Montreal Alouettes Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Montreal Alouettes (French, Alouettes de Montréal) is a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec. This article also covers the Montreal Concordes and the Baltimore Stallions, two closely related teams.
Like the Cleveland Browns of the NFL, the earlier Alouettes and the current Alouettes have kept the same history, and vicoties in the Grey Cup by the Baltimore Stallions do not count toward the Montreal Alouettes.
- Founded: 1994 as the Baltimore Stallions, but earlier teams of same name existed from 1946 to 1981 and 1982 to 1987. Known as Montreal Concordes 1982 to 1986.
- Formerly known as: Baltimore Football Club 1994, Baltimore Stallions 1995
- Home stadium: McGill Molson Stadium for regular season, Olympic Stadium for playoffs
- Uniform colours: Blue, red and silver
- Helmet design: Silver background with a blue "A" and a charging lark holding a football
- Eastern regular season championships: 13 -- 1946, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
- Grey Cup appearances: 13 -- 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)
| 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 Quebecois. (Similarly the RCAF's 425 Bomber Squadron, mostly Quebecois, 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. The owner of the team, Jim Speros, felt that if the team couldn't use the Colts nickname then they were better off with no nickname at all, until the Canadian media started calling the team the "No Namers", which prompted Speros to adopt 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 new Montreal Alouettes.
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 uncertain, until a twist of fate re-vitalized the floundering club. When a scheduled U2 concert conflicted with an unexpected home play-off game, the team decided to temporarily return to its old home at Molson Stadium. Interest in the team's play-off run soared and the game was sold out, prompting the team to permanently re-locate to the smaller venue for the 1998 season. Since then, the Alouettes have sold out every game at the stadium, located on the McGill University campus.
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.
This is an Article on Montreal Alouettes. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Montreal Alouettes Players of note
Canadian Football Hall of Famers
Current stars
External links