Canadian Football League
Canada
The Canadian Football League (CFL)
Montreal vs Saskatchewan
Match scheduled:
Date: 29-11-2009
Time:23:30 until 02:30
Grey Cup Championship 2009
- *The team was originally to be known as the Colts, but had to change its name following an injunction from the NFL Indianapolis Colts, who used to play in Baltimore.
- Helmet Design: Silver background with a blue "A" and a charging skylark (alouette) holding a football.
- Uniform Colours: Blue, red, silver and white
- Home Stadium: The Alouettes play at the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for the regular season, while they play at the Olympic Stadium for playoff games and usually the regular season finale.
- Past Stadiums: Delorimier Stadium (1946–53), Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (1954–67, '72, '98— ), Autostade (1968–71, 1973–76), Olympic Stadium (1976–86, 1996–97), Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) (1994–95)
- East Division Regular Season Championships: 15: 1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009
- Southern Regular Season Championship (as Baltimore Stallions): 1: 1995
- Grey Cup Appearances:
- Alouettes: 16: 1949 (won), 1954 (lost), 1955 (lost), 1956 (lost), 1970 (won), 1974 (won), 1975 (lost), 1977 (won), 1978 (lost), 1979 (lost), 2000 (lost), 2002 (won), 2003 (lost), 2005 (lost), 2006 (lost), 2008 (lost), 2009 (To be decided at the 97th Grey Cup)
- AAA Winged Wheelers: 1: 1931 (won)
- Baltimore Stallions: 2: 1994 (lost), 1995 (won)
- Main Rivals: Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Eskimos
- 2009 Regular Season Record: 15 wins, 3 losses, 0 ties
[edit] Franchise History
Canadian football has a long history in Montreal, dating to the 1850s. The Alouettes were first formed in 1946 by CFL hall of famer Lew Hayman. They named themselves after the famous work song "Alouette" (about a lark bird), which has become a symbol of the Québécois. (Similarly, during the Second World War the RCAF's 425 Bomber Squadron assumed the lark as its badge and the motto "Je te plumerai"—I'm going to fleece you.") They won their first Grey Cup championship in 1949, beating Calgary 28–15 led by quarterback Frank Filchock and running back Virgil Wagner.
The 1950s were a productive decade for the Als, with legendary quarterback Sam Etcheverry throwing passes to John "Red" O'Quinn, "Prince" Hal Patterson, and with Pat Abbruzzi carrying the ball, Montreal fielded the most dangerous offence in all Canadian football. From 1954 to 1956, they reached the Grey Cup in three straight years, but questionable defensive units led the Alouettes to defeat against the Edmonton Eskimos all three times.
The team was purchased in 1956 by Ted Workman - and while the team continued to enjoy success, that all changed at the end of the 1960 season. To be more specific, the team was shaken by an announcement on November 10 - namely the trade of Hal Patterson and Sam Etchevery to the Hamilton Tiger Cats for Bernie Faloney and Dan Paquette. Workman had concluded the deal without consulting with his General Manager (Perry Moss). Moss had just signed Sam Etcheverry to a new contract with a no trade clause. Trading a player with a no trade made him a free agent, and the deal thus crumbled. The deal was reworked and Patterson was traded for Paquette. Sam Etcheverry went on to play in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2 years (1961 and 1962) followed by the San Francisco 49'ers in 1963. Faloney remained in Hamilton, and teamed with Patterson to form one of the most deadly quaterback-receiver combinations in CFL history
This episode remains one of the most lopsided trades ever made in the Alouettes history, and it ushered in a dark decade for the team, who not once registered a winning record throughout the 1960s. From 1968 to 1976 the team played in the Autostade stadium - which had been built as a temporary stadium for Expo 67. The stadium's less-than-desirable location on Montreal's waterfront near the Victoria Bridge led to dismal attendance, putting more strain on the team's finances.
In 1969, Workman sold the team to the highly capable Sam Berger, the former owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders. Berger made immediate changes to the team. On December 9, the team announced that Sam Etcheverry was returning to the organization - this time as the team's new head coach. The team also unveiled new uniforms - their home jerseys were now predominately green, with red and white trim. The white helmets with the red "wings" used during the 1960's also disappeared, to be replaced by a white helmet with a stylized green and red "bird" - in keeping with the team's lark tradition. As one might expect from a team that had only won 2 games in 1969, many new players were brought in.
The changes paid immediate divideds. Although the team finished third in the 1970 regular season, they defeated the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the playoffs. The 1970 season culminated when the Alouettes won the 58th Grey Cup, played on November 28 at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium before a crowd of 32,669. Led by players such as quarterback Sonny Wade (who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, and who would soon become a fan favourite in Montreal - not unlike the status his coach had enjoyed in the 1950's), halfback Moses Denson, receivers Gary Lefebvre and Tom Pullen, along with kicker George Springate, the team defeated the Calgary Stampeders 23-10 for the city's first Grey Cup since the aforementioned 1949 triumph, also against the Stamps.
That 1970 victory would herald the beginning of arguably the greatest decade in franchise history. During Berger's tenure as owner, the team made six Grey Cup appearances and won the Canadian championship three times. They finally moved out of the Autostade and into Olympic Stadium midway through the 1976 season and attendance shot up. In 1977, the Als had a very successful year both on the field and at the box office, winning the Grey Cup at their home field before a CFL-record 68,318 fans. They also averaged 59,595 fans per game at the "Big O" during the regular season, a league record that still stands.
However, success was short lived when Berger retired in 1981. He then sold the team to Nelson Skalbania, a Vancouver businessman. The flamboyant Skalbania set about signing two first-round picks from the 1981 National Football League draft plus NFL name players such as Vince Ferragamo, James Scott, David Overstreet, Tom Cousineau and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. Even with all that talent, the Alouettes suffered on the field, finishing with a dismal 3–13 record while attendance plummeted to under 20,000 per game. The financial collapse of Skalbania's highly-leveraged business empire led to the team ceasing operations.
