WLAF

Montreal Machine

Coach: Jacques Dussault
Stadium: Olympic Stadium, Montreal
Record: (1991) 4-6, (1992) 2-8

The Machine’s colors were primarily a strong contrast of burgundy/maroon and machine gray, with white, red, and black mixed in for accents.

BACKGROUND:

The Montreal area had an on and off love affair with American football because of it being a tricky market. This was due to the need to market it to both English speaking and French speaking Canadians without ostracizing either parties. As the NFL at the time saw the growing threat of the Canadian Football League coming down from the North, the NFL strategically and preemptively struck by granting a franchise to the Montreal area in the WLAF for play in the 1991 season.

Roger Dore owned the franchise and Lionel Vital served as director of player personnel.  Up and coming Jacques Dussault, was shrewdly hired by Dore, due partly to his prominence in French Canada as a football coach. Joe Faragalli and Don Sutherin respectably would round out a CFL pedigree heavy staff.  

Olympic Stadium was their chief venue and really North America’s crown jewel at the time of stadiums in the league.  Fans did not disappoint posting some of the higher attendance numbers in the league, averaging over 30,000 a contest in 1991 and 25,000 in 1992.

Montreal’s name was a given out of the gate. It was the design that took a bit. Eventually the design team settled on an M that looked like it were created by a large stamping machine- projecting an image of a big, powerful entity. It was a slam dunk afterwards to use the machine gray which stood out solidly on the burgundy background. Fans called the team ‘La Machine’.

1991:

In 1991, Montreal’s team focus was squarely on a solid ground game utilizing Deep I Formations such as the Power I and the I Stretch Play. After Elroy Harris was cut early on, Ricky Johnson shouldered the RB load fulltime. Fullback Broderick Sargent was the lead man up for them making holes as one of the premier blocking backs in the league, and finished second on the team in receptions with 20. The team’s most solid receiver was NFL caliber receiver and blocker KD Dunn at tight end.

Kevin Sweeney started at quarterback, but later yielded due to injuries to Michael Proctor- a dangerous scrambler. -He’d need it as the line was quite porous. The Machine in particular had problems against teams that employed stunts or LB blitzes, and gave up quite a few sacks.

On defense, the team had a strong linebacking corps built around Kansas City Chiefs loaner Tracey Simien and Ray Savage. Desmond Royal, the NG was considered the team’s best down lineman. In the secondary, Richard Shelton was a ball hawking mercenary that graduated back to the NFL when the season ended.  

Special teams also boasted punter Chris Mohr, who after his time with Tampa Bay, stop-gapped in Montreal before returning to the NFL with the Bills where he became a mainstay of the franchise. Bjorn Nittmo would be named to the All-World team at kicker, and Richard Shelton saw action on punt and kick returns, returning one of each for a TD.

Opening the 1991 season against the Birmingham Fire, the teams played a defensive struggle on USA Network until the Machine pulled away late to win 20-5. Two things of note from the game I remember were NFL players giving bumbling commentary, and Tracey Simien sporting the helmet camera.

After losing to Barcelona, Montreal again beat the Fire, this time 23-10 to move to 2-1, but then the wheels fell off the well-oiled Machine. Getting thumped at home by the New York New Jersey Knights 44-0 was a wake up call, and the Machine would lose the next two contests against grueling opponents London and Frankfurt, before beating Sacramento 26-23 in overtime to crawl back into the playoff hunt. A win against hapless Raleigh-Durham the next week 15-6 helped move the franchise to 4-4, but a week 9 loss to the Riders ended any playoff hopes the Machine had. They closed out the season in an OT thriller against the Thunder losing 33-27, dropping the Machine to 4-6.

Turnovers, injuries, and line play killed the Machine. Richard Shelton, DB and return man, finished second on the team in scoring with 4TDs, an oddity, but also an alarm. Montreal averaged a TD roughly every 60 plays- good for last in the WLAF.

At the end of 1991, Simien, Mohr, and Shelton, would go to the NFL. Nittmo also saw some time on the roster of the Giants, but came back for the 1992 season. Among the WLAF teams, Montreal surprisingly led the way with 7 players being signed by NFL teams for the 1992 season.

