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The Toronto Argonauts Sign the Rocket

Imagine this. The suits in the NFL are getting ready for their star-studded college draft. Everyone is talking about who’s going to be picked. Who’s going to make it to the big time. Fortune and fame await the lucky group of the chosen few. Then, news breaks that the projected number one pick overall has just signed a record deal with a team from Canada.

It might sound far fetched today, but this is exactly what happened in 1991. To truly appreciate the impact of this event you have to first understand where the CFL was in the early 90s. It was a league in some serious economic trouble. That’s putting it mildly. Attendance was in decline. Teams were losing money. Owners were walking away from their teams. The Montreal franchise had already folded. Plus, Canada was in the midst of a nasty recession not to mention a national unity crisis. These were depressing times.

Nevertheless, in February 1991 the CFL’s flagship franchise, the Toronto Argonauts, were purchased by the trio of businessman Bruce McNall, hockey star Wayne Gretzky, and actor John Candy. McNall et al saw an opportunity in growing Canadian football not just in Toronto but in the United States, as well. With some, let’s say, investment the game could be revitalized in Toronto and a lucrative U.S. market would eat up Canadian football like American apple pie.

That investment was a 21-year-old wide receiver out of Notre Dame college named Raghib “the Rocket” Ismail. Ismail had a stellar college football career and was considered to be the cream of the crop in the 1991 NFL Draft happening in April of that year. The Dallas Cowboys were expected to draft him as the first pick overall.

According to Paul Woods, who authored the book Year of the Rocket, Bruce McNall tasked then Argo General Manager Mike McCarthy to “think big.” McCarthy responded that there’d be nothing bigger than signing the Rocket. Sign the most recognizable college football star in America and lure him to Canada. That would put Toronto and the CFL on the radar. That would be a worthwhile investment indeed.

A publicity stunt?
Oates, Bob. “Bruce McNall Tries to Buy a Rocket to Fire Up his Argonauts.” Los Angeles Times, 5 April 1991, p. 375.

NFL executives initially dismissed McNall’s interest in the Rocket as a mere publicity stunt. Surely, he wouldn’t actually open his wallet to make such a move. Or would he?

On April 20, 1991, McNall, who also owned the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, invited Raghib Ismail to a Stanley Cup playoff game at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. It was here that the Rocket officially signed the contract with the Toronto Argonauts.

A heads up was given to some Toronto media to allow them time to travel to California, and a press conference was held in Los Angeles to announce that Raghib “the Rocket” Ismail had signed a record $18 million contract with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts. The deal made Ismail the highest paid professional football player at the time at $4.5 million dollars a year – half a million more than Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers.

Ismail’s salary compared to others (Toronto Star)

The next day, the Rocket was flown to Toronto to be formally introduced as the newest member of the Boatmen. News of the Rocket’s signing sent shockwaves throughout North America. NFL brass were stunned. The signing garnered front page coverage in the New York Times and USA Today. A new era was here. The CFL was about to step into the future more confident than ever. And the Rocket was going to be the face of that future.

The Rocket Signing made front pages news across North America including the Toronto Star.

The Argonauts enjoyed success on and off the field in 1991. They finished in first place in the East Division with a 13-5 record and averaged 37,000 fans per game at the new SkyDome. Road games brought out the crowds, as well. Rocketmania had swept the nation. The Argos defeated Winnipeg 42-3 in the Eastern Final before 50,380 fans before going on to beat the Calgary Stampeders in the 1991 Grey Cup. Ismail himself ended the season with 64 receptions for 1300 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.

The following season, the Argos struggled and went from first to worst, missing the playoffs with a 6-12 record. To make matters worse McNall was experiencing financial and legal problems. The magic was short-lived, it seemed. 1992 was becoming a bit of a nightmare. Ismail left the Argos and the CFL at the end of the season. Just like that, the Rocket era was over.

I asked Paul Woods if it could ever happen today. Could the CFL lure a number one NFL draft pick now? “No chance,” he says. The salary gap is just too wide now between the CFL and the NFL. It really was too wide in 1991. The economics just don’t make sense. The Rocket’s signing was a “one time thing never to be repeated,” he says.

He definitely believes that the Rocket’s signing was one of the “top ten” moments in all of Argonaut history. While he doesn’t quite credit the signing as saving the CFL per se, he does say it got the league thinking bigger and jolted it out of its traditional mom and pop mentality. “It injected optimism and excitement into the Argos and the CFL and gave them tons of attention.”

