Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee, Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Jack Abendschan dead at 82

Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Jack Abendschan has passed away at the age of 82. He was set to turn 83 on Thursday.

The native of San Francisco, Calif. played 150 regular-season games as member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1965 to 1975, winning one Grey Cup in 1966.

Abendschan played along the offensive line and at kicker, connecting on 159-of-300 career field goal attempts (53.0 percent), 312-of-348 convert attempts (89.7 percent), and kicking off 487 times for an average of 54.1 yards. He twice led the CFL in points.

The six-foot-two, 245-pounder was a six-time All-West Division selection and five-time All-CFL selection.

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders are saddened to hear of the passing of 1966 Grey Cup champion and Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Jack Abendschan,” the team wrote in a statement. “On behalf of Rider Nation, the club extends its deepest condolences to his wife, Marjorie, his family, and all who knew and loved him.”

Abendschan was inducted into the team’s Plaza of Honour in 1992 and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders finished first in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 12-6 record, finishing first in the West Division for the first time since 2019. The team went on to defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg, marking the team’s first championship in 12 years. Trevor Harris went 11-5 as a starter, throwing for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

The Roughriders ranked second in net offence, second in net defence, and tied for third with a turnover differential of plus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was A.J. Ouellette with 1,222 yards, leading receiver was KeeSean Johnson with 1,159 yards, and leading tackler was A.J. Allen with 91 tackles. Saskatchewan finished second in attendance with average crowds of 28,427, which was a 2.7 percent increase from the previous year.