Get Set For The CFL Labour Day Classics
By Chris Lawton
The Monarchs of the CFL. What do I even mean by that? The great and the good? Players who have made it to the Hall of Fame, just like the Class of 2025? Well, no. We may even have looked at the career of a player like that recently. However, this is a little more niche than that.
It has been 35 years since the NFL launched the World League of American Football. From kickoff weekend on the 23rd March of 1991, to World Bowl 91 on the 9th of June, the London Monarchs were a cut above the rest.
Before the rise of the NFL international series, they were the Pro team that we got to see play competitive games in the UK. And, because of the 35-year anniversary of that fun league, and because of my love of the CFL, it got me to thinking. Were there any players on that 1991 World Bowl-winning roster that also played for a Grey Cup champion team?
It is hard to keep track of these things sometimes. It is especially hard to track who won a pre-Super Bowl era NFL title and Grey Cup. Just as it is hard to track players who won a World Bowl in the WLAF or NFLEurope, and were on a Grey Cup-winning squad. But I have done my best here. Feel free to let me know anything I missed so we can update the article!
The Crossover Players
To narrow things down, rather than looking for every player who won a World Bowl and played for a Grey Cup winner, I looked at the first WLAF champions in isolation. Were any of those triumphant London Monarchs also monarchs of the CFL?
The first thing to note was that of that 46-man squad, a few did indeed have CFL experience. There were a few who never made it onto a Grey Cup squad, however. You can get a brief bio of each here:
LB Marlon Brown had played for the 6-11-1 BC Lions in 1990, registering 3 sacks. Not to be confused with the WR Marlon Brown who bounced around the NFL in the mid 2010’s.
DT Steve Gabbard registered a couple of tackles for the first-ever CFL US expansion team, the 6-12 Sacramento Gold Miners in 1993.
RB Judd Garrett was a Swiss army knife style of player who appeared for the 5-13 Las Vegas Posse in 1994. He appeared in 8 games, registering 50 carries for 232 yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, completed 1 pass for 20 yards and had 9 receptions for 105 yards.
QB Stan Gelbaugh, who led the Monarchs to success, had previously appeared in the CFL. In 1986, he had punted for the 6-11-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders, having 45 punts for a 40.6 yard average. He had also been a backup QB, but did not throw a pass.
DT Roy Hart was on the books of both the Hamiltion Tiger-Cats and Las Vegas Posse. In 1993 he recorded 27 tackles and 2 sacks for a 6-12 Hamilton team.
WR Jon Horton appeared for the 12-6 1987 BC Lions. That season, he had 1 rushing carry for 5 yards and 2 catches covering 20 yards.
DB Ricky Royal appeared for the 3-15 1991 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. A team for which he logged 19 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 sack.
7 players who appeared in the CFL, however briefly, but were not monarchs of the CFL by the definition created here. That is a World Bowl Champion with the London Monarchs, and on a Grey Cup winning squad – however briefly.
Three players from the 1991 Monarchs, however, did fit this description.
Monarchs of the CFL
BC and the Rough Riders faced off eleven times between 1981 and 1993. The Lions dominated those contests producing a 9-2 record. They also faced the Renegad
So, who were the few who made it from World Bowl Champion with the 1991 London Monarchs to appearing, however briefly, on a Grey Cup winning squad in the CFL? Of the 46-man squad, only 3 achieved this: Corris Ervin, Virgil Robertson, and Irvin Smith. Let’s take a closer look.
Corris Ervin
Corris D’Angelo Ervin had played CB/DB for Central Florida in college and had a pro career running between 1991 & 1998. During that career, he was with the Orlando Predators, Tampa Bay Storm, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Shreveport Pirates, Baltimore Stallions, Toronto Argonauts, London Monarchs and Scottish Claymores.
He was on the Monarchs World Bowl Champion squad in 1991. And on the Stallions roster for both of their CFL seasons. In 1995, the Stallions 15-3 World Bowl winning season, Ervin had 5 tackles (4 on Defence and 1 on Special Teams).
Virgil Robertson
Virgil Terrell Robertson was an LB out of Nicholls State. His pro playing career ran between 1990 and 1998 and saw him turn out for the BC Lions, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and London Monarchs.
On the Monarchs World Bowl Champion squad in 1991. Robertson also appeared on the 11-6-1, 1994 Grey Cup champions BC Lions roster during the season. That year, Robertson had 40 tackles (36 on Defence and 4 on Special Teams). As well as 3 sacks, 1 interception, and 3 fumble recoveries, 1 of which was returned for a touchdown.
Irvin Smith
Irvin Smith is the last of our monarchs of the CFL. Smith, a DB out of Maryland, he played professionally from 1991 to 2001. During his career, he made appearances with the Montreal Alouettes, Baltimore Stallions and 1991 World Bowl-winning London Monarchs. It was while with the Stallions, as a teammate of Ervin, that he appeared for a Grey Cup-winning squad.
During that season, he had 2 punt returns for 17 yards. Also making 25 defensive tackles, with 1 interception and 1 sack.
So there, we have it – our Monarchs of the CFL. Now I wonder how many, (if any), Sacramento Surge players (winners of World Bowl 92) went on to a Grey Cup winning squad?
CHRIS LAWTON
CFL ANALYST
Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK