Stars, Stripes & Superstars: Legends of the CFL expansion teams

By Chris Lawton

Previously on this site we have taken a look at the teams that made up the short lived but much remembered US expansion era in the CFL. Now, as we approach Christmas and New Year you can get a bit reflective. Which has prompted me to think again about these teams, and, not just the teams, but some of the key players who came out of that window of opportunity provided by the league for them.

There were a lot of great players on some great and not so great teams who joined the CFL from a US base or played part of their career for a US based team. So, I thought it might be fun to look at the cream of the crop. The players who appeared for those teams, however briefly, that went on to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

We are not looking to see who had the greatest impact whilst with these teams. Because if we did then David Archer who threw for over 6,000 yards in 1993 would certainly be listed here. This is less about the notable players of the teams. And more about notable players that were with the teams. All of whom ended up with a Hall of Fame career.

Damon Allen - QB

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By the time 1995 rolled around Allen had been in the league for over a decade. Ten years in the league had seen him play for three different teams. So far over half of his time had been spent with Edmonton. And he had picked up 2 championships with them.

In 95 however he signed with the Memphis Mad Dogs expansion franchise. Allen had a pretty pedestrian season in Memphis. A large part of this may be attributable to the fact that the Mad Dogs field was not properly laid out to CFL standards due to a lack of space.

After this he would spend seven successful seasons in BC before finishing his career as a Toronto Argonaut and retiring as a 4-time Grey Cup champion. At the time of his retirement in 2008, Damon Allen was Pro-Football’s All-Time Passing Leader with 72,381 yards, as well as holding the CFL record for All-Time Rushing Yards by a Quarterback with 11, 914 yards and CFL passing TD record at 394.

Some of his records have been surpassed. But that shouldn’t take away from a fantastic career. His CFHOF bio is here.

Greg Battle - LB

Greg Battle was a truly outstanding defensive player. He had a 12 year CFL career that stretched from 1987 to 1998 and that took in two Outstanding Defensive Player awards (1990 and 1991). 

Battle stayed with the Bombers for 7 years from 1987 to 1993. They were his best years. Especially from 1989 to 1991 in which he was runner-up as well as being a two-time winner of the Outstanding Defensive Player in the CFL.

Battle embellished his legends of the expansion teams status by suiting up for two of them. This happened because he signed as a free agent with the expansion Las Vegas Posse in 1994. However, he was traded partway through the season to the Ottawa Rough Riders.  As a free agent again in 1995, Battle returned south of the border to sign with the expansion Memphis Mad Dogs. With whom he had a career high 6 interceptions.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Anthony Calvillo - QB

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If Anthony Calvillo’s career proves anything, it’s that resilience combined with giving people a chance to blossom matters.

His first CFL stop was with the Las Vegas Posse. His rookie season hardly heralded the career to come. He only managed to connect on 44% of his passes and threw two more picks than touchdowns. But the expansion teams had given him a way into the league. And he would break through that door to go onto be one of the true CFL legends.

When the Posse folded, Calvillo was taken in the first round of the dispersal draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Calvillo had three OK but not particularly head-turning seasons with the Ticats from 1995 to 1997. He was released by Hamilton in March of 1998 and signed up with the Montreal Alouettes.

After sitting behind Tracy Ham for a couple of seasons his career really kicked into life. As the full-time starter with the Als he led them on a great run.

After becoming the starting QB in 2000 Calvillo started to put up bigger numbers, including six seasons over 5,000 yards in passing and one over 6,000.

In 2011, Calvillo passed Damon Allen to become the all-time CFL passing leader in yards. Calvillo also broke CFL records for most career touchdown passes and completed passes.

He retired having thrown for 79,816 yards and 455 touchdowns. He still holds the CFL career records for most attempts, completions, yardage, and touchdowns.

A 10-time Eastern All-Star, & 5-time CFL All-Star Calvillo led the Alouettes to multiple Grey Cup games including winning three titles.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Eddie Davis - RB

Eddie Davis is on the legends list because of getting his break with one the expansion teams. Having broken into the league with the Birmingham Barracudas in 1995. That year he recorded 93 tackles and 8 pass knockdowns over 17 games. After they folded, he was taken in the third round of the dispersal draft (26th overall) by the Calgary Stampeders.

