Sonny Wade

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Sonny Wade played quarterback for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1969 to 1978.

A graduate of (and All-American at) the "powerhouse" football program at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, he joined the Alouettes after they suffered 9 straight losing seasons. Coached by former Als great Sam Etcheverry and the famed Marv Levy, Wade became one of the greatest clutch players in Grey Cup history.

During his 10 years with Montreal, he completed 1083 of his 2087 passes, for 51.9%, and 15,014 yards. He threw for 89 touchdowns, but his greatest weakness was the interception, and he was picked off 169 times. This includes 30 picks in his rookie season of 1969 and 31 in the Grey Cup championship year of 1970. He also had a record 7 interceptions against the Calgary Stampeders on September 24, 1972.

Additionally, he still hold the Als record for most punts, with 852.

While never an All-Canadian or All-East all star, Wade made up for this in a special way.

He is a three time winner of the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award, tied with Doug Flutie for the most wins. His first win came in 1970 in the 58th Grey Cup, and his second in 1974 in the 62nd Grey Cup. Perhaps his crowning achievement was in 1977, during the 65th Grey Cup, when playing on ice he completed 22 of 40 passes for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns and only 1 interception.

While number 14: Jesse "Sonny" Wade may never be enshrined in the CFL Hall of Fame, he is fondly remembered by legions of Alouette fans and faithful.