The 1950

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) 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 Canadian F ...

was the fifth season for the franchise as they competed in the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

, the highest level of play in eastern Canada. Finishing in third place within the IRFU, the Alouettes failed to make the playoffs despite winning the 37th Grey Cup the previous season.

Background

In 1949, the Montreal Alouettes finished with an 8–4 record. The team became

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

champions by defeating the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

28–15.

Acquisitions

The Alouettes signed tackle Jim Ambrose from the

Quebec Senior Football League Quebec Senior Football League operated in the 1950s and 1960s and ceased operations after the 1966 season. It was a league for players that were both junior and a bit older than juniors, and included the Verdun Shamcats and the Chateauguay Ramblers ...

before the start of the regular season.

Exhibitions

Regular season

By late August, head coach

Lew Hayman Lewis Edward Hayman (September 30, 1908 – June 28, 1984) was an American sports figure. He was one of the driving forces behind the Canadian Football League as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a ...

publicly stated that the Alouettes were performing more poorly than they had the previous season. The team had failed to find permanent starters for two spots on their roster, a tackle and an

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

. Hayman hoped to fill those roster spots with American players, but he also pointed to a "lack of drive" from the team to explain their two preseason losses. He predicted that the team would struggle for "a third of the schedule" before improving. This prediction proved accurate. After the Alouettes won their season opener against

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, they lost their next four games to fall to a 1–4 record. Their poor performance was partially blamed on injuries, a situation which worsened when former all-star halfback John Harper suffered a dislocated shoulder in a late September exhibition game against the

McGill Redmen The McGill Redbirds (formerly the McGill Redmen) and McGill Martlets are the varsity athletic teams that represent McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team name According to Suzanne Morton, a professor of history at McGill, the name ...

. The Alouettes improved in October, winning four of their next five games to reach an even 5–5 record. They remained a possible playoff team through the final week, when a win by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

pushed them into third place and prevented them from making the playoffs. The Alouettes finished with a 6–6 record.

Season standings

Season schedule

References

{{1950 Canadian football season by team Montreal Alouettes seasons Alouettes 1950 in Quebec 1950s in Montreal 1950 in sports in Quebec