The Stamps had made a good call as Davis established himself as one of the best defensive backs in the league. He was named CFL All-Star in 2000 whilst in Calgary. Things accelerated when he moved onto Saskatchewan. With the Roughriders he was named West All-Star four times (2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006) and CFL All-Star three times. (2004, 2005, and 2006). He was also a factor in the Roughriders 2007 Grey Cup winning season.  

At the time of his retirement Davis had played 236 games and was ranked 5th in CFL history for Most Defensive tackles in a career with 802.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Matt Dunigan - QB

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Matt Dunigan was a well-established CFL star by the time he appeared for the expansion Birmingham Barracudas. But he had a tremendous season with them.

Before that he had come to the league in 1983, starting out with Edmonton. He saw limited action in his rookie season backing up Warren Moon. Dunigan moved into the starter’s role in 1984 when Moon went to the NFL. He was a great, mobile QB running for over 730 yards and 9 TDs in both 1984 & 1985. Dunigan spent a total of five years with Edmonton (1983-87) and Edmonton went to the Grey Cup in both 1986 and 1987, winning in 1987. Dunigan, however, spent most of that Grey Cup on the bench due to an injury. Damon Allen filled in at quarterback.

Two years were spent in BC before being traded to Toronto after 1989. He was part of the fabled 1991 Toronto Argonauts season.

This was followed by a stint with Winnipeg from 1992-1994. In 1993, Dunigan threw for 4,682 yards and 36 touchdowns & was named an East All-Star. He was also the runner-up for the Most Outstanding Player award.  Dunigan followed up in 1994 with another Eastern All-Star selection as he threw for 3,965 yards in only 11 games.

As a Free Agent he signed with Birmingham and lit it up in the South Division, throwing for 4,911 yards and 35 touchdowns. He retired after one more season with the Ticats.

A three time All-Canadian, and two-time Grey Cup winner, Dunigan made a name for himself as a sports broadcaster following his time on the field.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Tracy Ham - QB

The 1987 NFL Draft saw Ham picked up in the 9th round by the Rams. However, he signed with Edmonton, believing that NFL teams would not want him to play quarterback.

That ’87 Edmonton team had some quarterback room. He would start out as a third stringer behind Damon Allen (see above) and Matt Dunigan (also above). All would play on US expansion teams, and all would make the Hall of Fame.

Ham made a name for himself in the league between 1987 and 1992. This can be seen as the first half of his CFL career. And it was all spent in Edmonton. A breakout season would come when Tracy took over as the #1 QB in Edmonton 1989.

In that breakout season he became the first quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards. He threw 30 touchdowns and led the league in passing efficiency and yards per rush. That year he was named the league’s Most Outstanding Player. As well as a unanimous selection as a Western All-Star and a CFL All-Star.

His proclivity to be a dual threat was highlighted as Ham had two one-thousand-yard rushing seasons. Amassing 1,005 in 1989 and 1,096 yards in 1990.  A third thousand-yard season was missed in 1991 by just two yards.

Ham Has An Impact in Baltimore

A real key to the Stallions success was that they hired personnel and players who specifically had CFL experience. At the heart of that success was Tracy Ham who they brought in from Toronto to lead the team.

Baltimore were very successful. The Stallions went 27-9 over two seasons and appeared in back-to-back championship games. Although Ham and the Stallions lost in the title game in 1994, they were back in 1995. Ham led a powerhouse 15-win team and led the Stallions to being the only non-Canadian team ever to win the Grey Cup. He picked up the MVP award too.

By 1996 the US expansion experiment was over. Baltimore however continued to impact the CFL landscape. They packed up, and by and large all headed North to resurrect the Montreal Alouettes.

Ham spent four years in Montreal (1996-1999). Whilst there he posted some of his best completion percentage numbers. But perhaps his greatest contribution was in mentoring Anthony Calvillo. Calvillo for his part would credit Ham as a key factor in resurrecting his legendary CFL career in Montreal. 

