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Bengals great Jim LeClair, 69, dies

Bengals Jim LeClair

CINCINNATI - DECEMBER 6: Linebacker Jim LeClair #55 of the Cincinnati Bengals looks across the line of scrimmage at the San Francisco 49ers during a game at Riverfront Stadium on December 6, 1981 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 21-3. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

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Bengals linebacker Jim LeClair, a fixture with in Cincinnati for 12 years, died earlier this week. He was 69.

A third-round draft pick who played college football at North Dakota, LeClair played for the Bengals from 1972 through 1983. He qualified for the Pro Bowl in 1976, and he started in Super Bowl XVI, a game that the Bengals lost to the 49ers.

Via Cincinnati.com, LeClair had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

He finished his playing career in the USFL, spending two seasons with the New Jersey Generals. Along the way, LeClair wrestled -- and reportedly pinned -- a 457-pound bear.