The Montreal Alouettes are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and are the current Grey Cup champions, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 110th Grey Cup Game in 2023. Their home field is Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for the regular season and as of 2014 also home of their playoff games.
The Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. They were the most successful American team in the CFL's southern expansion into the United States, and by at least one account, the most winning expansion team in North American professional sports history at the time. They had winning records in each season, and in both years advanced to the championship game. In 1995, they became the only American franchise to win the Grey Cup.
Uzooma Okeke is a former Canadian Football League tackle for the Montreal Alouettes. He won a Grey Cup with Montreal in 2002. Okeke is currently the Football Operations Assistant/Scout for the Montreal Alouettes.
Michael A. Pringle is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He set or tied almost every significant league record for the position. He played college football for the Cal State Fullerton Titans, earning third-team All-American honors. He was twice signed by National Football League (NFL) teams, though he saw very limited playing time.
The 1996 CFL season is considered to be the 43rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 39th Canadian Football League season.
Ben Cahoon is a former professional Canadian football slotback who spent his entire career with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won the award for the Most Outstanding Canadian in the CFL two years in a row in 2002 and 2003.
Herbert William Gray was a Canadian Football Hall of Fame football player who in the 1950s and 1960's won four Grey Cups and played for two others; and was named the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Defensive Player of the Half Century and to the Canadian Football League's (CFL) All-Time All-Star team at defensive end. He made all-star teams as both an offensive lineman and defensive end and was the first defensive player to win the league's Outstanding Lineman award. Prior to that he was an All-American football player at the University of Texas and helped them to win a share of the 1953 Southwest Conference (SWC) Championship.
Tracy Ham is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the Edmonton Eskimos, the Toronto Argonauts, the Baltimore Stallions, and the Montreal Alouettes. He was known for his abilities as a dual-threat quarterback. He played college football for the Georgia Southern Eagles, where he became the first quarterback to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 5,000 yards in a career. Ham is an inductee of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
James Thomas Popp is an American sports executive and coach. Popp is Vice President, Player Personnel, for the United States Football League (USFL). In 2021, Popp was Chief of Staff, Advisor to the Head Coach for the Charlotte 49ers football and also a running back coach and assistant head coach for the Alabama State Hornets. He worked extensively in the Canadian Football League, and was most recently the general manager of the Toronto Argonauts. Popp spent over two decades as General Manager of the Montreal Alouettes including several stints as Head Coach. Popp served as General Manager for two years for Baltimore Stallions, and the Director of Player Personnel for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. As a CFL general manager, three separate franchises under Popp have won five Grey Cup championship wins out of 11 appearances.
Patrick Dante Ross Cunningham is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), World League of American Football (WLAF), and Canadian Football League (CFL).
Joshua Nathan Bourke is a former Canadian football offensive lineman. He spent the majority of his professional career with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also spent time with the Toronto Argonauts (CFL) and the Green Bay Packers (NFL).
Elfrid Payton Sr. is an American former all-star gridiron football player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Payton graduated from Grambling State University.
Edward Gary George is a former offensive lineman and star player in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Jerry Wayne Crafts is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles. He also played in the World League of American Football, XFL, Canadian Football League and Arena Football League. He is the only person to have been involved with teams that played in the championship games of each of the aforementioned Leagues. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma for Barry Switzer and the University of Louisville.
Gerald Alan Alphin is a former professional gridiron football wide receiver and slotback who played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1986 to 1996, mainly for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Alphin played college football at Kansas State University. Alphin recorded four 1,000-yard receiving seasons, including a period of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Rough Riders during which he was considered one of the best receivers playing in the CFL. He was named an East all-star in 1988.
Chris Van Zeyl is a Canadian former professional gridiron football offensive tackle who played for 15 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion with the Argonauts and was named a CFL All-Star three times and CFL East Division All-Star seven times. He was also named the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2019. He played CIS Football for the McMaster Marauders as a defensive lineman.
The 1995 Baltimore Stallions season was the second and final season in the history of the Baltimore CFL franchise. The team became the first American-based football team to win the Grey Cup. Despite the Stallions success, attendance dropped. The club only sold 9,000 season tickets. The 1994 and 1995 Stallions radio flagship station was WJFK, 1300AM in Baltimore. Owned by Infinity Broadcasting, Bruce Cunningham of Fox45 TV served as play-by-play announcer, with former NFL Baltimore Colts stars Joe Washington, Bruce Laird, and Tom Matte providing analysis, and Mark Thoner of WLIF-FM as Producer.
The 1996 Montreal Alouettes finished in second place in the East Division with a 12–6 record in the franchise's first full season in the Canadian Football League since 1986. Unlike the lean years from 1981 to 1986, the revived Alouettes were going to be competitive, especially since most of them had won the Grey Cup in the previous season as the Baltimore Stallions. They had some nice talented offensive players from that team, such as Tracy Ham, Mike Pringle, kick returner Chris Wright, slotback Chris Armstrong, and two great defensive players in Irvin Smith, and Elfrid Payton. After a slow start they rebounded to finish strong and after defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, they traveled to Toronto, where they were defeated in the East Final by the eventual Grey Cup champions, the Toronto Argonauts.
Hénoc Muamba is a Congolese-Canadian former professional football linebacker who played in both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was a two-time CFL All-Star, three-time CFL Divisional All-Star, and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian in 2017. In 2022, he won the Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts and was named the game's most valuable player (MVP) and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian, becoming the second player in history to earn both awards. He was also a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Indianapolis Colts, Montreal Alouettes, Dallas Cowboys, and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
David Foucault is a Canadian professional football offensive lineman for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) football for the Montreal Carabins. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and the BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
