Les Lear

Les Lear

Date of birth	(1918-08-22)August 22, 1918
Place of birth	Grafton, North Dakota
Date of death
Place of death	Los Angeles, California
Career information
Position(s)	Offensive tackle
University	Manitoba
Career history
As coach
1948-1950	Calgary Stampeders (HC)
As player
1938-1943	Winnipeg Blue Bombers
1944-1946	Cleveland/L.A. Rams
1947	Detroit Lions
1948-1950	Calgary Stampeders
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star - 1941, 1943
Career stats
Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 1974

Les Lear
Occupation	Trainer and owner
Major racing wins
Major U.S. wins: Suwannee River Stakes (1962) Saratoga Special Stakes (1964) Laurel Futurity Stakes (1964) Garden State Stakes (1964) Sorority Stakes (1965) Kentucky Oaks (1966) Major Canadian Wins: Highlander Stakes (1960) Marine Stakes (1961) Toronto Cup Stakes (1971) Sky Classic Stakes (1971)

Leslie Lear (August 22, 1918 – January 5, 1979) was a National Football League and Canadian Football League player and coach as well as an owner and trainer of Thoroughbred race horses.

Football

He grew up in Manitoba, Canada, where he played guard at the University of Manitoba. Lear started his professional football career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League and helped the team to two Grey Cup victories. In 1944, he signed with the Cleveland Rams of the NFL becoming the first Canadian-trained player to play in the NFL. He would play a total of 4 seasons in the NFL. After his stint in the NFL, Lear returned to Canada where he coached the Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders to an undefeated season in 1948- the only CFL team to go undefeated in a season. [1]

Horse racing

Following his retirement from football, Les Lear became involved in Thoroughbred horse racing both as a horse trainer and an owner.

Later life and death

Lear was elected into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1974. He died of kidney failure on January 5, 1979.