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EspañolMONTREAL ALOUETTES
The 'Montreal Alouettes' (French: les 'Alouettes de Montréal') are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec. The current incarnation of the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions. The CFL considers all clubs which have played in Montreal as one in their league records, including those of the original Alouettes (1946-1981), the Montreal Concordes (1982-1986) and the Baltimore Stallions (1994-1995). The Alouettes, however, do not recognize the Baltimore franchise, or its records, as part of the official team history. The Alouettes' home field is Molson Stadium for the regular season and Olympic Stadium for the playoffs. They won the Grey Cup championship in 2002. Previous incarnations of the franchise, including the Stallions, won the championship a total of five times.
| Contents |
| Team facts |
| Franchise history |
| Montreal Concordes |
| The Current Alouettes |
| Current squad |
| Players of note |
| Retired Numbers |
| Not to be forgotten |
| Trivia |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Team facts
:'Founded:' The original club was founded as the Montreal Alouettes in 1946. However, the original Alouettes club ceased operations following the 1981 season and was replaced by a new team, the 'Montreal Concordes', which played from 1982 to 1985. The Concordes were rechristened the "new" Alouettes for the 1986 season, but ceased operations the day before the 1987 season was due to start, coincidentally on Quebec's 'St. Jean Baptiste' holiday, June 24. The Baltimore Stallions were founded in 1994 and moved to Montreal in 1996 to become the third team to take the Alouettes name.
:'Formerly known as:' Montreal Concordes (1982–1986), Baltimore Colts, Baltimore CFL Colts, Baltimore CFLers, Baltimore Football Club (1994)
★ , Baltimore Stallions (1995).
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:'Helmet design:' Silver background with a blue "A" and a charging lark (alouette) holding a football. The three "motion streaks" in the logo vaguely suggest the three streaks in the previous logo for the Baltimore Stallions
:'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:' 13 — 1946, '53–56, '74, '77, '79, '99, 2000, 2002–04, '06
:'Southern regular season championship (as Baltimore Stallions}:' 1 — 1995
:'Grey Cup appearances:' Alouettes: 15 — 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)
Stallions: 1994 (lost as Baltimore), 1995 (won as Baltimore)
:'2006 Regular Season Record:' 10 wins, 8 losses, 0 ties
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 shall pluck 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 Pat Abbruzzi carrying the ball, Montreal fielded the most dangerous offense in all of Canadian football. From 1954 to 1956, they reached the Grey Cup three straight times, but questionable defensive units led the Alouettes to defeat against the Edmonton Eskimos all three times. Controversy erupted after the 1960 season when the Als traded gunslinger Etcheverry to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, which ushered in a dark decade for the team, not once registering a winning record throughout the 1960s. From 1968 to 1976 the team played in the Autostade stadium, however the stadium's less-than-desirable location led to dismal attendance, putting more strain on the team's finances.
In 1969, the team was purchased by the highly capable Sam Berger, the former owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders. During his tenure, 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 in 1976 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 68,000 fans. They also averaged over 60,000 at the Big O during the regular season, the first CFL team to accomplish that feat.
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 and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. Even with all that talent, the Alouettes suffered on the field, finishing with a dismal 3-13 record. The financial collapse of Skalbania's highly-leveraged business empire led to the team ceasing operations.
Montreal Concordes logo
Montreal Concordes
After the original Alouettes franchise folded, Montreal businessman and Montreal Expos founder Charles Bronfman came to the rescue and financed a new club for the 1982 season under the name Montreal Concordes. In 1986 the team attempted to embrace its predecessor's history and regenerate flagging fan interest by rebranding itself the "new" Montreal Alouettes, but mounting financial losses caused the second team to fold days before the 1987 season started.
Baltimore Stallions logo
The Current Alouettes
The Baltimore Football Club was granted an expansion franchise for 1994 by the Canadian Football League. Originally intending to invoke the spirit of the city's former NFL club, the team attempted to brand themselves the "Baltimore Colts". The NFL and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay filed suit and won an injunction, both prohibiting the team from use of the "Baltimore Colts" name as well as that of their next choice, the "Baltimore CFL Colts". During this time, it was quite common for the stadium announcer to announce the team as the "Baltimore
The team was by far the most successful of the CFL's American teams, garnering persistent fan support in the Baltimore area and appearing in the Grey Cup in both seasons (losing in 1994, winning in 1995). However, in late 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced his intention to relocate his NFL club to Baltimore, where they would be rechristened the Baltimore Ravens. This would have made the Stallions the only CFL club ever to directly compete with the NFL, whose season overlaps with the last three months of the CFL season. Stallions owner Jim Speros realized that despite the Stallions' popularity, they could not possibly compete with the NFL. After deals with Norfolk, Virginia and Houston fell through, Speros moved the Stallions to Montreal and revived the old Alouettes name.
