QB - Montreal 1952-60

St. Louis Cardinals 1961-62, San Francisco 49ers 1963

By RAJEEV MULLICK

Protestation generale! So bellowed the bellicose sports headline of Le Devoir, the French Montreal daily on November 10th, 1960. And a general uproar would indeed follow.

English headlines over November 9th and 10th raised fists with shouts of: Montreal in Turmoil : Fans Greet Deal with Storm of Protest: Dollars for Dimes Player Exchange Wrecks Ball Club: Walker, Dandurand Baffled by Trade: Coach Should Forget Pride: Dissension Brought on Trade: O'Quinn Predicts Trouble.

The greatest Montreal quarterback in history, Sam Etcheverry, the Rifle, had been traded. In his 9 seasons in La Belle Province, Etcheverry had established rarefied new professional passing standards and led the club to a 64-57-1 (0.523) record and 3 Grey Cup berths. In the nine seasons preceding Slingin' Sam, Montreal teams were 39-49-2 (0.433). In the nine seasons following his stewardship, the Als were 39-79-8 (0.310). Only Sam's return in 1970, as coach, could precipitate a return to above 0.500 football. In fact, they were Grey Cup Champions in 1970.

Etcheverry, the quarterback, was like no other before him. His 586-yard monster single-game passing record set against Hamilton in 1954 would stand for 39 years. His masterminding of an 82-14 destruction of Hamilton, in 1956, still stands today as the single-game record for most points by one team. Guided by Six-Gun Sam, Montreal was the first team in League history to average 30+ points per game hitting 32.3 in 1955 and peaking at 34.1 in 1956.

Etcheverry was an airway controller without peer in either the CFL or the NFL. And in 1960, Sam was still at the peak of his powers.

So why would Montreal trade this kingpin of the airways?

The answer was found in the mind of Ted Workman, Montreal Alouettes' owner since purchasing the club in 1956. Workman had brought in coach Perry Moss in 1959, following a 43-0 loss to Ottawa in the playoffs. Moss' subsequent friction with several veteran Als, including Etcheverry, was considered a key factor in the trade. Workman's dedication to a religious movement known as Moral Re-armament was also suggested.

Regardless, Etcheverry, along with receiving great, Hal Patterson would leave Montreal for good as a result of the fateful trade and Montreal football supporters would immediately suffer 9 straight losing seasons. Bernie Faloney, the quarterback whom Montreal was to receive in return for Etcheverry would remain in Hamilton due to a negation of the trade by Etcheverry himself. Etcheverry's "no-cut" contract clause led to a nullification of the Faloney portion of the deal. The Rifle would trek south to join the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, in Hamilton, Faloney would throw to Patterson for years, a top passing combination. Compensation for Patterson came in the form of capable second-year defensive lineman, Don Paquette.

Herb Capozzi, B.C. Lions' general manager and a 4-year Alouette in the 50's got along well with and respected Workman. But the ex-Al asserted, "The trade was nuts. Sam was a fiery competitor and a great team leader...". Dink Carroll, colorful scribe for the Montreal Gazette added, "On the surface, the trade just doesn't make sense. If the purpose was to wreck the ball club and alienate the fans, that purpose has probably been achieved." Workman would be vilified and eventually left Montreal in 1967, spurred amongst other things by a November article in the Gazette titled: "Man Against a City" which denigrated his ownership tenure.

But Etcheverry's aerial legend would remain and later standout Avian quarterbacks Sonny Wade, Joe Barnes, Gerry Dattilio, Turner Gill, Tracy Ham and Anthony Calvillo would all labour in his shadow.

The Sam Etcheverry tale finds its beginnings in Carlsbad, Arizona, Etcheverry's birthplace. Etcheverry tried out for the freshman football team and ended up at quarterback. The coach asked players to "line up where they usually played." Etcheverry, with no formal football experience, lined up at quarterback, his position in pickup games with friends.

