On the very first George Reed Day, the man of honour went several steps further — over and around members of the B.C. Lions’ defence — and scored three touchdowns.
On the second George Reed Day, his iconic number (34) was retired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
On Thursday, the third George Reed Day was proclaimed by the Province of Saskatchewan.
Reed, who was one day shy of his 84th birthday when he passed away at his home in Regina on Sunday, is to be honoured before Saturday’s CFL game between the Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium). The tribute is to begin at 4:50 p.m.
And get this: The looming George Reed Day will be held on the 50th anniversary of the first such celebratory event.
You know … the one he punctuated by scoring the game’s only three touchdowns to power Saskatchewan to a 24-9 victory.
He rushed 20 times for 100 yards in that 1973 game and, on top of that, caught five passes for 39 yards.
And he did all that without a respite, because he gave a speech at halftime.
Eight weeks earlier, he had broken Jim Brown’s all-time pro football rushing yardage record (12,312).
When Reed joined the Roughriders, in 1963, one of the team’s offensive linemen was Al Benecick — who had previously cleared holes for Brown at Syracuse University.
Although Reed had just turned 34 when he was first honoured at halftime, there was plenty left on the odometer.
The following year, he led the CFL in rushing for the sixth time, with 1,447 yards. He topped that total by seven in 1975, while rushing for six more TDs than he had scored during the previous year, as great as it was.
If anything, Reed was on an upward trajectory when he signed a new contract in January of 1976.
Shortly before training camp, though, he had a change of heart and shockingly retired from football. Plans were soon put in place for George Reed Day 2.0, which was preceded by George Reed Week.
It all culminated on Oct. 24, 1976 — 11 years to the day after he had rushed for a Roughriders single-game record of 268 yards — when his No. 34 jersey was retired by the team at halftime at Taylor Field and sent to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
By then, Reed was newly retired from football, but the legend continued to grow due to his innumerable good deeds on behalf of charities and the community.
On the strength of those gestures — ones that didn’t have anything to do with touchdowns or yards — he received the Order of Canada in 1978.
“George was a giant in life,” Roughriders President-CEO Craig Reynolds said on Thursday in the lobby of the Legislative Building.
“He was one of the most influential figures in the history of the Roughriders and, I would argue, in the history of the province.
“He inspired a generation of people. He inspired a love of football and a love of the Riders, but he also inspired pride in Saskatchewan.
“His grit, determination and hard work really resonated with Saskatchewan and made him so beloved.
“The way he gave back to the community and worked tirelessly to make Saskatchewan a better place endeared him to everyone.”
Reed’s seemingly infinite admirable qualities were applauded once more on Thursday, when the following proclamation was read at the Legislative Building:
I, Laura Ross, Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport
in the Province of Saskatchewan
in exercise of the powers conferred upon me,
do hereby designate the day of
October 7, 2023 to be:
“George Reed Day” in Saskatchewan
And I request the citizens of the Province of Saskatchewan to
recognize this day.
Dated at the City of Regina this 5th day of October 2023.
“Thank you for honouring someone you all knew as George, but I know as Dad,” Georgette Reed, speaking without notes and from the heart, said after Premier Scott Moe invited her to say a few words.
“He was a proud man. He was a great man. But he was most proud of being here in Saskatchewan.
“Sixty years ago, he got an offer to come to Saskatchewan to play football. He didn’t even know where Regina was. He drove by it twice.
“Once he got here, he realized that this was a place where he could make so many dreams come true — the dreams for our family, the dreams for the Roughriders, and dreams for the province.
“He loved everything that he did. He was one of those people who loved contributing and giving and being as selfless and as effective as he could.
“He would always say, ‘If you want something done, give it to somebody who is really busy.’ And, at one point in time, he was busy enough that he was part of 47 different charities — and still was able to come and hang out at my swim meets and do all kind of other things.
“He was a wonderful man and I will miss him. Our family will miss him greatly.
“We are so proud of the opportunity that we had when he came here 60 years ago to grow up in Saskatchewan, to be born in Saskatchewan, to be born in Regina — I’m from here — and to be able to live a life that you can only get here in Saskatchewan.
“So thank you … and thank you for honouring him. I’m proud of him. I will miss him, as I know all of you will, too.”
