1996 Montreal Alouettes season

Canadian football team season March 2026 Montreal Alouettes 1996 12–6 2nd, East Jim Speros Jim Popp Bob Price Olympic Stadium Lost East Final Image:CFL MTL Jersey 1996.png 1987 Alouettes seasons 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 several offensive players from that team, such as Tracy Ham, Mike Pringle, kick returner Chris Wright, slotback Chris Armstrong, and two notable 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. Offseason Start of a new franchise Starting in the 1993 CFL season, the league began expanding into the United States with hopes of boosting revenues and saw five US-based teams in 1995, including the dominant Baltimore Stallions. Prior to the 1996 NFL season, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell, announced his intentions to move the Browns to Baltimore (to be reborn as the Ravens, meaning there would be two professional football teams in the city. Stallions owner Jim Speros realized that the Stallions could not realistically compete with an NFL team and decided to move the team elsewhere. He looked into moving the team to Houston, Texas (which would lose their NFL team, the Oilers by the end of that same year), but after a deal could not be resolved, he decided to move the team to Montreal as the third (and current) incarnation of the Alouettes. Stallions General Manager Jim Popp came with Speros to Montreal, but he had to build the team from scratch since the CFL did not allow the team to retain its Baltimore legacy. It was, however, allowed to reclaim the history and records of the old 1946–86 Alouettes (and the Concordes from 1982 to 1985). According to official CFL records, Speros is reckoned as having canceled the Stallions' franchise and reactivated the dormant Alouettes franchise. The Alouettes are now reckoned as having suspended operations from 1987 to 1995. While all Baltimore players were released from their contracts, Popp was able to resign future Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Tracy Ham and future Hall of Fame running back Mike Pringle, who would go on to become the CFL's all-time leading rusher. Both Ham and Pringle, along with other former Baltimore players re-signed by Popp, would play large roles in the success of the reborn team. The new Alouettes played their first regular season game on June 27, 1996; almost ten years since their last game in the city of Montreal. 1996 CFL draft 1996 CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School/Club team 1 9 Denis Montana WR Concordia University 2 18 Bryan Chiu DT Washington State 3 27 Adam Cassidy OL Alberta 4 36 Tom Hipsz DE Toronto 6 53 Adrian Rainbow QB British Columbia 7 62 Marc Charles DT Morgan State https://www.cfl.ca/canadian_draft/list?year=1996 https://web.archive.org/web/20120902061536/http://www.cfl.ca/canadian_draft/list?year=1996 2012-09-02 1996 CFL Canadian Draft 1996 CFL expansion draft +NamePositionTeamSpencer McLennanSafetyBC LionsBruce BeatonTackleCalgary StampedersJohn KalinSafetyEdmonton EskimosHency CharlesLinebackerEdmonton EskimosLee KnightFullbackHamilton Tiger-CatsNigel WilliamsReceiverOttawa Rough RidersStefen ReidLinebackerOttawa Rough RidersBruce BoykoFullbackSaskatchewan RoughridersJock ClimieSlotbackToronto ArgonautsTerry BakerKicker/PunterToronto ArgonautsAllan BoykoReceiverWinnipeg Blue Bombers Preseason Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A June 13 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 38–7 1–0 Olympic Stadium 11,215 B June 20 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 43–39 2–0 Ivor Wynne Stadium 16,346 Regular season Season standings Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 June 27 vs. Toronto Argonauts L 24–27 0–1 Olympic Stadium 24,653 2 2 July 5 at Edmonton Eskimos L 