MONTREAL -- George Springate, who played football for McGill and went on to help lead the Montreal Alouettes to a miracle Grey Cup title in 1970, has died. He was 81.
 
He passed away on Nov. 20 in Ottawa after a two-year battle with colon cancer.
                                          
A 1989 member of the Order of Canada, Springate had a fascinating, wide-ranging career as professional football player, a politician, a television sportscaster, a newspaper columnist, a police officer, a professor and a citizenship judge.
 
He was born in Montreal on May 12, 1938, the son of Walter Springate and Eleonor Woodhouse. He went on to graduate from both Sir George Williams University (BA) and McGill, where he earned two law degrees (Civil Law '68, Common Law '69).
 
Springate was 6-foot-1, 200-pound offensive lineman and place-kicker with McGill from 1966 to 1968, where scored 72 points in 19 career games, with one touchdown, 12 field goals, 27 conversions and three rouges.

He made a quick jump to the CFL, where he played three seasons with the Alouettes and scored 55 points -- with 10 field-goals in 19 attempts -- in 17 regular season contests.  In the 1970 Grey Cup game, a 23-10 upset victory over heavily-favoured Calgary, he kicked a 21-yard field-goal that gave the Als a 9-7 lead heading into halftime. He added a pair of second-half conversions on TDs by Tom Pullen and Garry Lefebvre.
 
"All our thoughts are with the Springate family during these difficult times," said Alouettes president and CEO Patrick Boivin in a release issued by the team. "Mr. Springate was involved in the community at many levels. He leaves a great legacy behind and we can only recognize his tremendous work over the years."
 
Springate served with the Montreal police force in the 1960s, then went into politics and was elected to the National Assembly of  Quebec.  He was an MNA from 1970 to 1981 and served two terms in the riding of Ste Anne's (Pointe-St. Charles and Little Burgundy in Montreal). He also served a third term, in Westmount. He was a member of the Liberal party throughout his three terms. 

In the 1980s, Springate was a columnist with two Montreal newspapers -- The Sunday Express and The Montreal Daily News -- and had a stint as a late-night sportscaster with the local CBC and host of the network's "Midday" current affairs program.
 
A founding member of the Police Technology program at John Abbott College, he taught law there for 33 years (1973 to 2007). He was a citizenship judge from 1999 to 2013, serving the last five years as Canada's senior citizenship judge.

He made headlines after performing a citizenship ceremony for Concordia football Patrick Donovan at halftime during a regular season game. A passionate supporter of university athletics, Springate initiated the Raymond Chiasson Cup, which evolved into the Ronald Corey Cup and served decades on the selection committee for the Prix d'excellence Guy Lafleur.
 
He chaired a committee that helped build Concordia Stadium in 1989 and was inducted as a builder to the Concordia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. A long-time resident of Pierrefonds, Que., the George Springate Sports Centre was named after him by the city. It is a 23-acre property containing numerous sports facilities, including football and soccer fields and a track.

"An emeritus citizen of Pierrefonds, he has done a lot to make his city shine over the years," the borough stated in a news release. Flags in Pierrefonds-Roxboro's borough hall will fly at half-mast in his memory. The West Island city of Pte. Claire will do the same.

He is survived by his wife Dr. Judy Gill.

The Montreal Gazette reported that there will be no public funeral, as per the deceased's request. Springate's ashes will be buried at a private ceremony in Ottawa at a later date.