Table of contents |
2 Players of note 3 External links |
Franchise history
The Alouettes were first formed in 1946. 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 French Canadians. (Similarly the RCAF's 425 Bomber Squadron, mostly French Canadian, during the Second World War assumed the lark as its badge and the motto "Je te plumerai" -- I shall pluck you.)
The Montreal Alouettes folded after the 1981 season and were replaced by a new Montreal team, the Concordes, in 1982. In 1986 the Concordes became the Alouettes to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the earlier team's formation. They folded just after the start of the 1987 season, and the league had to scramble to realign the divisions and rewrite the schedule. Montreal went without professional football for nine years, except for the short-lived Montreal Machine of the World League of American Football.
The Baltimore Stallions were the most successful United States–based Canadian Football League team. They had fan support in Baltimore, Maryland. They played in the 1994 Grey Cup their first season and won the 1995 Grey Cup.
They had originally planned to name the team the Baltimore CFL Colts, but the NFL sued and for their first season were called the Baltimore Football Club. They adopted the name Stallions in 1995. The return of the NFL to Baltimore led the team to relocate to Montreal in 1996, where they became the Montreal Alouettes.
Players of note
Canadian Football Hall of Famers:
Current stars:
Not to be forgotten:
External links