A CFL career that spanned 1987-1999 saw Ham complete 2,670 of 4,943 attempts for 40,534 yards and 294 touchdowns. This was bolstered by 1,059 carries for 8,043 yards and 62 touchdowns.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Rodney Harding - DT

Harding is a bit of an outlier compared to players who got their chance with expansion teams. Because he was already established as one of the legends of the game by the time expansion came around.

Harding was one of the top defensive linemen in the CFL from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. He had spent a decade (1985-1994) with the Toronto Argonauts. In those 10 years, Harding received Eastern All-Star status 5 times and in the latter two years was also voted All-Canadian.

In 1995 he became a Free Agent and signed with the Memphis Mad Dogs. He kept up his performance levels being nominated Southern Division All-Star that year. The Calgary Stampeders picked him up for the 1996 season in the dispersal draft. He responded, in his final year, by picking up another Division All-Star award.

At the time of his retirement, he was one of the top 10 all-time CFL sack leaders.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Joe Montford - DE

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Montford, like a few legends on this list started his CFL career with and expansion era team. The Shreveport Pirates signed him as a free agent in the September of 1995.

He only played in four games that season and his future success was far from obvious. Montford was drafted in the ninth round of the dispersal draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Primarily used as a linebacker in 1996 he had a good season with 72 tackles and another 17 on special teams.

But things exploded into life when his athleticism was used to place him at DE the following year. Montford had 8 quarterback sacks that season and would have more than 20 in each of the next three seasons. (Also recording 19 QB takedowns in 2001). Montford’s 26 sacks in 1999 is the second highest (as of 2022) single season total in CFL history.

He would remain with the Ticats until 2001, briefly be an Argo in 2002 and return to Hamilton for the 2003/4 seasons.

Montford also won three Outstanding Defensive Player awards in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Eventually he would see out his career in Edmonton retiring after the 2006 season. In his 12-year CFL career he notched up 135 quarterback sacks, 18 fumble recoveries and 35 forced fumbles.

Another of the legends who might not have made it without his brief expansion team chance.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Uzooma Okeke - OL

Okeke is a genuine star-spangled superstar and expansion team legend. Because his break into the league came via the US expansion. Okeke signed with the expansion Shreveport Pirates in June of 1994, and played two years with them.

Okeke became a Free Agent after the folding of the U.S. based teams and was eventually signed by Ottawa for 1996. But then, for the second straight year he was on a team that was disbanded as the Rough Riders ceased to exist after 1996. He had played 48 games over 3 years and seen 2 teams disappear.

Montreal who had signed and released Okeke before Ottawa picked him up the previous year, drafted him in the dispersal draft. And he found a home with the Als. He went on to win seven East and seven CFL All-Star honours with Montreal. Okeke also won the Outstanding Offensive Lineman award in 1999 and was runner-up twice in 1998 and 2003.

His CFHOF bio is here.

Elfrid Payton - DE

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Payton played three seasons for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1991-93) with 1993 being his break-out season as he recorded 22 quarterback sacks to win East All-Star and CFL All-Star honours as well as being voted the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the East. However, he became a free agent after 1993 and signed with the expansion Shreveport Pirates for 1994.

The Pirates released Payton after five games, however, and he finished the 1994 season with Baltimore. Payton re-found his feet with Baltimore in 1995, racking up 18 sacks as the Stallions won the Grey Cup and Payton was named a South Division All-Star.

Payton moved North when Baltimore made up the spine of the re-formed Montreal Alouettes. He played four seasons for the Als (1996-99).  In those four years, Payton won three East All-Star selections (1997, 1998 and 1999) and two CFL All-Star nods (1997 and 1998). 

Montreal released Payton prior to the start of the 2000 season. He would appear with Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg again before he was done. His best season came in 2002 with Edmonton where he was named Defensive MOP.

At the time of his retirement, Elfrid Payton had 154 sacks making him second All-Time in Quarterback Sacks. He also held the Alouette’s team record for most sacks with 52.

His CFHO bio is here.