In 1997, Jim Speros sold the team to Robert Wetenhall, and former Alouette star and CFL Commissioner Larry Smith became President of the club. The new Alouettes franchise played their first two seasons at Olympic Stadium, but attendance in the domed stadium was very poor and the long term prospects for the franchise were once again uncertain, until a twist of fate revitalized the floundering club.
When a scheduled November 1997 U2 concert conflicted with an unexpected home play-off game against the B.C. Lions (due to the CFL's curious 'cross-over' playoff format), the team decided to temporarily return to Molson Stadium, where they had played from 1954 to 1967. Interest in the team soared and the game was sold out, prompting the team to permanently relocate to the smaller venue beginning with the 1998 season. Since 1999, the Alouettes have sold out every game at the stadium, located on the campus of McGill University.
The team has not completely abandoned Olympic Stadium, however. The Alouettes soon resumed playing playoff games (a regular feature in recent seasons) at the "Big O" and as of 2004 play one regular season game at the larger venue. These matches have been well attended.
Prior to every Sunday home game, the club plays "Sunday Bloody Sunday" over the PA system in tribute to the unintended role U2 played in saving the franchise.
Montreal was scheduled to play in the second 'Touchdown Atlantic' exhibition game in Halifax, against the Ottawa Renegades, but the suspension of the Renegades' season forced the cancellation of the game.
In 2007, the Alouettes launched a new website that features exclusive news and information in a first for a CFL team. The Alouettes release all player announcements and other news on MontrealAlouettes.comat least an hour before releasing anything to the media. This has caused some controversy with news wires like CP, but remains a favourite with Alouettes fans. The site also features the exclusive player columns and features that make most top sports sites popular.
Current squad
''As of August 20, 2007'' [1]
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Players of note
Retired Numbers
★ 27 Mike Pringle
★ 28 George Dixon
★ 56 Herb Trawick
★ 63 Pierre Desjardins
★ 74 Peter Dalla Riva
★ 77 Junior Ah You
★ 92 Sam Etcheverry
===Canadian Football Hall of Famers===
★ Junior Ah You
★ Peter Dalla Riva
★ George Dixon
★ Sam Etcheverry
★ Terry Evanshen
★ Gene Gaines
★ Dickie Harris
★ John O'Quinn
★ Tony Pajaczkowski
★ "Prince" Hal Patterson
★ Herb Trawick
★ Virgil Wagner
★ Dan Yochum
Not to be forgotten
★ Pat Abbruzzi
★ Nick Arakgi
★ Terry Baker
★ Wally Buono
★ Jock Climie
★ Jeremaine Copeland
★ Tom Cousineau
★ Gerry Dattilio
★ Neal Fort
★ Turner Gill
★ David Green
★ Gabriel Grégiore
★ Tracy Ham
★ James Hood
★ Uzooma Okeke
★ David Overstreet
★ Lawrence Phillips
★ Tony Proudfoot
★ Randy Rhino
★ Dave Ritchie
★ Johnny Rodgers
★ Harry Skipper
★ Irvin Smith
★ Michael Soles
★ Don Sweet
★ Luc Tousignant
★ Pierre Vercheval
★ Sonny Wade
★ Glen Weir
★ Dwaine Wilson
★ Pat Woodcock
Trivia
★ The cold open of the episode "Every Mother's Son" from the television show takes place in Memorial Stadium, where the Baltimore Colts are about to play a game with the Las Vegas Posse. The PA Announcer refers to the team as the Baltimore CFLs.[2]
★ The football scene in the film The Sum of All Fears features the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts posing as teams listed on the scoreboard simply as Florida and Chicago.
See also
★ Montreal Alouettes all time records and statistics
★ Canadian Football Hall of Fame
★ Canadian football
★ Comparison of Canadian and American football
★ List of CFL seasons
★ CFL USA
References
External links
★ Official website
★ Canadian Football League Official Site
★ Alouettes fan site
★ Chicago Bears vs. Montreal Alouettes at Molson Stadium in 1961
★ CFL Historical Montreal Alouettes
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