Aug 30 Als Legend Sam Etcheverry Passes Away At 79

The Montreal Alouettes and the Etcheverry family announced the passing of legendary quarterback and coach Sam "The Rifle" Etcheverry. Sam passed away Saturday morning  at the age of 79 following a long battle with cancer.

The Alouettes will communicate the details of the funeral and how people may pay tribute to Sam Etcheverry over the course of the next week.

One of the most remarkable players in team history, Sam “The Rifle” Etcheverry quarterbacked the Alouettes from 1952 to 1960, setting virtually every team passing record. He totalled 30,303 yards and 186 touchdowns on 1,969 completions.

He led the Als to the 1954, 1955 and 1956 Grey Cups and won the 1954 Schenley Award as the Canadian Football League’s best player. In 1956, he became the first quarterback in CFL history to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season.

A six-time All-Star, Etcheverry came back to the Als in 1970 as head coach, leading the team to a Grey Cup win over the Calgary Stampeders. His number 92 jersey has been retired by the Alouettes in 1996. Etcheverry was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on Nov. 28, 1969.

Honors and Records

• 1970 Grey Cup Champion as head coach of the Alouettes

• East Division Champion with the Alouettes: Player-1954, 1955, 1956; Head Coach-1970

• Number 92 retired by the Alouettes on June 27, 1996

• Inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in November 1969

• CFL Most Outstanding Player: 1954

• Alouettes’ Most Outstanding Player: 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960

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

• Jeff Russell Memorial Trophy – East Division Most Outstanding Player: 1954, 1958

• CFL record holder for the longest pass in a regular season game, a 109 yard-throw to Hal Patterson on Sept. 22, 1956.

• CFL record holder with 34 consecutive games with a passing touchdown, from 1954 to 1956.

• Third in CFL history for most passing yards in a game with 586 on Oct. 16, 1954 against Hamilton.

• Fifth in CFL history for most passing yards in a game with 561 on Sept. 29, 1956 against Hamilton.

• Grey Cup record holder for most passing yards in a game with 508 on Nov. 26, 1955 against Edmonton.

• Alouettes’ record holder for most touchdown passes in a game with six, on Oct. 20, 1956 against Hamilton.

• Second in Alouettes history with 30 030 career passing yards.

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