There, Sam stayed with only one aberration; in his senior year at Denver University he was inserted at tailback for the year. The talent misplacement was corrected when Doug "Peahead" Walker, Montreal Alouette Head Coach, brought Sam into training camp for a look in 1952.

Etcheverry reflected, "When I was at Denver University, I didn't even know there was a Canadian Football League. The story I got was that Peahead Walker saw a picture of me in a sports magazine and liked the look of my passing motion. They brought me in on the basis of his hunch that I knew how to throw the ball. Lew Hayman [Alouette Owner] had written to my coach advising him they intended to draft me. I didn't know anything about Montreal, but our school had a lot of hockey scholarship players from Quebec and other parts of Canada, and they urged me to go there."

Etcheverry was joining a mediocre team that had slipped from a Grey Cup victory over the Calgary Stampeders in 1949 to 6-6 in 1950 and 3-9 in 1951. Under Etcheverry, the Als again fluttered even a notch lower. They finished 2-10 in Sam's 1952 rookie season and averaged a sallow 11.3 points per game, last in the League.

But Sam's learning curve was sharp. And both management and coaching believed in him.

In 1953, the shuddering ascent of Alouette greatness began. Montreal banged out 8 wins en route to their first winning season since 1949. Along the way they ended a 10 game regular season losing streak against Ottawa, winning 37-21 on September 20th. They finished 3-3 against Ottawa and 8-6 on the season, good for 1st place in the East. It was only the second time in League history the Larks had won the East pennant.

Montreal's 20.1 points per game was first in the League, an eight rung jump from 1952. And although Montreal would lose a two-game East Final set to Hamilton (8-6); 37-12 and 22-11; the foundation had been set.

Montreal soared to winning altitude, starting 1954 with 4 straight wins including a Week 1 24-6 and September 11th 21-3 conquests of the defending Grey Cup Champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Hamilton won the third match-up on the 18th, a 7-6 "bruiser". The win propelled the struggling Stripes to a 5 game winning streak. Montreal, meanwhile would win their next four, setting up a fourth match with the Champs on October 16th in Montreal.

Hamilton was struggling but eager to prevent a changing of the guard. It was a "statement game" for the Steeltown Boys. And as one Ti-Cat official stated in the Hamilton Spectator, "...if the [Hamilton] line plays up to its best form we'll out hustle Montreal all the way."

It would be the Montreal air corps who were stately. In a seeming state of grace himself, Etcheverry would pass for the fabulous total of 586 yards, wounding 'Cat pride and savaging Hamiltonian sensibilities.

Montreal's 46-11 victory in front of a record crowd of 21,066, saw Joey Pal, Larry Grigg, Hal Patterson, Red O'Quinn and Alex Webster all benefit from 7 aerial majors from Silent Sam. Touchdowns were worth 5 points until 1956 when they climbed to the modern-day 6 points.

The Spectator's Ivan Miller groaned, "It was in the open where the Montrealers could use their blinding speed to the best advantage... it must be admitted [the Larks] enjoyed one of those days when everything clicked, they could do nothing wrong and they achieved the rout with sweeping blows that were nothing short of sensational... Etcheverry's brilliant passing display enabled him to complete 26 in 36 throws for a total gain of 586 yards, an amazing performance."

So amazing that it was not until 1993 that rugged B.C. Lion Danny Barrett would, at last, eclipse the mark with 603 yards passing against the Toronto Argonauts.

Some Ti-Cats were unconvinced. End Ray Ramsey vowed, "Let 'em think they're that much better. They had their good day today, when we had the letdown. We won five straight when we had to win them and the play-offs are coming. We'll get 'em then."

But it was shut out and shut up. Montreal finished 11-3, first in the East and eliminated the Tiger-Cats (9-5) 2 straight 14-9 & 24-19. Montreal would represent the East for only the second time in Grey Cup Competitive History.

