United Football League (1964)
Tombstone
Born: January 1964 – UFL expansion franchise
Moved: February 6, 1965 (Toronto Rifles)
First Game: August 30, 1964 (L 21-13 vs. Canton Bulldogs)
Last Game: November 29, 1964 (L 47-21 @ Wheeling Ironmen)
United Football League Championships: None
Stadium
Delorimier Stadium
Opened: 1928
Demolished:
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owner: Hyman Katz
Background
The Quebec Rifles joined the minor league United Football League as an expansion franchise in January 1964. Based out of Montreal, the new franchise adopted the nickname of its local hero Head Coach, former Montreal Alouettes star quarterback Sam “The Rifle” Etcheverry. The Rifles were a geographic anomaly in the eight-team UFL, a minor league loop based in the Midwest with clubs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. In Canada, the Rifles were the first team to play pro football under American, rather than Canadian, rules. J.I. Albrecht served as the club’s General Manager.
1964 Season
The Rifles played out of 13,000-seat Delorimier Stadium, a former home of both the Alouettes (1946-1953) and the Montreal Royals baseball team, the long-time farm club of Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Rifles finished the 1964 UFL season at 5-9. Running back Joe Williams led the league in scoring with 17 touchdowns. Former University of Indiana Hoosier John Henry Jackson handled the quarterbacking duties. Jackson was one of the first African-Americans to see significant time at the position in the pros.
Move To Toronto & Aftermath
In February 1965, the UFL clubs split into two factions. The owners interested in pursuing the traditional low-budget minor league model went off to launch the Professional Football League of America. The UFL’s more ambitious franchises, including the Rifles, merged with like-minded clubs from the Atlantic Coast Football League to announce the formation of the Continental Football League. The Continental League announced its intention to pursue a television contract and to compete with the NFL and the AFL for top collegiate talent. (Neither goal came to fruition).
As part of the re-alignment the Quebec Rifles moved to Toronto before the 1965 season. Montreal would get a new franchise – the Beavers – in the Continental League a year later in 1966. The Rifles played two-and-a-half seasons in Toronto before folding midway through the 1967 season. The Continental League folded in early 1970 after five seasons of play.
Sam Etcheverry was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1969. The following year he coached the Montreal Alouettes to the CFL’s Grey Cup championship.
In Memoriam
Rifles head coach Sam Etcheverry died of cancer on August 29, 2009 at the age of 79. Toronto Star obituary.
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