Montreal Machine

Montreal Machine

Founded	1991
Closed	1992
Based in	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Home field	Olympic Stadium
League	World League of American Football
Colors	Maroon, Silver, Navy, Red, White [1]
Franchise record	Regular Season: 6–14

The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian (and non-U.S.-based North American) team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three European teams and six United States–based teams. Like all WLAF teams, the Machine played American rules football, 11 players per side on a 100-yard-long/53+1⁄3-yard-wide field, rather than Canadian rules football of 12 players per side on a 110-yard-long/65-yard-wide field.

The Machine filled a void created by the folding of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes in 1987. It was the first American football team in Canada since the Montreal Beavers, Toronto Rifles and Victoria Steelers, which all played in the Continental Football League in 1967. The NFL had also played two international preseason games in Montreal in 1988 and 1990 during the Alouettes' absence.

After two years, the Machine, and the entire WLAF, were put on "hiatus" by the NFL. In 1995, the three European-based franchises (and three more) were reconstituted as the World League (later known as NFL Europe); the North American teams were folded, thus becoming a purely European league. The Machine played their home games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, which also hosted what would be the WLAF's last game in its original incarnation, World Bowl '92. A crowd of 43,789 watched the Sacramento Surge defeat the Orlando Thunder, 21–17.

The Machine's average game attendance was 31,888 in their first year of play, well above the league average and above expectations. It dropped to 25,254 in their second (and final) year, still in line with league average.

The end of the WLAF's North American operations was soon followed by the CFL commencing its own U.S. expansion experiment, which lasted for three seasons. The subsequent demise of the CFL's U.S. teams coincided with pro football's return to Montreal in 1996 when the third and current incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes commenced play. The Alouettes had been revived by the owners of the Baltimore Stallions, the most successful of the CFL's American franchises, who upon shuttering their U.S.-based team relocated their football organization to Montreal.

Season-by-season

Season	League	Regular season					Postseason
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
1991	WLAF	4	6	0	.400	3rd (North American East)	–	–	—	—
1992	WLAF	2	8	0	.200	3rd (North American East)	–	–	—	—
Total		6	14	0	.300		–	–	—

1991 season

1991 Montreal Machine season
Owner	Roger Dore
General manager	Gordon Cahill
Head coach	Jacques Dussault
Home field	Olympic Stadium
Results
Record	4–6
Division place	3rd (North American)
Playoff finish	did not qualify
1992  →

Personnel

Staff

1991 Montreal Machine staff

	Front office Owner/President – Roger Dore General Manager – Gordon Cahill Director of Player Personnel – Lionel Vital Head coaches Head Coach – Jacques Dussault Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Joe Faragalli Running Backs/Tight Ends – Paul Pawlak Receivers – Joseph Tricario Offensive Line – John Salavantis			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Don Sutherin Defensive Line/Linebackers – Hank Hughes

^{[2] [3] [4]}

Roster

1991 Montreal Machine roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Ben Brown  8 Dave Dacus  1 Chris Flynn 14 Michael Proctor  7 Kevin Sweeney Running Backs 21 Darryl Harris 32 Elroy Harris 34 Ricky Johnson 47 Broderick Sargent Wide Receivers 81 Michael A Cadore Sr. 83 Gary Cooper 82 Wyatt Harris 84 Willie Snead 82 Steve Williams Tight Ends 86 K. D. Dunn 80 Steve Fumi 80 Keith Jennings		Offensive Linemen 71 Tony Brown T 73 Dave DesRochers T 63 Pat Doyle G 50 Dan Graham C 75 Michael Harris G 62 Mike Kelley G 64 Bob Kula G 67 Keven Lightner G/T 79 Jeff Novak T 53 Frank Habecker C Defensive Linemen 70 Johnny Carter NT 72 O'Neill Gilbert DE 91 Jerry Leggett DE 92 George Little DE 76 Rollin Putzier DE 90 Desmond Royal NT		Linebackers 94 Adam Bob OLB 26 Tyrone Jones OLB 57 Dan Murray ILB 55 Ray Savage ILB 53 Tracy Simien OLB 59 Henry Walls OLB Defensive Backs 22 Teryl Austin SS 30 Hency Charles FS 31 Jamie Gray SS 20 Darryl Holmes FS 36 Orsorio Jackson CB 25 Quintin Jones SS 45 Steve Lofton CB 42 Richard Shelton CB Special Teams 10 Steve Kasowski  1 Chris Mohr P  3 Björn Nittmo K		Operation Discovery Vacant Rookies in italics

