George Reed (Canadian football)

George Reed

Reed as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Date of birth	October 2, 1939
Place of birth	Vicksburg, Mississippi
Career information
CFL status	International
Position(s)	RB
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
College	Washington State
Career history
As administrator
1972-1981	CFLPA (President)
1986-1993	CFLPA (President)
As player
1963-1975	Saskatchewan Roughriders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star	1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
CFL West All-Star	1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Awards	1965 - CFL MOP 1976 - Tom Pate Memorial Award
Career stats
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1979

George Robert Reed, CM (born October 2, 1939) is a former American college football and Canadian Football League player. Reed, along with Mike Pringle and Johnny Bright, is one of the players most often mentioned as being the greatest running back in CFL history. In November 2006, Reed was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#2) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.^[1]

Reed played his entire 13 year professional football career for the CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders and his #34 jersey is one of eight that has been retired by the club.

College career

Reed played Pacific-8 Conference college football with the Washington State University Cougars from 1959 to 1962 where he was teamed with fellow Canadian Football Hall of Famer Hugh Campbell.

CFL

Following college, Reed signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he starred for 13 years from 1963 until 1975, 203 games in all. By the time he retired, Reed held career records in rushing yards (16,116), rushing touchdowns (134), and touchdowns (137). Reed's rushing yards total has since been surpassed by National Football League stars Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton, and, in 2004 by CFL star Mike Pringle. Pringle tied Reed's total of 137 career touchdowns, and George Reed still holds the CFL rushing for touchdowns record with 134.

George Reed was voted the CFL's Most Outstanding Player for 1965 and in 1976 he was the inaugural winner of the Tom Pate Memorial Trophy for playing ability and community service. He was the MVP of the 54th Grey Cup of 1966, as Saskatchewan defeated Ottawa, his sole Grey Cup win.

On October 9, 1973, in Regina, Saskatchewan, George Reed was honored with the unique proclamation of October 9 as George Reed Day.

In 1972, while still an active player, Reed became the fourth president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). He maintained the CFLPA presidency to 1981, six years beyond his retirement from the CFL. Reed returned as the sixth president of the CFLPA from 1986 to 1993.

Post-football career

A naturalized Canadian citizen who is currently the Director of Guest and Community Relations at SaskGaming, Reed was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1978, Canada's highest civilian honour, and in 1979 was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.^[2][3] His daughter Georgette represented Canada in the 1992 Summer Olympics in the shot put competition.

In 2012 in honour of the 100th Grey Cup, Canada Post used his image on a series of commemorative postage stamps. The image was also used on presentation posters and other materials to promote the Grey Cup game and other celebrations associated with the centennial.

References

1. "TSN Top 50 CFL Players". TSN.ca. 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
2. Mitchell, Kevin (2006-04-22). "The might-have-beens of George Reed". Edmonton Journal (original article appeared in Saskatoon Star-Phoenix). Retrieved 2007-07-05. Archived November 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Pringle chasing down George Reed". TSN.ca (original article by Canadian Press. 2004-09-03. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-05.

External links

• George Robert Reed at The Canadian Encyclopedia