Yes, the Rocket’s stay in Toronto was short. But the hype surrounding that signing is still something to behold almost 35 years later.

Year of the Rocket by Paul Woods is available through Sutherland House, an independent Toronto-based publishing house.

August 13, 2025
Marv Levy Named CFL’s 1974 Coach of the Year

Recently, Marv Levy – a legend in both Canadian and American football – celebrated his 100th birthday. He was born on August 3, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

After several college and professional coaching gigs in the United States, Marv Levy headed north in 1973 to become the new head coach of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

In 1974, his second season at the helm in Montreal, Levy guided the Alouettes to a 9-5-2 regular season record to finish first in the Eastern Division. After knocking off Ottawa in the Eastern Final, Levy’s Alouettes defeated Edmonton 20-7 to win the Grey Cup.

Levy’s quick success in the CFL earned him the 1974 Coach of the Year. He was presented with the Annis Stukus Trophy (the trophy awarded to the CFL’s top coach) by Mr. Annis Stukus himself on January 15, 1975 at league meetings in Edmonton.

Annis Stukus presenting the Coach of Year trophy to Marv Levy as well as pictures of the CFL’s other eight head coaches.
(Jones, Terry. “No surprises, Levy coach of the year.” The Edmonton Journal, 16 January 1975, p. 53.)

Montreal and Edmonton met again in the Grey Cup in 1975. This time Edmonton came out on top. But in the 1977 Grey Cup, the Alouettes crushed Edmonton 41-6 on an icy turf at the Olympic Stadium.

In his five years as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, Marv Levy led the team to three Grey Cups, winning two of them. Not bad.

In 1978, he returned to the United States to coach in the National Football League. His most successful run in the NFL was with the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, Levy’s regular season success in Buffalo didn’t translate into championships. His Bills failed to win a Super Bowl despite four straight appearances from 1990 to 1993.

Marv Levy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He is one of only two head coaches to have coached in both a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl, the other being Bud Grant.

Here’s to Marv Levy, the Canadian Football League’s Coach of the Year in 1974, who can now add Centenarian to his long list of titles and accomplishments.

A picture of Alouettes head coach Marv Levy published in the Montreal Gazette after winning the CFL’s 1974 coach of the year award.

August 6, 2025
The Founding of the Canadian Rugby Union

On December 19, 1891, football representatives from Ontario and Quebec met at the old Windsor Hotel in Montreal to launch (or more accurately relaunch) the Canadian Rugby Union. The new CRU replaced the unsuccessful Canadian Rugby Football Union that was actually formed a decade earlier.

The idea behind a new Canadian Rugby Union was for a properly run organization to oversee a common set of rules and hold a national championship game. From the onset, only teams in the Ontario and Quebec rugby football unions participated. This isn’t surprising considering much of western Canada was sparsely populated at the time. Interestingly, the Montreal Gazette mentions the potential future inclusion of clubs from the Maritimes. It seems the elusive Atlantic Canada team has been sought after much longer than we thought.

The Gazette published an article full of praise of the new entity and those involved in creating it. According to the article, the whole thing – rules, regulations, an executive team, and a constitution – were drawn up and adopted in less then five hours. Efficient.

Article in the Montreal Gazette summarizing the formation of the new Canadian Rugby Union (21 December 1891)

At the time, Canadian football was much closer to the game of rugby than to the gridiron game we enjoy today. The article discusses the idea of the new CRU joining the English union. I’m not sure if they’re talking about the England-based Rugby Football Union or the relatively new International Rugby Football Board which the RFU had itself just joined. The more favourable proposal was to encourage a rugby side from England to come to Canada to play games against the CRU. The CRU representatives also agreed to reward members of the championship team with badges and souvenirs. Can’t argue against that.

Over time, the Canadian Rugby Union would welcome leagues from the western provinces. The Grey Cup would become the CRU’s national championship in 1909. Canadian rugby slowly evolved into a unique brand of Canadian football with the adoption of changes such as the Burnside rules and the forward pass. The game became professional following the Second World War. And the Canadian Football League formed and seceded from the CRU in 1958.

After all this, the Canadian Rugby Union still remained the governing body of amateur football in Canada. In the 1960s the CRU was rebranded as the Canadian Amateur Football Association. Around the same time, a new organization called the Rugby Union of Canada was formed as the governing body of rugby union football in Canada. Alas, the final separation of rugby and Canadian football was complete. Each sport would now use its own nomenclature.

