Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Roger Aldag has fond memories of former teammate Chuck Klingbeil — one of which is a food memory.
Aldag remembers a road trip to Calgary, where the Roughriders visited a restaurant across the street from McMahon Stadium. Klingbeil had what Aldag jokingly calls “a good furnace” and it was put to the test that day.
“They cooked us up some special hot, hot chicken wings,” Aldag recalls with a chuckle. “I remember them bringing (the wings) out and Big Chuck could never say no to anything when it came to food.
“I could hardly stand the smell as far as how strong they were, but Big Chuck ate every one of them — and he was sweating like you wouldn’t believe. He was one of those guys who, once he started nibbling on something, it was gone not too long after, no matter what it was.
“He was just a great guy and I have a lot of fond memories of him as a teammate. He was a good guy to have on your side, let me tell you that.”
Klingbeil, who played 23 regular-season games with the Roughriders over the 1989 and ’90 CFL seasons, died Tuesday. He was 52.
A graduate of Northern Michigan University, Klingbeil played five games with Saskatchewan during the 1989 regular season and registered 15 tackles and one sack.
The 6-foot-1, 290-pound defensive tackle was named the most outstanding defensive player in the 1989 Grey Cup after sacking Hamilton quarterback Mike Kerrigan twice in Saskatchewan’s 43-40 victory over the Tiger-Cats.
Klingbeil played in 18 games for Saskatchewan in the 1990 regular season, registering 34 tackles and seven sacks. The following season, the product of Houghton, Mich., signed with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and played in 78 games over five seasons with them.
“He was just a great guy and I have a lot of fond memories of him as a teammate. He was a good guy to have on your side, let me tell you that.”
He finished his NFL career with 242 tackles and 7.5 sacks.
Aldag remembers facing Klingbeil in training camp and in practice, where the former powerlifter proved to be a handful for Aldag and the Roughriders’ other offensive linemen.
“We all got our turn against Big Chuck and it was like trying to stop a runaway car or a Mack truck,” Aldag says. “He had not only a good takeoff and power and everything, but his determination to succeed was something.
“He worked hard. He worked hard in the gym and he worked hard on the practice field. He was a very powerful man, but he could also move. That’s scary when you’ve got strength like that and also quickness. It’s something that’s very special.”
After his playing career ended, Klingbeil had stints as an assistant coach at Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech and Finlandia universities. He was enshrined in the Northern Michigan and Upper Peninsula Sports halls of fame.
“It was a really sad day when I found out (that Klingbeil had died),” Aldag says. “He was just a great football player.
“To be the most outstanding defensive player in the Grey Cup in ’89 and then to play with the Miami Dolphins after that, it was a special deal as a football player to have a teammate who was that good.”
