as the league’s all-time leading rusher with 16,116 rushing yards and 134 career rushing touchdowns. The latter record still stands.
Reed was a nine-time CFL all-star, 10 time west all-star and played in five consecutive all-star games from 1970 to 1974.
Number 34 was also a driving force in the club’s first ever Grey Cup victory in 1966, when Reed rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown.
“It was my dad’s immense honour to be part of the Saskatchewan community and to call it home for so many years,” George’s daughter, Georgette said in the release. “Sixty years ago, he received an offer to move to Regina to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and in accepting that offer it changed our lives for the better.”
