Sam Etcheverry (May 20, 1930,
Carlsbad, New Mexico,
U.S. – August 29, 2009,
Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada),
nickname "The Rifle", was a professional
American and
Canadian football player and
head coach. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the
Montreal Alouettes of the
Canadian Football League, and was named Canadian football's
Most Outstanding Player in 1954. Etcheverry's jersey #92 is one of seven
retired by the Alouettes.
Etcheverry is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, 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.
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 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 of the
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (which became part of the
Canadian Football League in 1958 and was renamed the
Eastern Football Conference in 1960). As his team's
quarterback, he was twice voted "Most Outstanding Player" of the eastern pro circuit and was named an eastern all-star six times (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957,
1960). In 1954, Etcheverry was awarded the
Schenley Award (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. 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 record set in the 1947 NFL season by Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh of the Washington Redskins. Etcheverry still holds the record for most passing yards in a Grey Cup game with 508 set in a loss to the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1955 game.
A sports icon in the city of Montreal, Quebec, when Etcheverry and star receiver Hal Patterson were traded to the last-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1960, 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, playing for St. Louis during 1961–62.
Coaching career
Etcheverry returned to
Canada in 1964 as the head coach of the
Quebec Rifles 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 Als to victory in the 58th Grey Cup championship game. He resigned at the end of the 1972 CFL season. His overall record is 14–24–1.
In 1982 he became the general manager and president of the Montreal Concordes. Etcheverry was fired shortly before the start of the 1983 season and head coach Joe Galat 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.
Awards and honours
Etcheverry was inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame 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 poll.
Death
Etcheverry died of
cancer in Montreal on August 29, 2009.
References
External links
Sam Etcheverry at CFL Legends
The Canadian Encyclopedia
Sam Etcheverry football cards
LIFE (magazine), 1961.">Morse, Ralph (photographer). "Quarterbacks of the NFL," LIFE (magazine), 1961.
Category:1930 births
Category:2009 deaths
Category:American players of Canadian football
Category:Canadian football quarterbacks
Category:Denver Pioneers football players
Category:Montreal Alouettes players
Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players
Category:Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners
Category:Grey Cup champions
Category:People from Carlsbad, New Mexico
Category:Cancer deaths in Quebec
Category:American people of Basque descent
