Montreal Alouettes

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Montreal Alouettes

Division	East Division
Founded	1946, Baltimore founded 1994, moved to Montreal in 1996
Home field	Percival Molson Memorial Stadium and Olympic Stadium
Based in	Montreal, Quebec
Colours	Red, Silver and Blue
League	Canadian Football League
Head coach	Jim Popp
General manager	Jim Popp
Owner	Robert C. Wetenhall

The Montreal Alouettes (French: Alouettes de Montréal) are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.

The CFL considers all clubs which have played in Montreal as one in their league records, including those of the Montreal Concordes and the Baltimore Stallions, which relocated to become the current Alouettes club in 1996. The Alouettes, however, do not recognize the Baltimore franchise, or its records, as part of the official team history.

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.

1 Team facts
2 Franchise history
- 2.1 Montreal Concordes
- 2.2 The Current Alouettes
3 Players of note
4 Trivia
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Team facts

Founded: Original club founded as Montreal Alouettes in 1946. Original Alouette club ceased operations following 1981 season and 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 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).

*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 lark (alouette) holding a football

Uniform colours: Blue, Red, Silver and White

Home stadium: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for regular season, 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: 17 — 1949 (won), 1954 (lost), 1955 (lost), 1956 (lost), 1970 (won), 1974 (won), 1975 (lost), 1977 (won), 1978 (lost), 1979 (lost), 1994 (lost as Baltimore), 1995 (won as Baltimore), 2000 (lost), 2002 (won), 2003 (lost), 2005 (lost), 2006 (lost)

2006 Regular Season Record: 10 wins, 8 losses, 0 ties

[edit] Franchise history

The Alouettes were first formed in 1946 by CFL hall of famer Lew Heyman. They named themselves after the famous work song "Alouette" (about plucking various parts of a lark), which has become a light-hearted 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 rock, Montreal had 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 succesful 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.

[edit] Montreal Concordes

After the original Alouettes franchise folded at the end of the 1981 CFL season, Montreal businessman, and founder of the Montreal Expos baseball team, 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.

[edit] 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 <long pause where the fans would yell "Colts"> Football Club". The team would use the names, "Baltimore Football Club" and the "Baltimore CFLers" for its inaugural season, before becoming the "Baltimore Stallions" for the 1995 season.

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.

[edit] Players of note

[edit] Canadian Football Hall of Famers

[edit] Current players

As of March 26, 2007 [1]

non-import
import

0 - Ryan Lucas, defensive tackle
0 - Tres Moses, wide receiver
0 - Andrew Battle, linebacker
0 - Kevin Winston, defensive end
0 - Vernell Brown, cornerback
1 - Keith Stokes, slotback, return specialist
2 - Davis Sanchez, cornerback
3 - John Grace, linebacker
3 - Andrew Hamilton, running back
4 - Patrick Dorvélus, linebacker
4 - Howard Jackson, running back
5 - Chris Davis, wide receiver
5 - Pascal Masson, defensive back
6 - Donnavan Carter, linebacker
6 - Avon Cobourne, running back
7 - Jesse Palmer, quarterback
8 - Lamont Brightful, defensive back
8 - Brian Bratton, wide receiver
9 - Anwar Stewart, defensive end
10 - O'Neill Wilson, slotback
11 - Ashlan Davis, wide receiver, return specialist
12 - Wayne Desmond, wide receiver
13 - Anthony Calvillo, quarterback
14 - D'wayne Taylor, linebacker
15 - Damon Duval, kicker/punter
16 - C.J. Jones, wide receiver
18 - Marcus Brady, quarterback
18 - Mike Renaud, punter
19 - D.D. Achonolu, defensive end
20 - Matthieu Proulx, cornerback
21 - Janssen Patton, linebacker
22 - Étienne Boulay, linebacker
24 - Morris Virgil, defensive back
25 - Henri Childs, running back
26 - Alain Kashama, defensive end
29 - Thomas Whitfield, linebacker
30 - Dahrran Diedrick, running back
31 - Mark Estelle, corner back
33 - Jarrett Payton, running back
34 - Jeff Piercy, fullback
35 - Mike Vilimek, fullback
36 - Ronald Jones, defensive back
37 - Isaiah Dottin-Carter, linebacker
38 - Timothy Strickland, linebacker
39 - Louis Mackey, linebacker
40 - Joel Wright, wide receiver
41 - Clint Kent, corner back
42 - Mondoe Davis, linebacker
43 - Ryan Folk, linebacker
43 - Danny Desriveaux, wide receiver
47 - Robert Edwards, running back
48 - John Bowman, defensive end
49 - Tim Cheatwood, defensive end
52 - Chris Vrantsis, linebacker
53 - Uzooma Okeke, left tackle
55 - Ian Allen, right tackle
57 - Scott Flory, right guard
58 - Skip Seagraves, offensive tackle
61 - Luke Fritz, offensive tackle
65 - Paul Lambert, left guard
67 - Dave Mudge, right tackle
68 - Bryan Chiu, centre
69 - Paul Archer, centre
75 - Ed Philion, defensive tackle
80 - Montrell Jones, wide receiver
81 - Kerry Watkins, wide receiver
86 - Ben Cahoon, slotback
88 - Dave Stala, wide receiver
89 - Shaun Diner, slotback
91 - R-Kal Truluck, defensive end
93 - Kai Ellis, linebacker
94 - Dario Romero, defensive tackle
95 - Devone Claybrooks, defensive tackle
97 - Tony Akpan, defensive end
98 - Steve Charbonneau, defensive tackle

[edit] Not Forgotten

[edit] Trivia

The cold open of the episode "Every Mother's Son" from the television show Homicide: Life on the Street 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]