1992:

1992 saw the maturation of young quarterback Michael Proctor into a solid passer with 8 TDs. This was despite starter Anthony Dilweg (on loan from the LA Raiders,) and Craig Kupp (on loan from Dallas). After losing the job in camp to Dilweg, he didn’t have to wait long to take back the starting reins with Dilweg being injured in the first game against San Antonio. Proctor posted a solid 85.7 QB rating on the season.  Ricky Johnson actually led the league in rushing, until injuries brought him down too against the Glory. Aaron Emanuel would step up and take his place, finishing with 350 yards rushing.  Dunn returned at TE but the team fell in love with wide receiver/ punt returner Pete Mandley, who had an impressive season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ray Savage was again solid, along with Darrel Davis, and future NFL GM and former Raiders LB Reggie McKenzie anchoring down the 3-4 defense. The team invested heavily in space eating monsters along the line with Emmanuel King and Rollin Putzier.  Secondary was led by Darryl Holmes and Kris McCall both with 2 picks a piece.

While Nittmo returned at kicker, special teams weren’t up to the same excellent par at either kicker or punter from the previous season- although Mandley was dangerous as a punt returner.

Montreal found itself in a familiar place in 1992, as an injury to the incumbent starter brought in Michael Proctor. Home attendance figures were decent out of the gate in 1992 with 36k showing up for the team’s upset victory over the Orlando Thunder 31-29.  The Machine early on were a highly competitive team, losing to the Riders 17-16 and the Surge 14-7. Montreal could have very easily been 4-0 after playing the Glory, but instead sat at 2-2.

Unfortunately Ricky Johnson would be lost for the season- which was the primary reason the team proceeded to drop the next 6 contests.  The Machine finished the season at 2-8- good for second worst in the league.  In 4 of those losses the defense allowed 30+ points.  Mandley had a good season at receiver finishing with 605 yards receiving, and 150 additional yards and a TD on punt returns, however in a snub, no member of the franchise made the All-World squad in 1992.

NOTES:

Montreal became one of my favorites teams out of the gate based on its maroon and silver uniforms- as it closely resembled the high school I went to.

Montreal played host to the two largest crowds to start the season, 53k+ at Legion Field in Birmingham, and 52k+ at home against Barcelona.

Montreal’s biggest rival was Birmingham whom they opened with and played very close contests. (While the Machine never finished above .500, the Fire made the playoffs both season.) Montreal finished with a 2-1 record against the Fire, but the Fire got the last laugh in a 23-16 OT match in 1992.

LEGACY:

At the end of the season, the league hosted World Bowl II in Montreal. Sacramento played against Orlando, winning the game in front of 43,000 fans 21-17.  This game would prove to be the swan song of the WLAF before it underwent major reconstruction for a Europe only relaunch in 1995 as the NFLE.

Montreal had to wait until 1996, as the CFLUSA initiative imploded and the Baltimore Stallions moved to Montreal to become the Alouettes. Since that time the Alouettes have been one of the more successful CFL franchises.

HC: Jacques Dussault
QB: Kevin Sweeney, Michael Proctor, Anthony Dilweg
RB: Ricky Johnson
WR: Pete Mandley, Mike Cadore, Steve Williams
OL: Roman Matusz
DL: Mike Finn, Emanuel King
LB: Ray Savage, Reggie McKenzie, Tracy Simien
DB: Richard Shelton, Darryl Holmes, Teryl Austin
K: Bjorn Nittmo
P: Chris Mohr

At this time I am still missing autographs on these cards from:

ProSet WLAF 1991:  
KD Dunn

Ultimate 1992:
Rollin Putzier (DEC)
Adam Bob (DEC)
KD Dunn
Dan Murray
Broderick Sargent
Kris McCall

WildCard WLAF 1992:
Dee Thomas
Ben Brown
Darryl Harris
Aaron Emanuel
Andre Brown
Ricky Johnson

NFL, University of Texas

Leaks, Roosevelt “Rosey”

Card: UT Upper Deck 2011, UT Upper Deck 2011 AA
Acquired: TTM 2011, C/o Home
Sent: 11/30/11   Received:  4/16/12  (139 days)

UT is a machine when it comes to cranking out quality runningbacks. While some point to recent names like Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes, and Cedric Benson, take a look at Roosevelt Leaks, -the man who made Earl Campbell play second fiddle for his Freshman season.  Leaks was a consensus All American in 1973 and set the school record for most yards rushing (since broken) with 342 against SMU.  A team captain and MVP, Roosevelt set an SWC mark with 1,415 yards rushing that season and was named the MVP of the Conference.  Today he is ranked 7th all time on the school’s rushing chart totaling 2,923 career yards and was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1985.

