CFL all-star, Grey Cup and Super Bowl champ Harald Hasselbach dead at 56

Harold Hasselbach, seen at right in Denver in 1996, who won a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders and two Super Bowls over his professional football career, has died at 56. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Joe Mahoney)

Harald Hasselbach, who won a Grey Cup and two Super Bowls over his professional football career, has died, the Calgary Stampeders said Thursday.

He was 56.

The family of the Dutch-born, Canadian-raised defensive lineman said Hasselbach had cancer, the Stampeders said in a release.

Hasselbach, who attended South Delta Secondary School in Tsawwassen, B.C., and the University of Washington, was a fifth-round draft pick by the Stampeders in 1989.

He played 50 games for Calgary from 1990-93, helping the Stampeders to a Grey Cup title in 1992. He was a West Division and league all-star in his final season.

Hasselbach joined the Denver Broncos in 1994 and played 112 games for the NFL team over seven seasons. He won the Super Bowl with the Broncos in 1998 and '99.

Stampeders president John Hufnagel, who was a coach with Calgary during Hasselbach's playing days, called the lineman a "great Canadian."

“Harald was a championship-calibre player for the Stampeders at a significant time in the franchise’s history," Hufnagel said. "We extend our condolences to his family and friends.”