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CALGARY – The Calgary Stampeders are mourning the death of alumni Wayne Harris, who passed away at 77 on Thursday.

Harris played for the Stampeders from 1961 to 1972, and was remembered as “one of the all-time greats in franchise history” in a post on the team’s site.

Harris joined the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1976, was part of the inaugural class for the Stampeders Wall of Fame in 1985 and was chosen to represent the Stampeders on a stamp as part of Canada Post’s 100th Grey Cup anniversary series in 2012.

Nicknamed “Thumper” because of his “bone-jarring hits,” Harris was the MVP of the Stamps’ 1971 Grey Cup win over the Toronto Argonauts, according to the team’s site.

“Wayne Harris was a great player who meant so much to this franchise and to this city,” said Stampeders president Gordon Norrie in a statement. “He was also a great man who will be missed and on behalf of the Stampeders organization, I extend sympathies to Wayne’s wife Anne and his children Wayne Jr., Cooper, Heather-Ann and Wynelle.”

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Harris lived in Calgary after his football days, and worked for CanTex Drilling and CE Franklin until his 2008 retirement.

Harris’ son, Wayne Jr., is currently the head coach of the University of Calgary Dinos and also played for the Stamps.