'Blessing to know the guy': Former teammate, Riders remember George Reed
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On Monday Saskatchewan Roughriders’ president and CEO Craig Reynolds, as well as former teammate of George Reed, Steve Mazurak, met with the media following the football legend’s passing.
On Monday Saskatchewan Roughriders’ president and CEO Craig Reynolds, as well as former Roughriders teammate of George Reed, Steve Mazurak, met with media following the football legend’s passing.
Reed, who was a day away from his 84th birthday passed away on Sunday.
“Yesterday was an incredibly sad day for Saskatchewan, the Canadian Football League (CFL) and of course the Reed family. The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around a lot but that’s exactly what George was. He was an absolute living legend,” Reynolds said.
“He’s one of the most influential figures in the history of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and I think it’s because he inspired a generation to be football fans.”
Reed was a member of the Riders from 1963 to 1975, his entire CFL career. He retired before training camp in 1976 as the league’s all-time rushing leader with 16,116 career rushing yards and 134 career rushing touchdowns, a record that remains untouched to this day.
Reed was also a major part of the Riders’ first Grey Cup victory in franchise history in 1966, rushing for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Off the field, Reed was also a major presence, in 1974 he became president of the CFL Players’ Association. In 1975 the George Reed Foundation was created, it would see Reed spend the next 50 years volunteering and giving back to the province in areas of education, continuous learning, healthy living and for people living with disabilities.