And they were heavily favoured. Under Etcheverry, the Als had averaged 24.4 points per game; again a League best. When the regular season Rifle-smoke cleared, Sam had finished with 3,610 yards passing. This was a professional passing yardage record which riddled Sammy Baugh's 2,938-yard mark attained with Washington of the NFL in 1947. It also surpassed "Indian" Jack Jacobs' 3,248 yards total with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1951.

Of course, further riddling was in the Montreal Grey Cup blueprint. But they were facing Jackie Parker and the 11-5 Edmonton Eskimos, defensive deans of the CFL.

Edmonton had averaged 10.2 points against, tops in the League. Their roster featured Normie Kwong, Rollie Miles, Bernie Faloney, Johnny Bright and, naturally, "ol' Spaghetti Legs", Jackie Parker. But few gave them a chance against Montreal. It would take years of high achievement before this Esk edition would gain the reputation they richly deserved.

In the meantime, the Green and Gold Machine was labeled a "two-dollar team" and tabbed as comic underdogs in the betting.

Vern DeGeer of the Montreal Gazette wrote the morning after the game, " A hysterical crowd of 27,321 cheered, groaned and even broke into tears over the most stunning climax in history to Canada's biggest one-day sports spectacle."

The game was decided in the waning minutes and it is an ending talked about to this day. It was the beginning of a storied Grey Cup rivalry which would see the Als and Esks square off twice more in the fifties and five times in the seventies. Without pause, the most memorable of plays in this rivalry was the notorious "Hunsinger Play"; the last improbable wriggle away from the talons of certain Montreal victory in 1954.

DeGeer described it as painlessly as possible, "[The Larks] took full command in the fourth quarter and were roaring along with a 25-14 lead. Eskimos reduced the count to 25-20. The Alouettes were on the Edmonton 10 and pointing towards another major score... [Halfback Chuck] Hunsinger started wide left behind blockers Ray Cicia and Herb Trawick. He was crowded by a rushing Edmonton line and backed up seven yards. Suddenly he flipped the ball forward, towards Cicia, whose back was turned to the play. He was carrying out his blocking assignment. The ball hit the ground. Jackie Parker recovered and streaked up the Eastern sidelines of Varsity Stadium. He outstripped his lone pursuer Sam Etcheverry." Parker made it to the end zone. And the conversion made it 26-25, Edmonton.

The Gazette asserted, "If it had been ruled Hunsinger had thrown to an ineligible receiver (Cicia), the ball would have gone back to the original line of scrimmage and Montreal penalized 15 yards."

Referee Hap Shouldice, who made the call on the Hunsinger fumble asserted, "I ruled it as a fumbled ball. The ball left him as he was being thrown for a loss behind the line of scrimmage on a play that started with Montreal in possession on the Edmonton 10."

Montreal couldn't come back. They had dominated the game finishing with 37 first downs to Edmonton's 25 and 656 total yards to Edmonton's 435. Etcheverry had completed 23 of 33 pass attempts for 398 yards to Faloney's 10 of 23 for 169. The answer to the riddle was Montreal's 4 lost fumbles.

O'Quinn caught 13 passes for 313 yards, both Grey Cup Records to this day. So is Montreal's 656 yards total offence. Etcheverry's 398 passing yards in the 54 game was a Grey Cup record he broke himself in 1955 with 508; also still standing.

Montreal's final possession was a testament to their resolve. "On the first play from the Montreal 35, Etcheverry passed to O'Quinn at midfield. Red was hurt as he made the catch. He stretched out on the ground. Tom Moran was sent in to relieve him. O'Quinn refused to leave the field. On the next play Etcheverry passed again to O'Quinn on the Edmonton 35. He was hit hard by Bill Briggs as the ball touched his fingers. The ball hit the ground and Briggs recovered. If that pass had been completed Tex Coulter would have been in a position to boot for a game-tying single point."

Peahead Walker was naturally disappointed and summarized, "We had a lot of chances to win but we didn't cash in on all of them." He refused to single out Hunsinger as goat.

