The term ‘tip of the iceberg’ comes to mind here, as it should dear readers. Really, to use another adage of old, I’m merely ‘scratching the surface’ with this one, because in essence, when looking back over the long years that the Montreal Alouettes have been in existence, there have been many exceptional players that have graced the team with their talents.

But I figured a piece like this, looking at a mere 8 of the greats, would be a good way to look back on the extraordinary story of the Montreal Alouettes and all they’ve done for Canadian Football. Many of the men on this list would go on to do great things for football in general as well.

The Montreal Alouettes were officially founded in 1946. The team suffered a few low points in their existence, which include a disintegration of the team (that happened twice overall), but the team rose back up, got back on the old horse (oh man I’m just full of old expression today…). They have also enjoyed quite  a few highs over the years which include 7 Grey Cup Championship wins.

And yes, the last one was a long time ago…in 2010 to be exact; soon to be 13 years. But we can always look back at better days for the team and cherish some of the many great men that played for this CFL team we love to support and cheer for, no matter how far off in the past that last Grey Cup win was.

So without further ado…here’s a brief look at the careers of 8 that wore the Als’ jersey and made legions of fans proud.

Anthony Calvillo

Montreal fans know a lot about this man already I’m quite sure. He is the current quarterbacks coach, but in his day he played a great game of football. Sorry for the understatement but these pieces need to have a certain flow to them…

Anyways…Calvillo is a 3-time Grey Cup Champion. He played with the team from 1998 to 2013. And by the way, all of his Grey Cup wins came during his time with the Als as a player.

Ben Cahoon

The slotback. Cahoon played his entire professional football career with the Montreal Alouettes. He was with the team from 1998 to 2010. He too is a 3-time Grey Cup Champion.

In the honors department, the two standout honors that are perhaps a tad more impressive: East Division All-Star and Alouettes’ Most Outstanding Canadian. He was named a whopping 9 times for the latter and 10 times for the former. In 2016 his number, 86, was retired by the team…a tremendous honor.

Scott Flory

Here is yet another 3-time Grey Cup champion, Flory played his entire pro career with the Als as well…from 1999 to 2013. He would go on of course to coach the Saskatchewan Huskies…a position he still holds to this day.

The Huskies made it to the Vanier Cup just this past November but would succumb to the Laval Rouge et Or.

Virgil Wagner

To go back through the annals of time quite a ways, a look at this man’s career isn’t a bad idea at all. He played for the Alouettes from 1946 to 1954. In his day he was a Grey Cup Champion… an achievement that would come in 1949.  He passed on in 1997 at the age of 75.

Michael A. Pringle

Pringle would enjoy quite the professional football career overall…with vast experience across the board he still managed to take home 3 Grey Cups as well. He played for the team from 1996 to 2002 and then once again in 2005. The 7-time CFL All-Star also played in the NFL throughout his career.

Bryan Chiu

In recent-ish history, Chiu served as position coach (OLC) and a great one at that, for teams such as the Concordia Stingers in Montreal (2010 to 2013), the Toronto Argonauts (2014), and even the Ottawa Redblacks (2015-2017).

But it was from 1997 to 2009 that he would play with the Montreal Alouettes and garner for himself and his team 3 Grey Cup championship wins and a bunch of other honors and accolades.

Miki “Junior” Ah You

Born in American Samoa (which is a whole different place than the Island of Samoa…American Samoa is southeast of the aforementioned island that bears the similar and much honored name of Samoa);  he would win the Grey Cup with the team in 74 and 77 and amass for himself other honors which include a 1974 Grey Cup MVP honor.

Following his run with the Als he would play with 3 teams in the older incarnation of the USFL from 1983 to 1985.

Pasquale “Wally” Buono

Yes, the former GM of the BC Lions (from 2003-2017) was once a mighty Montreal Alouettes player himself. Of course those fans of the 70s and early 80s era CFL would know that well. He of course played for the team from 1972 to 1981.

He won the Grey Cup with the team in 1974 and 1977 of course, but he is a whopping 7-time Grey Cup champion overall, he having taken the honors home an additional 5 times because of his other duties as coach…3 times with the Stampeders and twice with the BC Lions. Now that’s quite the football career if you ask me.

Interestingly enough, Buono was also Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s coach while Johnson played for Calgary, and he was also the man responsible for cutting Dwayne as well. Johnson would say he learned a lot and owed a lot to the man despite his decision to cut him at that point in his career.

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