Wikipedia

1981 Montreal Alouettes season

The 1981 Montreal Alouettes finished the season in third place in the East Division with a 3–13 record. They appeared in the East Semi-Final, where they lost to the Ottawa Rough Riders 20-16. After the season the Alouettes folded after owner Nelson Skalbania lost $2 million, and the CFL revoked the franchise from him with the team now heavily in debt.

1981 Montreal Alouettes season
Head coachJoe Scannella
Jim Eddy (Interim)
Home fieldOlympic Stadium
Results
Record3–13
Division place3rd, East
Playoff finishLost East Semi-Final
Uniform

Offseason

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The Alouettes were purchased by Nelson Skalbania.[1] Skalbania proceeded by signing several American stars. His biggest acquisition was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo (who appeared in Super Bowl XIV) to a $300,000 contract.[2] The other signings included wide receiver James Scott, kick return specialist Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, running back David Overstreet and defensive end Keith Gary.[2]

Preseason

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Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
A Sun, June 7 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 21–27 0–1 Olympic Stadium 21,742
B Tue, June 11 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 17–18 0–2 Lansdowne Park 16,139
C Sun, June 21 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 21–17 1–2 Olympic Stadium 21,249
D Sat, July 27 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 38–24 2–2 Ivor Wynne Stadium 16,604

Regular season

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Despite the high-profile talent, the Alouettes finished the season with only 3 wins, but because of how weak the East Division was that year, the team did earn a playoff berth (the crossover rule, which allows a fourth place team with a better record than a third place team in the other division to qualify, had not yet been implemented).[3] Skalbania lost two million dollars and the CFL revoked his ownership.[2]

Standings

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East Division
Team GP W L T Pts PF PA Div Stk
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 16 11 4 1 23 414 335 6–0 W1 Details
Ottawa Rough Riders 16 5 11 0 10 306 446 3–3 L1 Details
Montreal Alouettes 16 3 13 0 6 267 518 2–4 W1 Details
Toronto Argonauts 16 2 14 0 4 241 506 1–5 L2 Details

Schedule

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Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
1 1 Sat, July 4 at BC Lions L 8–48 0–1 Empire Stadium 26,627
2 2 Fri, July 10 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 23–22 1–1 Olympic Stadium 35,281
3 3 Fri, July 17 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 31–33 1–2 Lansdowne Park 24,872
4 4 Sun, July 26 vs. Edmonton Eskimos L 17–33 1–3 Olympic Stadium 45,835
5 5 Sun, Aug 2 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders L 23–43 1–4 Olympic Stadium 33,205
6 6 Sat, Aug 8 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 2–58 1–5 Winnipeg Stadium 32,936
7 Bye
8 7 Sun, Aug 23 vs. BC Lions L 14–29 1–6 Olympic Stadium 28,932
9 8 Sat, Aug 29 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 11–16 1–7 Ivor Wynne Stadium 27,180
10 9 Sun, Sept 6 at Saskatchewan Roughriders L 26–35 1–8 Taylor Field 28,526
11 10 Sat, Sept 12 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 10–26 1–9 Olympic Stadium 27,270
12 Bye
13 11 Sat, Sept 26 at Edmonton Eskimos L 11–62 1–10 Commonwealth Stadium 48,470
14 12 Sun, Oct 4 vs. Calgary Stampeders W 22–16 2–10 Olympic Stadium 22,222
15 13 Sat, Oct 10 at Calgary Stampeders L 3–29 2–11 McMahon Stadium 28,896
16 14 Sat, Oct 17 at Toronto Argonauts L 14–20 2–12 Exhibition Stadium 31,038
17 15 Sat, Oct 24 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers L 13–33 2–13 Olympic Stadium 20,487
18 16 Sun, Nov 1 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 39–15 3–13 Olympic Stadium 20,867

[4]

Postseason

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Round Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance
Score Record
East Semi-Final Sun, Nov 8 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 16–20 0–1 Lansdowne Park 17,754

[4]

Awards and honours

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References

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  1. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.71, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  2. ^ a b c Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.72, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  3. ^ Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.72 Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
  4. ^ a b "1981 Montreal Alouettes (CFL) - Pro Football Archives".
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