O'Quinn, in 1999 today reflected, " I was on the bus going from the Royal York out to the stadium and I was sitting beside Chuck. He said, " The only thing I don't want is to be a goat. I don't want to mess it up.' It turns out that it was the biggest mess-up of his career."

Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau offered condolence asserting, "It was a great ball game. The whole population of Montreal is proud of you and you have done a great job. When you and the players come back we will give you a big welcome and there will be something more than that for all of them."

Concludes O'Quinn, "Today he [Hunsinger] laughs about it and says, 'If it hadn't been for that play, I'd have been long forgotten.'"

If the loss to Edmonton was regarded a fluke by many, that notion brightened throughout 1955 as Montreal's offensive plumage grew long. The Red Raptors finished 9-3 and became the first CFL team to average more than 30 points per game, finishing with a 32.3 average and 388 points.

In doing so, Montreal developed a feared running attack to complement Sam's adroit passing. On September 9th, 1955 that running attack mulched the Argonauts. Rookie half-back Pat Abruzzi swerved for 201 yards on 20 carries and Montreal set a still-existing team record of 390 yards rushing en route to a 43-11 Sculler embarrassment.

Abruzzi's addition would ease the loss of Als' great Alex Webster as the newcomer carried 182 times for 1,248 yards, a Mercurian 6.9 yard average. Prognosticators pointed to this addition as the final bone in Montreal's archaeological quest for Lord Grey's Chalice.

For Etcheverry, it was business as usual. He finished with a bulging 3,657 yards passing and 30 TDS. He shaved his interception percentage from 7.7 in 1954 to a respectable 6.0.

Montreal outshot the unexpected Toronto Argonauts (4-8) in the East Final, winning 38-36. In the West a much-improved Edmonton team (14-2) crushed the Blue Bombers (7-9) 55-12 in a two-game total-point set to create a rematch with the Bird-men.

This time Edmonton proved they were no fluke. Their 117 points against, a stark 7.3 average, has never been bettered since.

Still, Etcheverry would pass for a still-standing record 508 yards and Montreal took a half-time lead of 19-18. But two Eskimo drives in the third, each ending with a rushing touchdown sounded the gong. And when Montreal was unable to answer it in the fourth, Edmonton celebrated its second straight Cup win. A record 39,417 fans at Empire Stadium went home convinced. Until next year.

No one expects the bully to lose. And when he does, no one is quickly convinced.

Montreal made believers of the CFL in 1956 when they broke their own scoring and passing records yet again. Montreal's dominance convinced observers that this, without doubt, would be their year.

Nineteen fifty-six witnessed the breaking of the 400 point barrier as Montreal scored 478 points (34.1), finishing first in the East with a 10-4 mark.

Perhaps the most convincing (and favored) propaganda in Montreal's support as Grey Cup favorite was a week 11 ambush of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Prior to the ambush, Black-Gold coach Jim Trimble sizzled, "We'll have none of that 56-14 business, not this time.", in reference to Montreal's week 7 win. Week 8 had seen the 'Cats come close, losing 44-43 on home soil.

Steeltown scribe Ivan Miller sprinkled some pepper, "The Cats are serious about this one and everyone in Montreal apparently realizes it, hence the apprehension... one local critic suggests a spread of 40 points in favour of the Larks. Obviously he's a candidate for psychiatry....the Larks will have no easy time taming the hungry Cats."

The Cats stayed hungry and settled onto the psychiatric couch themselves.

Montreal's record 82-14 dive-bomb left Ti-Cats, Hamiltonians and Historians helpless and swooning.

Unbelievably, the Als had 82 points entering the fourth, when in a diplomacy move, Etcheverry was urged to the sideline, his evening over. The Rifle left Hamilton hassled, harangued and finally; humiliated. Montreal set over 20 team and individual records in this game. Most notable were 42 first downs, 12 touchdowns scored and 799 total yards, the last two still standing. (Saskatchewan, under Kent Austin, notched 46 first downs against B.C. in 92 while Edmonton had 44 under Warren Moon in 83 against Hamilton).

