During Saturday night’s game in Montreal, the Alouettes will pay tribute to former players John Bowman, Josh Bourke and Lloyd Fairbanks, as well as team managers Jacques Dussault and Larry Smith, who were elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Photos provided by the Montreal Alouettes and Pascale Vallée
During the same training session, in the pouring rain, we saw the outstanding defensive half, Marc-Antoine Dequoy. I was also completely soaked.
Josh Bourke was a cornerstone of the Montreal Alouettes’ offensive line for nine seasons. In 2011, he was named the league’s most outstanding offensive lineman.
Danny Maciocia, the Alouettes’ general manager, was at practice in bright sunshine.
Exceptional lineman John Bowman played 230 games over 14 seasons for the Alouettes. He was a member of nine Division All-Star teams and two CFL All-Star teams. His 134 career sacks rank seventh in CFL history.
Lloyd Fairbanks played in the CFL for 17 seasons, including four seasons with the Montreal team. He was his team’s most valuable offensive player eleven times.
Larry Smith was the Alouettes’ first draft pick after an illustrious career at Bishops University. He won the Gray Cup with the Alouettes four times, including twice as a player (1974 and 1977) and just as often as a manager (2009 and 2010). Little anecdote: Larry Smith and his former teammate Peter Dalla Riva were excellent ice hockey players.
Jacques Dussault, the first French-speaking coach in CFL history, had an extraordinary career that spanned five and a half decades. After graduating college, he wrote a thesis on baseball, yes, you read that right…baseball.