13–16 0–2 Commonwealth Stadium 26,211 3 3 July 10 vs. Calgary Stampeders L 22–62 0–3 Olympic Stadium 19,362 4 4 July 19 at BC Lions W 44–24 1–3 BC Place Stadium 21,855 5 5 July 24 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 36–10 2–3 Olympic Stadium 20,302 6 6 Aug 1 at Toronto Argonauts L 31–40 2–4 SkyDome 20,302 7 7 Aug 7 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 29–22 3–4 Olympic Stadium 25,210 7 8 Aug 11 at Saskatchewan Roughriders W 32–20 4–4 Taylor Field 21,997 8 8 Bye 9 9 Aug 23 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders W 23–16 5–4 Olympic Stadium 26,511 10 10 Aug 30 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 6–17 5–5 Frank Clair Stadium 28,451 11 11 Sept 7 vs. BC Lions W 28–27 6–5 Olympic Stadium 15,161 12 12 Sept 13 at Calgary Stampeders W 25–23 7–5 McMahon Stadium 19,196 13 Bye 14 13 Sept 29 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 38–39 7–6 Ivor Wynne Stadium 17,740 15 14 Oct 4 vs. Edmonton Eskimos W 32–18 8–6 Olympic Stadium 17,886 16 15 Oct 14 at Ottawa Rough Riders W 25–18 9–6 Frank Clair Stadium 14,080 17 16 Oct 19 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 28–21 10–6 Olympic Stadium 18,671 18 17 Oct 25 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 45–41 11–6 Olympic Stadium 20,231 19 18 Nov 1 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers W 42–24 12–6 Winnipeg Stadium 25,968 http://www.profootballarchives.com/1996cflmtl.html 1996 Montreal Alouettes The Pro Football Archives 2012-11-07 Roster 1996 Montreal Alouettes final roster Quarterbacks  9 I Dan Crowley  8 I Tracy Ham Running backs 29 I Louis Fite 27 I Mike Pringle 22 N Michael Soles 39 N Alan Wetmore Receivers 81 I Chris Armstrong 82 N Jock Climie 87 I Joey Jauch 80 N Denis Montana 88 N Nigel Williams Offensive linemen 62 N Bruce Beaton T 64 I Mark Dixon G 66 I Neal Fort T 69 N Mike Jovanovich T 65 N Mike Sutherland C 65 I Mike Withycombe G Defensive linemen 54 I Grant Carter DE 50 I Rahsaan Giddings DE 56 I Elfrid Payton DE 94 N Doug Petersen DT Special teams 10 N Terry Baker K/P Linebackers 14 I Jason Bryant  7 I Tracy Gravely 36 I Paul Randolph 47 N Stefen Reid Defensive backs  6 N Hency Charles 17 I Doug Craft  5 I Anthony Drawhorn 25 I Charles Gordon 19 N John Kalin 16 N Spencer McLennan 37 N Dwayne Provo 21 I Irvin Smith 33 I Ken WatsonInjured list 31 I Hurlie Brown LB  1 I Dexter Dawson WR 90 N Brian Forde DE  4 I Tommie Frazier QB  3 I Gary Harrell WR 58 N Michel Lamy G 55 N Quinn Magnuson G  0 I Harold Nash DB 67 N Matthieu Quiviger T 51 I Nick Subis C 53 N Chris Tsangaris LB 28 I Chris Wright RB Italics indicate International player Playoffs East Semi-Final Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalHamilton Tiger-Cats 3 1 7 0 11Montreal Alouettes 4 3 7 8 22 East Final Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalMontreal Alouettes 0 0 0 7 7Toronto Argonauts 12 14 10 7 43 Awards 1996 CFL All-Star Selections Grant Carter – Defensive End Charles Gordon – Defensive Back Tracy Gravely – Linebacker 1996 CFL East All-Star Selections Terry Baker – Placekicker Bruce Beaton – Offensive Guard Grant Carter – Defensive End Jock Climie – Slotback Neal Fort – Offensive Tackle Charles Gordon – Defensive Back Tracy Gravely – Linebacker Spencer McLennan – Defensive Safety Mike Pringle – Running Back Paul Randolph – Linebacker Irvin Smith – Cornerback 1996 Intergold CFLPA All-Star Selections https://www.cfl.ca/page/players_allstars96 Official Site of the Canadian Football League CFL.ca 2012-11-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20120902061545/http://www.cfl.ca/page/players_allstars96 2012-09-02 dead References Category:1996 Canadian Football League season by team Category:Montreal Alouettes seasons Category:1996 in Montreal Category:1996 in sports in Quebec