The final four digits of the phone number to the Saskatchewan Roughriders switchboard just happen to be 2323, a coincidence according to officials of the Canadian Football League team. But they provoke a warm reminder of the legendary Saskatchewan quarterback Ron Lancaster, who for 16 seasons wore number 23, now retired.

Mr. Lancaster, who was born in Fairchance, Fayette County, and grew up in Clairton, died Thursday of a heart attack a month after he announced he was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. He was 69.

Mr. Lancaster had been the radio color commentator for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and was the team's senior director for organizational development until he began treatment for lung cancer in August.

"A fan at an airport, at a hockey rink, everyone had equal importance in his mind," Hugh Campbell, a former teammate with the Roughriders and president of the Edmonton Eskimos when Mr. Lancaster was the coach, said in a conference call. "It's stunning. I knew of his illness, but I thought we'd have a little more time than this."

A moment of silence was observed for Mr. Lancaster, who earned the nickname "Little General" because he was just 5-foot-5, before Hamilton's home game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday.

"Our league has lost its 'Little General' and our country has lost a giant of a man," CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement. "Ron Lancaster is deeply loved across Canada, as a CFL player, broadcaster and mentor, but most of all as a true friend."

Although Mr. Lancaster was an outstanding quarterback at Clairton High School, the big colleges overlooked him because of his size and he went to Wittenberg University, a private liberal arts school in Springfield, Ohio. Mr. Lancaster held numerous school passing records when he graduated in 1959, but he wasn't considered tall enough to play in the National Football League, so he went to the pass-happy CFL. He played 19 seasons in the CFL, the first three in Ottawa before joining Saskatchewan.

Mr. Lancaster led Saskatchewan to five Grey Cup appearances and the team's first CFL championship in 1966. Saskatchewan's only losing record with Mr. Lancaster at quarterback came when the Roughriders were 4-11-1 in his final season.

When he retired he held CFL records for pass attempts (6,233), completions (3,384), yards passing (50,535), touchdowns (333) and interceptions (396). Those records have been surpassed, but he still remains in the top five all-time in those categories.

Mr. Lancaster won the Schenley Award as the CFL's outstanding player in 1970 and 1976 and was an all-star four times.

He coached the Roughriders in 1978 and was fired after consecutive 2-14 seasons. After doing color commentary on CBC's CFL telecasts, he returned to coaching with Edmonton and had an 83-42 record from 1991-97.

Mr. Lancaster is the team's career leader in coaching victories and led the Eskimos to the Grey Cup title in 1993. He then became the coach in Hamilton until 2003 and is fifth in CFL history with 142 regular-season victories.

He was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and was voted among the CFL's Top 50 players of the league's modern era by the Canadian Sports Network.

Mr. Lancaster is survived by his wife, Bev; three children, Lana, Ron and Bob; and four grandchildren.

The Lancaster family does not plan to hold a formal funeral for Mr. Lancaster.