Mike Pringle - RB

Mike Pringle retired as the all-time leading rusher in CFL history, having surpassed the legendary George Reed.  Pringle also tied Reed for the most career touchdowns. Although this record has since been broken by Milt Stegall. 

After being released by the Atlanta Falcons in 1991, he spent the 1992 season with the World Bowl 92 winning Sacramento Surge of the WLAF. You might think then that he started out in the CFL with the Sacramento Gold Miners who morphed out of the Surge. In fact, there was a small detour along the way Pringle was signed by Edmonton in June of 1992 and released in July after playing just three games. Then he signed with the Gold Miners.

With the Gold Miners, Pringle appeared in all 18 games and was used more as a receiver out of the backfield than a runner as he carried the ball only 60 times for 368 yards but caught the ball 56 times for 523 yards. None of this gave any indication of what was to come. But when he signed with the Baltimore Stallions in 1994, one of the true CFL legends’ career was underway. That season he ran for 1,974 yards, and the following year 1,791 as a focal point of an offence that went to two consecutive Grey Cups, winning it all in 1995.

Pringle Makes a Mark in Montreal

At this point in his career Mike Pringle was making a mark. But when the Montreal Alouettes returned, he went somewhere no other CFL back has been. The CFL is over sixty years old, but only one 2000 yards rushing season has been recorded. By Mike Pringle as an Alouette in 1998.

That year he had 347 carries, amassing 2,064 yards, 5.9 yards per carry, 9 Touchdowns, averaging 114.66 yards per game. Pringle added 26 catches for 349 yards. This gave him 2,414 yards from scrimmage on the season. A figure which is still the CFL single season record. It has only been matched once. By Pringle himself in 1994. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

Pringle played seven seasons in Montreal, adding five more 1000+ seasons to his credit, missing only due to injuries in 1996 and 2002. During a five season span from 1997-2001 he was good for 8,597 yards and 69 touchdowns on the ground.

Pringle played two seasons in Edmonton, rushing for over a 1,000 yards in both seasons and racking up 40+ pass receptions in both.  Pringle was a Division All-Star nine times and was a seven time All-Canadian and two-time MOP. Would he have made it without his expansion team breaks?

His CFHOF bio is here.

Expansion era bonus – Head Coach: Don Matthews

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It is noticeable that a few of the names on this list spent some time with the Baltimore Stallions. Easily the most successful of the expansion teams, (on and off the field), they went 27-9 over two seasons and appeared in back-to-back championship games. Becoming the first (and only) non-Canadian based franchise to win the Grey Cup along the way.

At the helm of all this talent was Head Coach Don Matthews. Matthews first came to the CFL in 1977 as an assistant coach with Edmonton. A post he held until 1983. Making Matthews a member of the five Grey cups in a row (1978-82) dynasty.

In 1983, Matthews got his first head coaching job in the CFL with the BC Lions. In five seasons (1983-87) leading the Lions, Matthews compiled a 56-23-1 record for .706-win percentage. Matthews took the Lions to two Grey Cups, losing in 1983 and winning in 1985.

After brief spells with Toronto and Saskatchewan he joined the expansion Stallion in 1994. This would see him go on a run of four consecutive Grey Cup appearances (2 with Baltimore and 2 with Toronto) from 1994-1997.

That off the back of a 57-15 regular season record. In fact from 1995-1997 he led his teams to a 45-9 regular season record and 3 straight Grey Cup titles. He would win another Grey Cup in 2002 as he steered a 13-5 Montreal team to the title.

He retired with the second most wins in CFL history, finishing with a 231-133-1 record. Added to that he picked up 11 Division titles, went 19-13 in the post season, took teams to 9 Grey Cup games, and won 5 of them.

His CFHOF bio is here.

So There You Have It

There you have it. The players who appeared for those US based expansion teams, however briefly, that went on to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

The teams represented by players here were the Baltimore Stallions, Memphis Mad Dogs, Las Vegas Posse, Birmingham Barracudas, Shreveport Pirates, and Sacramento Gold Miners.

Say what you like about the US expansion teams (and people on both sides of the debate do), but they added to the rich tapestry of the history of the CFL.

Not to mention opening the door for some of the true legends of the three-down game.

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

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