Hundreds celebrate life of Roughriders' great George Reed during Friday ceremony
'He lived, and he let us watch him'
George Reed was a husband, father, friend, football player, Grey Cup champion and philanthropist.
But on Friday, during a public celebration of life in Regina, one word was often used to describe him: legend.
"George didn't tell us how to live. He lived, and he let us watch him," said Wayne Morsky, Friday's master of ceremonies. He served on the Saskatchewan Roughriders' board of directors from 2010 to 2019, but also considered Reed a friend.
Reed, who died on Sunday at 83, wore green and white throughout his 13-year career, retiring as the CFL's greatest rusher. After football, he was a devoted ambassador for the Special Olympics and established his own foundation that supports projects to help people living with disabilities.
On Friday, the Riders hosted a ceremony in his honour at the Viterra International Trade Centre in Regina, drawing hundreds of people in person and online via a livestream.
Outside the hall, people signed books leaving messages and thanking Reed. Inside, a shrine was set up at the stage, featuring a poster of Reed's No. 34, various memorabilia including footballs and paintings, and the Grey Cup. Green and white lights shone throughout the hall.
Before the ceremony started, speakers played Motown and funk music, like Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine, alongside a slideshow with photos of Reed throughout his life.
Ten people spoke during the event, including Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Reed's daughter Georgette — a former Olympian.
Each shared warm or funny stories. Some speakers laid out Reed's Roughrider lore, expressed the province's love for him, described his charity work, or offered a glimpse into the man he was.
"He was a strong man who had a lot of resiliency, a lot of pride and a lot of grit and determination — not only on the football field, but to see things get better, to be better, to do better," Georgette Reed said. "That's something that he instilled in me."
Reed was born in Vicksburg, Miss., but his family moved to Renton, Wash., when he was a young child.
He attended Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., in 1958. He suited up for the WSU Cougars the following year — at the time, freshmen were ineligible to play — and starred as fullback until graduating in 1962.
He first moved to Regina after signing with the Roughriders in 1963. When he retired in 1975, he had run for 16,116 yards and 134 touchdowns — both CFL records at the time. Mike Pringle (16,425 yards) has since surpassed Reed's yardage, but his touchdown record still stands.
Reed helped Saskatchewan win its first Grey Cup in 1966 against the Ottawa Rough Riders, earning the game's most valuable player award. Saskatchewan made it to three other Grey Cup matches during his career.
"George Reed is the best running back we ever had, and has ever been in the CFL," said Don Sangster, a ceremony attendee who was 16 when Reed signed with the club.
"He could do it in any era. This is not, 'Oh, he wouldn't be as good'.... He would be just as good, because he was physically fit."
Sangster, who later developed a relationship with Reed through a mutual friend and working Grey Cup festivities together, recalled sneaking into a game at Taylor Field with his friends in 1963.
The security guard allowed them to stay, as long as Sangster sat next to him and agreed that No. 34 was too small to make it in the CFL, he said.
"I told George that story — and, obviously, he was big enough," he said.
Sangster and other fans who had the privilege to watch Reed play marvelled at his strength. Some rushers, particularly in the modern game, tend to be more agile, whereas Reed often ran in straight lines and required multiple men to take him down, they told CBC News.
Reed's football legacy has been immortalized in myriad halls of fame, and his No. 34 is one of only eight jersey numbers the Riders have retired.
His name also lives on in other ways locally.
Mosaic Stadium sits along George Reed Way in Regina. A statue of Reed stands outside the arena.
In 1973, the City of Regina proclaimed Oct. 7 as George Reed Day — then, by order of the Saskatchewan government, the date was changed to Oct. 34.
On Thursday, the provincial government extended the holiday, proclaiming Oct. 7 as George Reed Day throughout the province of Saskatchewan.
"George Reed, he personified everything that is good about Saskatchewan," Premier Moe said during Friday's ceremony.
"He most certainly made our province stronger."
Off the field, Reed was a revered community member. In 1978, he was invested into the Order of Canada — the country's highest civilian honour — for his greatness on the field and his work with people living with disabilities. He received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2013.
He was one of the Special Olympics' first celebrity ambassadors, playing an integral role in bringing a chapter to Saskatchewan. Then, in 1975, he established the George Reed Foundation.
Shane Haddad, a Special Olympian, attended Friday's ceremony dawning Riders gear, including his green No. 34 jersey. He also carried an old photograph of him and Reed, who was an honorary coach at the time.
"I was just about in tears [when I learned he died]," said Haddad, who has been a season-ticket holder for 50 years.
"The people that cherish the most is the community because he was so much involved. It's hard to find another person like that."
The George Reed Foundation and the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation have created the George Reed Legacy Fund, money from which will go toward Special Olympics Saskatchewan and Mother Teresa Middle School.
"We're going to make him proud," Nicole Dumelie told CBC News, regarding the legacy fund.
Dumelie, a niece of former Rider and one of Reed's teammates Larry Dumelie, described Reed as a father figure to her, and a grandfather figure to her son Cash. She and her family attended Friday's ceremony to support the Reeds.
In 2021, as part of a CBC News project, Black on the Prairies, Reed opened up about the racism he experienced in Saskatchewan, having arrived in Regina during the civil rights movement.
But he and his family stayed in Regina until they moved to Calgary in 1980s. Reed and his wife Angie eventually returned, however.
Reed died in his home one day before his 84th birthday.
In addition to Friday's service, the Roughriders will hold a ceremony at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday shortly before kick-off between the Riders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