Well, of course the Als were favoured to win it all in 1956. And, again, they played Edmonton (11-5). But what seemed to go unnoticed was the fact that the Als had given up 35+ points on five occasions.

Etcheverry was on his game, hitting Patterson for two scores and diving in himself for a third.

It was tied 20-20, when Edmonton took advantage in the third. A fumble deep in Montreal territory resulted in a short Eskimo touchdown drive. Perhaps shaken, Etcheverry threw 2 interceptions. Edmonton converted them into 10 points.

An Abruzzi touchdown was the last Montreal score. The final was 50-27, Edmonton.

Etcheverry threw for 329 yards but four interceptions. And Edmonton rumbled for 455 yards along the ground. Canada was convinced, but not the Als. Mr. Wonderful, Hal Patterson moaned, "They weren't a better team. They just out-coached us. We had only two defenses, a 5-4 and a 5-2. We didn't have anything else, and we pretty well got picked apart."

Added Etcheverry, "Our biggest mistake was not changing our defense. We held to the same defense in all three Grey Cup games against them. We just came out on the field and tried to outscore them and not worry about defense."

The Rifle would continue firing but not with the same singeing results. Although Sam would break the 3,000 yard barrier in 57, 58, and 59, he would also throw more interceptions than touchdowns in each of those years.

Montreal's scoring dropped annually from 34.1 in 1956 to 20.5, 18.9 and a shabby 13.8 in 1959. The Als would be eliminated from the East playoffs in each of those years, finally basted 43-0 in the 1959 East Semi-Final by a resurgent Ottawa crew led by new upstart quarterback Russ Jackson.

Etcheverry noted that a pass interference call against Montreal was pivotal. It was 7-0 and the interference flag set up the second Ottawa major. Said Etcheverry, "That stopped us. Riders have the same guys almost as they had last year but they're playing better ball. I guess they have the inspiration." In reference to Montreal's poor showing throughout 1959 (6-8), Etcheverry asserted, "... so many of our guys got hurt."

Coach Walker's sole comment in the dressing room was, "Disgusting." Walker was fired shortly thereafter.

Etcheverry would stay for 1960 but there would be little improvement. The Alouettes slipped to 5-9 and were again eliminated by Ottawa in the East Semi in the Capital.

Etcheverry was greatly improved and it showed. He broke the 60 percent barrier for the second time in his career and reversed his TD/INT ratio, finishing with 24 majors and nineteen picks. This coupled with the emergence of valuable half-back George Dixon resuscitated the Montreal offence. They averaged a respectable 24.3 points per game.

But the 30-14 playoff loss to Ottawa raised even more questions about the team. Etcheverry threw not one pass in the first half. Vern DeGeer of the Gazette commented, "A crowd of 17,987 was both delighted and mystified as the Alouettes attempted to outfox the Riders by putting Sam Etcheverry's famous passing arm under wraps and sneaking to victory on the ground."

Ottawa field boss Frank Clair was surprised as well, "I was amazed that Etcheverry wasn't passing in the first half. Montreal's running attack surprised us. We kept looking for Sam's passing."

Regardless, Montreal led 16-14 in the fourth. The teams exchanged interceptions, the second one stolen by Rider George Brancato, future Ottawa head coach. Russ Jackson led a drive capped by a Gerry Nesbitt plunge for a 23-14 lead. Then Ottawa deep-back Ron Koes ended it.

His interception on the Montreal 28 was the fulcrum for a Jackson to Ron Stewart touchdown pass.

Following the match, new Montreal head coach Perry Moss claimed Etcheverry "was kept under aerial wraps because he had injured a shoulder earlier in the week." Etcheverry was insistent that nothing of the sort was true. He countered that the non-passing first half was part of the Montreal strategy.

Within two days the controversy and speculation escalated as both Etcheverry and Patterson were traded straight up for Bernie Faloney and Don Paquette of the Tiger-Cats.

