Hall of Fame Alouettes’ defensive lineman Glen Weir passes away at 71

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

One of the greatest players in the history of the Montreal Alouettes has passed away at the age of 71.

Glen Weir played 203 career CFL games over 13 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes (1972-81) and Montreal Concordes (1982-84), which was a team record for 25 years until it was surpassed by offensive lineman Bryan Chiu. He was a five-time East Division all-star, two-time CFL all-star, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

The native of London, Ont. was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the East Division in 1977 and the Grey Cup’s defensive MVP that same year. He won the Grey Cup in 1974 and 1977, though he appeared in the game five times.

The six-foot-two, 242-pound defensive tackle recorded 22 sacks over the final four seasons of his career. It is unclear how many he made before that as the CFL did not track sacks as an official statistic until 1980. The league also didn’t track tackles as an official statistic until 1987.

The Alouettes confirmed Weir’s passing to 3DownNation on Wednesday morning. His cause of death remains unclear.