Former Trinity College, NFL Standout Roger LeClerc Dies

AGAWAM, MA — Roger LeClerc, one of the last two-way players in the National Football League who won an NFL championship with the Chicago Bears in 1963, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 84.

A native of Springfield, Mass., LeClerc played both football and baseball at Trinity College in Hartford. He achieved Little All-American honors in football, and was also the Dan Webster Team MVP award winner for the Bantams' baseball team.

He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 15th round in 1959, and played linebacker, center and kicker under legendary head coach George "Papa Bear" Halas from 1960 to 1966. His final pro season came with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League in 1967.

Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 235 pounds, LeClerc was among the largest placekickers in NFL history. He kicked 75 field goals in 146 attempts, or 51.4 percent, in seven seasons with the Bears, including a career high 50-yarder in 1961. He also converted 96.2 percent of his extra-point attempts (152 of 158) with the Bears.

He recovered three fumbles in 1961; two years later, he had one fumble recovery and an interception during the Bears' drive to an NFL championship. He was voted NFL Player of the Week, an honor also earned that season by Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Y.A. Tittle and Larry Wilson, following a 17-17 tie at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on Nov. 24, 1963. He recalled the controversial nature of that contest during a lunch interview at the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Classic in 2014.

"President [John F.] Kennedy had been assassinated two days earlier, and most sports, including the AFL, had canceled games for the next few days," he said. "But [NFL commissioner] Pete Rozelle said Kennedy loved football and would have wanted the games to go on, so we played in Pittsburgh. Rozelle later said he made the wrong call."

On Dec. 29, the Bears hosted the high-scoring New York Giants at Wrigley Field in the NFL championship game. Chicago's defense was the star of the game, holding the Giants, who had averaged 32 points per game in the regular season, to a single touchdown and a short field goal. The Bears won by a 14-10 score, giving the franchise its eighth league title, but first since 1946. It was another 22 years before the team captured Super Bowl XX, its most recent championship.

"Each guy on the team got $5,899 for winning," LeClerc recalled. "That was a lot of money back then; we played football for the love of the game." In 2020, each member of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chief received $124,000.

LeClerc became Chicago's middle linebacker in 1964, starting 12 games, but yielded that spot the following season to rookie Dick Butkus, a future Hall of Famer. Another 1965 rookie who also made the Hall of Fame was Gale Sayers, whose 22 touchdowns enabled LeClerc to post a career-high of 85 points, including a perfect 52-of-52 on extra point kicks.

In four different seasons, LeClerc scored 70 or more points. When he left the Bears following the 1966 season, he ranked second on the team's all-time scoring list with 377 points, datinig back to the franchise's inception as the Decatur Staleys in 1920. At the time, only Hall of Famer George Blanda (541 points) was ahead of LeClerc; 55 years later, he still ranks 10th.

He also played amateur baseball in Massachusetts during the football off-seasons. He was a catcher for the Holyoke Orioles in the Tri-County League for several years.

Enfield Athletic Hall of Famer Bob Bromage, who pitched for Holyoke, told Patch, "There were goal posts behind the center field fence at MacKenzie Stadium, and Sacco Babbacus, a local sports promoter, used to have Roger do kicking exhibitions in the fourth inning of our games."

Following his career, LeClerc taught math for 30 years in his hometown of Agawam, as well as coaching football. He also was head football coach for a season at Westfield State College. In 2013, he returned to Chicago to join about a dozen Bears teammates at a ceremony at Soldier Field, marking the 50th anniversary of the championship season.

Despite an intercollegiate sports program dating back to 1859, it was 160 years before Trinity created an athletic hall of fame. LeClerc was among the initial 11 honorees inducted at the charter ceremony in 2019.

"Quite simply, Roger LeClerc was one of the most gifted athletes ever to wear the Blue and Gold for Trinity," Bantams sports communication director David Kingsley told Patch. "The affection that teammates and classmates show for Roger to this day are a measure of him as an amazing human being."

Roger LeClerc (fourth from left) at the 2014 Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Classic. Also pictured, left to right: Gary Waslewski (Boston Red Sox), Paul D'Amato ("Slap Shot"), Steve Nelson (New England Patriots), LeClerc, Barry Pearson (Pittsburgh Steelers), Billy Jo Robidoux (Milwaukee Brewers), Mike Laga (Detroit Tigers), Doug Roberts (Detroit Red Wings). Photo: Tim Jensen

Highlights of the 1963 Chicago Bears championship season. Credit: Classic Sports Pictures via YouTube

Roger LeClerc's video introduction upon his induction into the Trinity College Athletics Hall of Fame. Credit: Trinity College