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Jim LeClair passes


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By Sarah Hager | November 5, 2019 at 9:10 AM EST - Updated November 5 at 9:11 AM 

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A former Cincinnati Bengal lost his battle with Alzheimer’s Monday, reports say.

Jim LeClair, 69, died early Monday, the Grand Forks Herald reports. LeClair played college football at University of North Dakota.

LeClair, a linebacker, played for 12 seasons in the Queen City from 1972-1983. He was drafted by the Bengals with the 54th overall pick in the 1972. 

He was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl in 1976 played in Super Bowl XVI in January 1982 where the Bengals lost 26-21 to the San Francisco 49ers.

His former Bengals teammate Tim Krumrie posted the news of LeClair’s death on Twitter Monday:

“Lost a teammate and friend today at age 69 from Alzheimer’s. Not only did #55 Jim LeClair take me under his wing as a rookie, he trained me in my comeback from my broken leg in 1989. What a great guy, RIP my friend.”

 

Lost a teammate and friend today at age 69 from Alzheimer’s. Not only did #55 Jim LeClair take me under his wing as a rookie, he trained me in my comeback from my broken leg in 1989. What a great guy, RIP my friend.

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The Grand Forks Herald says LeClair returned to North Dakota after retiring to coach football at Mayville State from 1986-1988.They also report he spent time as an insurance agent and as Mayville’s mayor. He lived in the town with his wife, Betty, and their three children, the report says.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, LeClair is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame (1999), the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame (2014), the University of Minnesota-Crookston Hall of Fame (1999), the UND Athletic Hall of Fame (1985) and the South St. Paul High School Hall of Fame, where he grew up in Minnesota (2007).

The Bengals have not released a commented on his passing.

Copyright 2019 WXIX. All rights reserved.

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1 hour ago, UncleEarl said:

LeClair was very, very good.  Overshadowed by Lambert in the division, but one of the best, if not the best, MLB in franchise history.

 

Can we fix the thread title to spell his name correctly?

 

LeClair was very good. He and Spikes are probably the 2nd best Bengal MLBs, behind Bergey.

 

RIP Jim

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1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

 

Can we fix the thread title to spell his name correctly?

 

LeClair was very good. He and Spikes are probably the 2nd best Bengal MLBs, behind Bergey.

 

RIP Jim

Bergey and Spikes get dinged for only being in Cincinnati for 5 years.  LeClair played all 12 seasons with the Bengals and compares very well with both.  As far as I'm concerned LeClair is the best Bengal MLB. 

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12 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Too bad the Brown's dont want a ring of honor, LeClair would be on it. 

In all honesty, why is Brown against a ring of honor or Bengals HoF?  Is the idea that he would have to spend $25K a year to pay for a ceremony the holdup?  If Brown were honoring a great ex-Bengal he would make that up in ticket sales and concessions.  Most years people need a reason to show up.

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15 hours ago, UncleEarl said:

In all honesty, why is Brown against a ring of honor or Bengals HoF?  Is the idea that he would have to spend $25K a year to pay for a ceremony the holdup?  If Brown were honoring a great ex-Bengal he would make that up in ticket sales and concessions.  Most years people need a reason to show up.

ding ding ding

 

and it would cost money to actually put it up.

I mean what else could it possibly be...seriously? 

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1 hour ago, fluhartz said:

ding ding ding

 

and it would cost money to actually put it up.

I mean what else could it possibly be...seriously? 

On the inside of PBS they have like 10 ft high action pictures of famous Bengals of days gone by.

Not exactly a Ring of Honor, per se, but, imho, pretty impressive.

A reminder of what they looked like in action in their prime.

 

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1 hour ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Maybe the answer is - Mikey does not want to be reminded that the team used to win before he took over.

 

 This could well be it. He doesn't want to suffer from the comparison. Showing old pictures of players who went to the Super Bowl with the Bengals would just raise questions he'd rather not answer. 

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Interesting to note, that the Stealers do not have a "ring of honor" outside at Heinz Field...but they do have a "Hall of Honor" inside the stadium itself. 

 

Of all NFL teams, they perhaps should be the ones with an outside ring, but that would take away from the agenda here.  

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He was involved in a very overlooked play in XVI. He was flagged for a late hit that gave the 49ers a first down after the Bengals got a stop on third down. SF went on to score a TD on that drive.

 

But he was pushed from behind into that late hit. 

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