Leo Cahill, the outspoken coach of the Argos over two tenures in the 60's and 70's was an assistant under Moss in 1960 and offered his analysis. "I'm not blaming Etcheverry especially. Moss is a brilliant guy but at first he had a pretty well total ignorance of the local situation. To Montreal fans, Etcheverry and some of the other veteran Alouettes like Hal Patterson were practically gods. In Perry's first press conference he said he didn't care who a player was, Etcheverry or anybody else, he had to show that he belonged on this football team. The enmity between Moss and some players, especially Etcheverry, started right there and sometimes came out as open defiance."

"Etcheverry never really assimilated Moss's style, though. He could do some things as well as anybody. One was to compete. Another was to throw the football. But he did it his own way. He didn't want to be told, didn't want to practice new techniques, didn't want to be grooved into any new system."

With regard to Workman, Cahill stressed that the deal was a coaching decision. "Actually, Workman had hardly anything to do with the decision to trade Etcheverry. It was a staff deal, originated by Moss and agreed to by Ken Ship and me, completely."

"A lot of people thought later that the trade was made because Etcheverry and Moss were in such an untenable personality clash. But a coach is prepared to put up with that kind of situation, if he's getting production from the individual concerned. We had felt earlier that Sam's arm was gone. The Ottawa game proved it."

"He didn't throw any passes in the first half at all. Ottawa must have thought he was under orders to use the running game entirely, for ball control. But that wasn't so. You don't order a passer never to pass. When he did start passing, three or four minutes into the third quarter, once we had somebody so far in the open that he couldn't' have missed scoring, but Sam just couldn't get the ball to him."

Sam's no-cut contract clause was the linchpin on which his destiny turned southward. Montreal, without him and Patterson would sputter and collapse. They wouldn't finish with a winning record until Sam's return in 1970 as coach.

Etcheverry reopened his Rifle-case in St. Louis with the NFL Cardinals. Under former CFL coaching legend Pop Ivy, the Rifle would bullet his way to a 7-7 record with chief target, wideout Sonny Randle, collecting 44 passes for 591 yards. But Sam's 49 percent completion rate and 1265 yards passing were far off his standard. This, coupled with an uncharacteristically low 6.5 yards per attempt, put Etcheverry's job in danger. Ivy himself resigned with 2 games left in the regular season. And Etcheverry was also close to the end.

Four games into the 1962-63 campaign, backup man Charley Johnson took over from the Rifle. The passing legend was unable to regain the job. Etcheverry finished with 106 pass attempts to Johnson's 196. The Cardinals dropped to 4-9-1.

And Etcheverry ended up in San Francisco. He would wear number 14 and would not throw a pass in this, his last campaign. Interestingly, two more Montreal quarterbacks would also wear 49er red and gold; George Mira from 1964-68 and Mark Stevens in 1987.

And Montreal would be the scene for Sam's triumphant return.

In 1970, 3 years after Ted Workman's departure, Sam Etcheverry would be hired as head coach of the Alouettes. New owner Sam Berger installed old receiving partner Red O'Quinn as GM and the nest was ready. The helmets were different, the players had changed and the city had endured 9 straight losers.

Sam changed all that. In one short stroke he led the club to their first Grey Cup win since 1949. He anointed little-known Jesse "Sonny" Wade quarterback and the club finished 7-6-1. Three straight playoff victories including a 2 game set in the East Final against the Tiger-Cats propelled the Avians to a showdown against Calgary (9-7).

The memorable play was an alert improvisation by Montreal half-back Moses Denson. Down 7-0, the Als gambled on 3rd and one, deep in Calgary territory. Montreal pitched to Denson and he became trapped in the backfield.

Montreal linebacker Mark Kosmos explained, "The pitch went to Moses and we thought he was going to take it in. All of a sudden he was trapped in the backfield. Somebody had him by the leg, but it was such a sloppy field the guy couldn't get up. Moses cocked his arm and threw it. Ted (Alfin)'s back there and it's the biggest play of the game. Today he'd be ruled in the grasp, and the play would be whistled dead."