Results

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	March 23	at Birmingham Fire	W 20–5	1–0	Legion Field	52,942
2	April 1	Barcelona Dragons	L 10–34	1–1	Olympic Stadium	53,238
3	April 8	Birmingham Fire	W 23–10	2–1	Olympic Stadium	27,766
4	April 13	New York/New Jersey Knights	L 0–44	2–2	Olympic Stadium	34,821
5	April 20	at London Monarchs	L 7–45	2–3	Wembley Stadium	35,294
6	April 27	at Frankfurt Galaxy	L 7–17	2–4	Waldstadion	25,269
7	May 4	at Sacramento Surge	W 26–23 (OT)	3–4	Charles C. Hughes Stadium	17,326
8	May 13	Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks	W 15–6	4–4	Olympic Stadium	20,123
9	May 19	at San Antonio Riders	L 10–27	4–5	Alamo Stadium	20,234
10	May 27	Orlando Thunder	L 27–33 (OT)	4–6	Olympic Stadium	23,493

1992 season

1992 Montreal Machine season
Home field	Olympic Stadium
Local radio	CKAC
Results
Record	2–8
Division place	3rd (North American)
Playoff finish	did not qualify
←  1991

Personnel

Roster

1992 Montreal Machine roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Ben Brown  8 Anthony Dilweg 10 Craig Kupp 14 Michael Proctor Running Backs 33 Aaron Emanuel 21 Darryl Harris 32 Charlie Young Wide Receivers 85 Andre Brown 80 Reggie Bynum  1 Chris Flynn 89 Pete Mandley 82 Steve Williams Tight Ends 88 Rich Bartlewski HB 86 K. D. Dunn 35 Sean Russell HB		Offensive Linemen 69 Tom Backes G/C 63 Jay Butler T 73 Dave Desrochers T 64 Bob Kula C 75 Roman Matusz T 77 Matt McCall G 79 Jeff Novak G/C Defensive Linemen 93 Michael Finn DE 66 Emanuel King DE 92 George Little DE 76 Rollin Putzier DE 90 Desmond Royal NT		Linebackers 94 Adam Bob ILB 53 Reggie Clark ILB/OLB 56 Darrell Davis OLB 50 Kevin McArthur ILB 54 Reggie McKenzie ILB 55 Ray Savage OLB Defensive Backs 30 Hency Charles CB 31 Jamie Gray SS 20 Daryl Holmes FS 25 Quintin Jones SS 23 James Lott CB 29 Kris McCall CB 22 Anthony Newsom S 42 Billy Owens S 26 Elliot Smith SS 22 Kip Texada CB 24 Dee Thomas CB Special Teams 12 Greg Horne P  3 Björn Nittmo K  4 Monte Robbins P		Operation Discovery Vacant Rookies in italics

Results

• Week 1: San Antonio Riders 17, Montreal 16
• Week 2: Montreal 31, Orlando Thunder 29
• Week 3: Sacramento Surge 14, Montreal 7
• Week 4: Montreal 31, Ohio Glory 20
• Week 5: Orlando Thunder 16, Montreal 8
• Week 6: New York/New Jersey Knights 34, Montreal 11
• Week 7: Sacramento Surge 35, Montreal 21
• Week 8: Birmingham Fire 23, Montreal 16 (OT)
• Week 9: London Monarchs 45, Montreal 13
• Week 10: New York/New Jersey Knights 41, Montreal 21

References

1. "Team Colors – WLAF". ColorWerx.us. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
2. The Official 1991 World League of American Football Media Guide.
3. John Vellante (May 5, 1991). "Pawlak enjoying life with WLAF". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
4. Tom Boggie (March 30, 1991). "Tricario enjoying life with WLAF club". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved January 17, 2010.