{"id":485939,"date":"2026-02-19T19:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T19:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485939\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T19:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T19:15:08","slug":"george-reeds-impact-still-resonates-during-black-history-month-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485939\/","title":{"rendered":"George Reed\u2019s impact still resonates during Black History Month and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upon moving back to Saskatchewan, legendary Roughriders fullback George Reed resumed his immersion in community and charitable events.<\/p>\n

Hence his close connection with the Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum, which became a non-profit corporation in 2004.<\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s contributions were such that he received a lifetime membership from the organization on Sept. 13, 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really appreciated him,\u201d said Carol LaFayette-Boyd, a founding board member with the SACHM. \u201cFor me, what stood out was his humility and him coming out and standing firm with us and helping us, especially with our events.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere was this important person who didn\u2019t see himself as more important than the rest of us. But to us, he was. And because he was that important, people came out to our events.\u201d<\/p>\n

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George Reed played his entire CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Reed\u2019s importance was saluted at the highest level when, in 1978, he received the Order of Canada.<\/p>\n

The honour was bestowed upon him to recognize myriad accomplishments that transcended football \u2014 a sport he played at the highest level as a Roughrider from 1963 to 1975.<\/p>\n

At one point in his illustrious football career, Reed was affiliated with 47 different charitable or community groups.<\/p>\n

He played an integral role in the establishment of Special Olympics in Saskatchewan (1974).<\/p>\n

The George Reed Foundation, founded in 1975, benefited an incalculable number of people who faced physical and mental challenges.<\/p>\n

Although Reed never thought he was a bigger deal than anyone else, he recognized his name and his time could be used for the greater good.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a really important person to the whole community,\u201d LaFayette-Boyd said.<\/p>\n

Regina was once an unlikely destination for Reed, who was born in Vicksburg, Miss., and grew up in Renton, Wash. (near Seattle).<\/p>\n

However, Saskatchewan was the best option for Reed after he graduated from Washington State University. He signed with the Roughriders on June 8, 1963.<\/p>\n

Little did anyone suspect he would become an icon.<\/p>\n

Over 13 seasons as a Roughrider, Reed rushed for 16,116 yards and 134 touchdowns. He retired with 137 career TDs, including three through the air, and 11 1,000-yard rushing seasons.<\/p>\n

In 1965, Reed became the first Roughrider to be named the CFL\u2019s Most Outstanding Player. He rushed for 1,768 yards, a total that endures as a franchise single-season record.<\/p>\n

With fame came opportunities, which in some cases exposed a double standard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult walking into certain places that everybody didn\u2019t know who George Reed was,\u201d he recalled during a 2008 interview. \u201cI\u2019d get treated one way and then, all of a sudden, somebody would recognize me and it was a total different way that I was treated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat probably was as hard to take as anything, because I hadn\u2019t changed colours. I had just become a pretty good football player. It bothered me \u2014 and it bothered me the way other ones were treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recollections of those experiences, and others, were shared with LaFayette-Boyd and the SACHM membership after Reed and his wife, Angie, moved back to Regina from Calgary early in 2009. Reed had relocated to Calgary for work purposes in 1984.<\/p>\n

Georgette Reed, Olympian and daughter of Roughriders legend George gets us started with the coin toss!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f: Western Final LIVE NOW
\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6: TSN, RDS
\ud83c\udf0e: CFL+#GCPlayoffs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/UZ01APbs6W<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CFL (@CFL) November 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The timing of the Reeds\u2019 return could not have been better. Rider Nation was still hurting over the death of beloved quarterback Ron Lancaster when George Reed was hired by the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation as its Director of Guest and Community Relations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I ever want to retire,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cI\u2019ve been too busy to really shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed liked to say: \u201cIf you want to get something done, find a busy person.\u201d In that spirit, he once again became a fixture in the community, often lending more of his valuable time than had been requested.<\/p>\n

He continued to humbly receive a seemingly unending series of honours, which invariably saluted his non-football endeavours.<\/p>\n

2010:\u00a0Distinguished Canadian Award (Seniors Education Centre and Seniors University of Group, Centre for Continuing Education, University of Regina).<\/p>\n

2013:\u00a0Saskatchewan Order of Merit (Province of Saskatchewan).<\/p>\n

2012:\u00a0Featured on a stamp issued by Canada Post, in conjunction with the 100th\u00a0Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n

2013:\u00a0CFL Alumni Man of the Year.<\/p>\n

2014:\u00a0George Reed Centre for Accessible Visual Communications established at U of R.<\/p>\n

2017:\u00a0Statues of Reed and Lancaster were unveiled outside Mosaic Stadium.<\/a><\/p>\n

2019:\u00a0A stretch of 10th\u00a0Avenue, outside Mosaic Stadium, was renamed. The Roughriders\u2019 address: 1734 George Reed Way.<\/p>\n

2022:\u00a0Regina\u2019s Globe Theatre presented #34, a play honouring Reed.<\/p>\n

The subject of the play attended its premiere and, as always, cheerfully posed for photographs with and signed autographs for everyone who approached him.<\/p>\n

It was one of the final public appearances for Reed, who was one day shy of his 84th\u00a0birthday when he passed away at his home in Regina on Oct. 1, 2023.<\/p>\n

In November of that year, the CFL\u2019s most prestigious individual honour was re-named the George Reed Most Outstanding Player award.<\/p>\n