Following an exchange of field goals, Montreal scored following a Calgary interception and then on a pass play from Wade to Gary Lefevbre. The quenching final score was 23-10.

But Etcheverry was almost placid. "I enjoyed playing in the Grey Cup more than winning it as a coach. My coaching experience wasn't a good one even though we won the Grey Cup. We didn't have a good season. We were just fortunate to put four good games together and win it all. But it was an unhappy experience for me. I regret ever having coached the Alouettes."

Both O'Quinn and Etcheverry would leave in 1972 after 6-8 and 4-10 seasons.

Gene Gaines, Montreal defensive back explained, " As things went along, a lot of things occurred and he wasn't well supported by the management."

In retrospect, Etcheverry will be remembered as a fiery competitor who understood the game and could inspire those around him to a higher level. Although he didn't win a Grey Cup as a player, his team's dominance in the '50's is still that franchise's greatest offensive era. Etcheverry's Grey Cup win as a coach will hopefully grow into a sweeter memory for him. History has shown how rare it is for a player to transfer success from the playing field to sideline generalship. Regardless, Sam Etcheverry remains Montreal's greatest offensive leader and his passing legacy has yet to find its equal in La Belle Province.

Sam Etcheverry Records, Awards and Statistics

CFL Awards

Grey Cup Finalist: 1954, 1955, 1956

Schenley Award

Most Outstanding Player 1954

Jeff Russell Memorial Trophy

Outstanding Player in the East 1954

All-Star Recognition

East Division All-Star 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960

Records

Regular Season

Most Passing Touchdowns Playoff Game - 5 (tie), vs. Calgary, Nov. 11, 1963

Most Consecutive Games with Passing Touchdowns - 34, 1954-56 Longest Pass Completion - 109 (Hal Patterson), vs. Hamilton, Sept. 22, 1956

Third most Passing Yards, Game - 586, vs. Hamilton, Oct. 16, 1954

Tenth most Passes Intercepted Career - 163

Eleventh most Passing Yards Career- 25,582

Eleventh most Passing Touchdowns Career - 183

Playoffs

Second most Passing Touchdowns, Game - 4 (tie), vs. Hamilton, Nov. 17, 1956

Grey Cup

Most Passing Yards Game - 508, vs. Edmonton, 1955

Most Interceptions Career - 8, 1952-1960

Most Interceptions Game - 4, vs. Edmonton, Nov. 24, 1956

Second most Passing Touchdowns Game - 3 (tie), vs. Edmonton, Nov. 27, 1954

Fourth most Passing Yards Career - 1244, 1952-1960

Fifth most Pass Completions Career - 68

Sources

Canadian Football League. 2000 CFL Facts, Figures and Records. Toronto:General, 2000, 1987

Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M., Korch, Rick. The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 1994. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994

Hamilton Tiger-Cats. 2000 Media Guide. Hamilton:Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 2000

Boyd, Denny and Scrivener, Brian. Legends of Autumn, the Glory Years of Canadian Football. Vancouver/Toronto: Greystone Books, 1997

Cahill, Leo with Scott Young. Goodbye Argos. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1973

Kelly, Graham. The Grey Cup, a History. Red Deer: Johnson Gorman, 1999

Schumann, Norman. How the Mighty Have Fallen. Toronto: BFA Today, 1996

Thiele, Stephen. Heroes of the Game. Norval: Moulin, 1997

Hamilton Spectator 1954: October; 1956: August; October; 1960: November

Le Devoir 1960: November 10th

Montreal Gazette 1954: November; 1960: November

Toronto Star 1955: September; 1956: August; September

Rajeev Mullick is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. He also coaches high school football at Senator O'Connor High School and is Editor in Chief of Rouge Magazine. Mr. Mullick's full-time occupation is as a counsellor at Eva's Phoenix Shelter and he can be contacted at blightning@canoemail.com