The Baltimore Colts needed a presence at fullback and felt that Roosevelt fit the bill, taking him in the 5th round of the 1975 draft. Considered the first guy in the weight room and the last one out, Leaks over his career was utilized as a short yardage back but was also a punishing blocker. His best season came in 1976, where he ran for 445 yards and 7 touchdowns.  After 5 seasons in Baltimore, Roosevelt signed with the Bills in 1980. He’d experience a small renaissance scoring 6 touchdowns in 1981 and 5 touchdowns in 1982 while blocking for RB Joe Cribbs.  In the end, Roosevelt finished his pro career with 32 career touchdowns, before retiring after the 1983 season as a Buffalo Bill.

He’s retired to the Austin area, where he resides today,  is an active member of his chapter of the NFLPA, and a real estate developer.

G/Gs 107/59    Car  663    Yds  2406    Avg  3.6     Td  28    Lg  42
Rec  71    Yds  590    Avg  8.3    Td 4    Lg 27


NFL, ufl

Glanville, Jerry

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1991
Acquired: TTM 2012, C/o Home
Sent:  2/19     Received: 2/25  (6 days)
See Also: Houston Oilers Official Autograph Souvenir 

Jerry Glanville certainly has earned a reputation for being controversial- from wearing all black at football games, getting bit by a rattlesnake before a game, to leaving tickets at the will call ticket booth for Elvis. Its these antics that earned Glanville a reputation in the media over his accomplishments as a coach primarily for the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons.

After his college career as a linebacker ended at Western Kentucky, Jerry became a graduate assistant at the school alongside Joe Bugel. By 1974 the enigmatic Glanville had worked his way into the professional ranks with the Detroit Lions as an assistant coach. He’d join the Falcons as an assistant in 1978, and be promoted to defensive coordinator in 1979. He’d help the team win its first NFC West Division Title in 1980 behind strong defensive play, and remain with the franchise through 1982. Glanville briefly joined the Bills in 1983, before heading over to the Oilers to become their defensive coordinator in 1984. With the dismissal of Hugh Campbell after the 1985 season, Glanville secured the head coaching job from owner Bud Adams, and vowed to return the Oilers to glory- something they hadn’t seen since the Luv Ya’ Blu Era and Bum Phillips.

After a slow start in 1986, Glanville’s team began delivering on those promises in 1987. The team rolled to a 10-6 record and second place in the contentious AFC Central and advanced to the Divisional Round after beating the Seahawks in an overtime Wild Card contest. They’d get spanked by Denver. The Central at the time consisted of Marty Schottenheimer in Cleveland, Chuck Noll in Pittsburgh, Sam Wyche in Cincinatti and Jerry in Houston. The Oilers had been a disrespected doormat since the early 80s, but under Jerry’s leadership they transformed into a mean and dirty team. The Oilers gambling defense and special teams became the hallmark of the franchise and the Astrodome became known to other teams as: The House of Pain. The Oilers quickly became upstarts, and were rivals of every team in the division. Infamously after being skewered by the Oilers at the Astrodome, Noll approached Glanville at mid-field after the game and accused him of being dirty. Wyche and Glanville traded punches running up the score on each other’s home contests. The Oilers were also known as a ruthless home team, but a paper tiger on the road- that got in trouble making stupid penalties and errors.

