LITTLE FALLS, Minn., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Gale Gillingham, a former Green Bay Packers guard and a five-time Pro Bowl selection, died at the age of 67 at his Minnesota home, a former teammate said.
Larry McCarren, who played center for the Packers alongside Gillingham in the 1970s, said he died Thursday while lifting weights in his Little Falls garage, the Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette reported Friday.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
"[He] was quite simply the best offensive lineman I've ever seen, bar none," McCarren said. "He should have been in the [Pro Football] Hall of Fame but he would never play the political media game to get in. It just was not in that man's DNA."
Gillingham was with the Packers for a decade (1966-76). He became a full-time starter at left guard in 1967 and switched to right guard in 1969.
He retired from a three-decade-long career in real estate last year.
