Samuel "The Rifle" Etcheverry (May 20, 1930 – August 29, 2009) was a professional
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
player and
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the
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 ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
, and was named Canadian football's
Most Outstanding Player The term Most Outstanding Player may refer to:
* The recipient of the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award
* The NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award
* The College World Series Most Outstanding Player in college baseball
* The N ...
in 1954. Etcheverry's jersey #92 is one of seven
retired
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
by the Alouettes.
Etcheverry is a member of the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
, and in 2006, was voted one of the
CFL's Top 50 players (#26) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network
TSN
TSN may refer to:
Science and technology
* Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function
* Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
* The Science Netwo ...
.
College career
Etcheverry was the son of Basque sheep farmers who emigrated to New Mexico.
Known as "The Rifle", Etcheverry played for the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
from 1949 to 1951 where he still holds most of the
Pioneers' football records for passing offense.
Professional football career
In 1952, Etcheverry joined the
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 ...
of the
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (which became part of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in 1958 and was renamed the
Eastern Football Conference in 1960). As his team's
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
, he was twice voted "Most Outstanding Player" of the eastern union and was named an eastern all-star six times (1953–1957,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
). In 1954, Etcheverry was awarded the
Schenley Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...
(most outstanding player in the
Canadian Rugby Union).
Etcheverry set a single-game passing record of 586 yards in 1954 that stood for 39 years until the
1993 CFL season
The 1993 CFL season is considered to be the 40th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 36th Canadian Football League season.
CFL news in 1993
On February 23, the Sacramento Gold Miners were announced as the CFL's ...
. He also set a season passing record in 1954 of 3,610 yards that was not only a CFL record but also eclipsed the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
record set in the
1947 NFL season
The 1947 NFL season was the 28th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season by one game from eleven games per team to twelve, a number that remained constant for fourteen seasons, through 1960.
The s ...
by
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
r
Sammy Baugh of the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. He led the CFL in
passing from 1954 to 1959. In 1956, he became the first professional quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards; his record of 4,723 passing yards would stand until 1981 when it was passed by
Dieter Brock
Ralph Dieter Brock (born February 12, 1951) is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) player and coach. He is best remembered as the quarterback for the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers where he led the league in pas ...
and
Dan Fouts. Etcheverry still holds the record for most passing yards in a
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 ...
game with 508 set in a loss to the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
in the
1955 game.
A sports icon in the city of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, when Etcheverry and star receiver
Hal Patterson
Harold Edward Patterson (October 4, 1932November 21, 2011), nicknamed Prince Hal, was a star American college basketball player at the University of Kansas, and a professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League Montreal Al ...
were traded to the last-place
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 ...
in
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
, it caused an enormous public outcry and led to Etcheverry leaving the Canadian Football League and signing with the
St. Louis Cardinals of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, playing for St. Louis during 1961–62. During 1963 Training Camp, he was demoted to third string by the Cardinals, and asked to be released from his contract. After the Cardinals released him, he signed with the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, but was released before the
1963 season started.
Career regular season statistics
Coaching career
Etcheverry returned to Canada in 1964 as the head coach of the
Quebec Rifles
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
of the
United Football League. The league folded at the end of the season and Etcheverry remained out of coaching until 1967 when he became an assistant at
Loyola College in Montreal.
On December 9, 1969, Etcheverry was hired to coach the Alouettes. In his first season, he led the Alouettes to a 3rd place finish in the Eastern Football Conference with a 7–6–1 record (worst out of the six teams that qualified for the playoffs in the league, which had nine teams at the time that gave three spots to both conferences). They beat Toronto 16–6 to advance to the best-of-2 Eastern Finals against Hamilton. They won 32–22 and 11–4 to advance to the
58th Grey Cup championship game versus the
Calgary Stampeders. In a muddy natural grass field (the last for a Grey Cup for over a decade) detested by both teams in Toronto, Montreal prevailed 23–10. The next year, they went 6–8 and missed the playoffs after Ottawa beat them on tiebreakers. They finished 4–10 the next year, but as three teams were guaranteed to make it from the East, Montreal's one game advantage over fourth place Toronto meant a playoff birth. Facing Ottawa in the semifinals, they lost 14–11 to the Rough Ridwrs. He resigned at the end of the
1972 CFL season
The 1972 CFL season is considered to be the 19th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 15th Canadian Football League season.
CFL news in 1972
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame was officially opened on November 28 ...
. His overall record is 14–24–1.
In 1982, he became the general manager and president of the
Montreal Concordes
The Montreal Alouettes ( 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 East Division of the Cana ...
. Etcheverry was fired shortly before the start of the
1983 season and head coach
Joe Galat
Joe Galat was born in Painesville, Ohio and has extensive experience in professional football as a player, coach, general manager, broadcaster, and youth executive. replaced him as general manager.
Following the demise of the Concordes, Etcheverry joined a group interested in bringing an NFL franchise to Montreal. He was one of the group's representatives at the 1988 NFL owners meeting.
Head coaching record
Awards and honours
Etcheverry was inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
in 1969 and was an inaugural inductee into the
University of Denver Athletics Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1996.
In November, 2006, Etcheverry was chosen 26th amongst the
CFL's 50 Greatest Players in a
TSN
TSN may refer to:
Science and technology
* Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function
* Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
* The Science Netwo ...
poll.
Death
Etcheverry died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in Montreal on August 29, 2009.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etcheverry, Sam
1930 births
2009 deaths
American football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football quarterbacks
Denver Pioneers football players
Montreal Alouettes coaches
Montreal Alouettes general managers
Montreal Alouettes players
Montreal Alouettes team presidents
St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
United Football League (1961–1964) coaches
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners
People from Carlsbad, New Mexico
Players of American football from New Mexico
American people of Basque descent
Deaths from cancer in Quebec