The original CRU/CAFA still plays a pivotal role in Canadian football. Today, it is known as Football Canada. It is still the national governing body of amateur Canadian football and is also responsible for the Canadian national teams that compete in international gridiron competitions.

Announcement in the Hamilton Spectator on December 19, 1891 about the Montreal meeting to launch the new Canadian Rugby Union.

July 30, 2025
Montreal Crushes Ottawa in Olympic Stadium Opener Before Record Crowd

Midway through the 1976 CFL season, the Montreal Alouettes played their first game in their new home. After leaving behind the Autostade (that stadium likely warrants its own article), the Als hosted the Ottawa Rough Riders at the Olympic Stadium, the largest stadium ever built in Canada.

Bacon, Dick. “A new era in Montreal football set to start in Olympic Stadium.” Montreal Gazette,
25 September 1976, p. 11.

Post-Olympic fever was still gripping Montreal in the weeks leading up to the game. The Alouettes were expecting a record crowd to come see a .500 home side take on the East Division leaders from Ottawa. No doubt, many just wanted to catch a glimpse of the so-called billion-dollar sports palace. Without question, Olympic Stadium – affectionately known as the Big O or disparagingly known as the Big Owe – with its sheer size and modern-day amenities put other CFL stadiums to shame. In 1976, Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium was still a couple years away and the domed stadiums in Vancouver and Toronto came much later.

Olympic Stadium layout for football (Montreal Star)

The stadium was designed by Roger Taillibert, a French architect, and was the main stadium for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. It featured state-of-the-art scoreboards with video capabilities as well as modern artificial turf. Plus comfortable seats and corporate boxes. Of course, the promised “retractable” roof would have to wait.

The Alouettes were the first permanent tenant for the Big O once the Olympics were over. On Sunday September 25, 1976, a record Canadian Football League crowd of 68,505 fans were on hand to see the first game. They were treated to a pre-game ceremony that included former Montreal quarterback Sam Etcheverry performing the ceremonial kickoff.

Bacon Dick, “Als crush Ottawa before record 68,505.” Montreal Gazette, 27 September 1976, p. 13.

Led by quarterback Joe Barnes and kicker Don Sweet, the Alouettes cruised to a 23-2 victory over the Rough Riders. The Alouettes’ win helped put Montreal back in the playoff hunt in the CFL East. The 1976 Alouettes were coached by the legendary Marv Levy. Levy understood the impact a large vocal crowd could have on the game.

“The crowd could be the 13th man on the field. If they’re a supportive crowd, it could be the start of a new era in fan enthusiasm and what it means to the team.”
– Marv Levy

I’ve been to Olympic Stadium only once. That was for a Grey Cup game. When the place is packed – just like it was in the late 70s – it’s an awestriking experience. But the atmosphere diminishes exponentially the smaller the crowd.

Today, the Alouettes play their home games at the much more intimate (and much older) Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on the campus of McGill University. They haven’t played a football game at the Big O since 2012. But a new roof is being constructed, and there are hints of a further refurbishment down the road.
Is it possible that the Alouettes will once again look at playing some if not all their games at Olympic Stadium in the future?

Perhaps the team can recapture some of that post-Olympic pride that helped them shatter attendance records. At the very least, it won’t be too long before the Grey Cup game returns to Montreal – and with that the roar of the crowd will once again reverberate throughout Olympic Stadium.

Montreal Gazette, 27 September 1976

Montreal Star, 27 September 1976

July 23, 2025
CFL Media Guides in the 1960s

For eons, the Canadian Football League published Media Guides or Fact Books for its teams. These little handbooks were meant to familiarize local journalists with the players and coaching staff of the team they were covering. They included biographies, statistics, records, and team histories.

Team media guides were also a great little souvenir for the savvy football fan. I have several in my own collection I like to peruse every now and then.

The CFL still produces them at least in electronic form. At least for some teams. I’m not sure if the league still offers print copies, though. It looks like they’ve met the same fate as game day programs and printed tickets, which is unfortunate.

Anyway, I thought what better way to spend the dog days of summer than by taking a look at some of these CFL media guides from the 1960s (or the late 1950s in a couple of cases). It was an exciting decade for the CFL and Canadian football.

Here are some photos of the media guides (front and back covers) for each CFL team from that era:

The above photos are courtesy of the good folks at the Canadian Football Research Society.
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July 16, 2025