Glanville also had a flare for implementing college style offenses, forcing Warren Moon to run the option, and quietly implementing portions of the Run ‘N Shoot offense, calling it the “Red Gun”. Glanville returned the Oilers to the playoffs in 1988, and again the Oilers came on late to beat the Browns in a snowy nail-biter at Cleveleand 24-23 advancing to the Divisional Round. Again the Oilers were beaten- this time by Buffalo. By 1989, Glanville’s schtick was beginning to wear, and the Oilers, were the prime losers in Plan B as many future players and stars left for greener pastures. Among the bigger names to leave during the Glanville years were offensive lineman John Davis and special teams demon Steve Tasker leaving for Buffalo, safety Keith Bostic heading for Indianapolis, and TE Jamie Williams headed for San Fransisco. Eventually this took a heavy toll on the Oilers’ depth. They’d scrape up enough elbow grease to enter the playoffs in 1989 and 9-7 but be bounced in the first round after losing an embarrassing contest to the Steelers. During the game, Jerry would kick an onside to Pittsburgh to show them how much he disrespected their offense. It only served to backfire in his face. It would be the end of the road for Jerry in Houston. Unable to get past the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Bud Adams demanded Glanville’s resignation after the season. It was sudden and unexpected for somebody who had guided the team out of the cellar of a hotly contested division and into the playoffs 3 straight seasons.  A tearful farewell by Glanville, only proved to be what amounted to crocodile tears between the two, as Glanville was quickly snatched up by Atlanta, while Houston went with the opposite of Jerry in Jack Pardee.

It appeared that Jerry was going to have the final laugh against Houston at first. He drubbed the Oilers 47-27  in his debut and then gave the gameball to SMU (-a team that had been trounced by Pardee’s Houston Cougars a year before 95-21). The Falcons embraced Jerry’s persona going so far as welcoming the franchise back to its black uniform roots. A full-time commitment to the Red Gun offense saw the transformation of Chris Miller into an All Pro quarterback, and the fleecing of the Colts in the Jeff George trade allowed the Falcons to get offensive tackle Chris Hinton and budding wide receiver Andre Rison from Indianapolis, in addition to a bevvy of draft choices.  He’d also sign cast off Oilers, grabbing Mike Rozier and Robert Lyles in 1990, and Drew Hill in 1991 via free agency. After a 5-11 mark in 1990, Jerry helped Atlanta return to the playoffs for the first time in roughly 10 years after the 1991 season posting a 10-6 record. The Falcons also played close to the fire like the Oilers, with an aggressive 3-4 defense, great special teams, and a bad attitude, but after taking a step back in 1992 and 1993 with duplicate 5-11 records, Glanville’s tenure in Atlanta would be up. He’d be replaced by his personal friend June Jones-which would initially chide Glanville.  Jerry was a notorious ‘doghouser’ and if you didn’t play the way he wanted, you were either cut, traded, or even worse- sat on the bench.  During his tenure in Atlanta, Glanville had the distinction of getting rid of not one, but two future Hall of Famers in the beginning of their careers. Brett Farve was be traded to the Packers for John Stephens, and future CFL HoFer Mike Pringle was cut but found greater glory in the CFL as their career leading rusher.

Glanville spent extensive time in the studio as an NFL broadcaster, a stock car racing owner, and then returned to college football in 2005 rekindling his friendship with June Jones at Hawaii. After 2 seasons there as the defensive coordinator, Jerry brought his style to Portland State to coach the Vikings, but after a dismal tenure there from 2007-2009, Jerry was dismissed. In 2010, the UFL hired Jerry Glanville to coach the Hartford Colonials. Assembling an impressive staff and then rallying fans, Glanville couldn’t understand why the UFL couldn’t work. Then the UFL ‘suspended’ the Colonials before they even took the field. Jerry was not without a job. The league reassigned him to color commentating games, and helping the league find new locations to play at. Glanville did not answer my question about if the UFL had folded.

Jerry Glanville was a character I grew up with. I really liked him. I just thought that his mouth and attitude got him in a lot of trouble with other teams and the media. While he’d always have something smart to say, he was always a target. I remember being very upset that the Oilers fired him- especially since he had guided the team to the playoffs those previous seasons. When people talk about the attitude of Rex Ryan, I always tell people he was nothing compared to the bravado that is Jerry Glanville.

W 63  L  73   Pct .463

Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.