Wikipedia

Montreal Machine

Montreal Machine
Montreal Machine logo
Logo
General information
Founded1991
Folded1992
StadiumOlympic Stadium
HeadquarteredMontreal, Quebec, Canada
ColorsMaroon, Silver, Navy, Red, White[1]
         
League / conference affiliations
World League of American Football

The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian (and non-U.S.-based North American) team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three European teams and six United States–based teams. Like all WLAF teams, the Machine played American rules football, 11 players per side on a 100-yard-long/53+1⁄3-yard-wide field, rather than Canadian rules football of 12 players per side on a 110-yard-long/65-yard-wide field.

The Machine filled a void created by the folding of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes in 1987. It was the first American football team in Canada since the Montreal Beavers, Toronto Rifles and Victoria Steelers, which all played in the Continental Football League in 1967. The NFL had also played two international preseason games in Montreal in 1988 and 1990 during the Alouettes' absence.

After two years, the Machine, and the entire WLAF, were put on "hiatus" by the NFL. In 1995, the three European-based franchises (and three more) were reconstituted as the World League (later known as NFL Europe); the North American teams were folded, thus becoming a purely European league. The Machine played their home games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, which also hosted what would be the WLAF's last game in its original incarnation, World Bowl '92. A crowd of 43,789 watched the Sacramento Surge defeat the Orlando Thunder, 21–17.

The Machine's average game attendance was 31,888 in their first year of play, well above the league average and above expectations. It dropped to 25,254 in their second (and final) year, still in line with league average.

The end of the WLAF's North American operations was soon followed by the CFL commencing its own U.S. expansion experiment, which lasted for three seasons. The subsequent demise of the CFL's U.S. teams coincided with pro football's return to Montreal in 1996 when the third and current incarnation of the Montreal Alouettes commenced play. The Alouettes had been revived by the owners of the Baltimore Stallions, the most successful of the CFL's American franchises, who upon shuttering their U.S.-based team relocated their football organization to Montreal.

Season-by-season

[edit]
Season League Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
1991 WLAF 4 6 0 .400 3rd (North American East) – – — —
1992 WLAF 2 8 0 .200 3rd (North American East) – – — —
Total 6 14 0 .300 – – —

1991 season

[edit]
1991 Montreal Machine season
OwnerRoger Dore
General managerGordon Cahill
Head coachJacques Dussault
Home stadiumOlympic Stadium
Results
Record4–6
Division place3rd (North American)
Playoffsdid not qualify

Personnel

[edit]

Staff

[edit]
1991 Montreal Machine staff
Front office
  • Owner/President – Roger Dore
  • General Manager – Gordon Cahill
  • Director of Player Personnel – Lionel Vital

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Jacques Dussault

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Don Sutherin
  • Defensive Line/Linebackers – Hank Hughes


[2] [3] [4]

Roster

[edit]
1991 Montreal Machine roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

  • 81 Michael A Cadore Sr.
  • 83 Gary Cooper
  • 82 Wyatt Harris
  • 84 Willie Snead
  • 82 Steve Williams

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Operation Discovery
  • Vacant


Rookies in italics

Results

[edit]
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Source
1 March 23 at Birmingham Fire W 20–5 1–0 Legion Field 52,942 [5]
2 April 1 Barcelona Dragons L 10–34 1–1 Olympic Stadium 53,238 [6]
3 April 8 Birmingham Fire W 23–10 2–1 Olympic Stadium 27,766 [7]
4 April 13 New York/New Jersey Knights L 0–44 2–2 Olympic Stadium 34,821 [8]
5 April 20 at London Monarchs L 7–45 2–3 Wembley Stadium 35,294 [9]
6 April 27 at Frankfurt Galaxy L 7–17 2–4 Waldstadion 25,269 [10]
7 May 4 at Sacramento Surge W 26–23 OT 3–4 Hughes Stadium 17,326 [11]
8 May 13 Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks W 15–6 4–4 Olympic Stadium 20,123 [12]
9 May 19 at San Antonio Riders L 10–27 4–5 Alamo Stadium 20,234 [13]
10 May 27 Orlando Thunder L 27–33 OT 4–6 Olympic Stadium 23,493 [14]

1992 season

[edit]
1992 Montreal Machine season
Home stadiumOlympic Stadium
Results
Record2–8
Division place3rd (North American)
Playoffsdid not qualify

Personnel

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
1992 Montreal Machine roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen
  • 69 Tom Backes G/C
  • 63 Jay Butler T
  • 73 Dave Desrochers T
  • 64 Bob Kula C
  • 75 Roman Matusz T
  • 77 Matt McCall G
  • 79 Jeff Novak G/C

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Operation Discovery
  • Vacant


Rookies in italics

Results

[edit]
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Source
1 March 22 at San Antonio Riders L 16–17 0–1 Bobcat Stadium 10,698 [15]
2 March 28 Orlando Thunder W 31–29 1–1 Olympic Stadium 36,022 [16]
3 April 4 at Sacramento Surge L 7–14 1–2 Hornet Stadium 21,024 [17]
4 April 12 Ohio Glory W 31–20 2–2 Olympic Stadium 28,533 [18]
5 April 19 at Orlando Thunder L 8–16 2–3 Florida Citrus Bowl 8,310 [19]
6 April 26 New York/New Jersey Knights L 11–34 2–4 Olympic Stadium 25,890 [20]
7 May 3 Sacramento Surge L 21–35 2–5 Olympic Stadium 21,183 [21]
8 May 10 at Birmingham Fire L 16–23 OT 2–6 Legion Field 8,764 [22]
9 May 17 London Monarchs L 13–45 2–7 Olympic Stadium 14,637 [23]
10 May 23 at New York/New Jersey Knights L 21–41 2–8 Giants Stadium 18,277 [24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Team Colors – WLAF". ColorWerx.us. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  2. ^ The Official 1991 World League of American Football Media Guide.
  3. ^ John Vellante (May 5, 1991). "Pawlak enjoying life with WLAF". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  4. ^ Tom Boggie (March 30, 1991). "Tricario enjoying life with WLAF club". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  5. ^ "Montreal Machine off to rousing start". The Toronto Star. March 24, 1991. p. G4. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Beacon, Bill (April 2, 1991). "Machine debut sours on 53,238". The Hamilton Spectator. The Canadian Press. p. C8. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Montreal wins before 27,766". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Associated Press. April 9, 1991. p. 9D. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Graham leads Knights over Machine, 44–0". The Standard-Star. Associated Press. April 14, 1991. p. S14. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Gelbaugh, London win 5th in row". The Patriot-News. Associated Press. April 21, 1991. p. C9. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Frankfurt rolls by Montreal". San Antonio Express-News. Associated Press. April 28, 1991. p. 12C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Van Vilet, Jim (May 5, 1991). "Special teams falter in Surge's 26–23 loss". The Sacramento Bee. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Machine beats Skyhawks, ties for East Division lead". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. Associated Press. May 14, 1991. p. E8. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Griffin, Tim (May 20, 1991). "Riders mess up Machine". San Antonio Express-News. p. 1-B. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Thunder, Machine make most of final game". The Standard. May 28, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Owens, Brad (March 23, 1992). "Defense saves day as Riders grab win". Austin American-Statesman. p. D1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ MacDonald, Ian (March 29, 1992). "Nittmo kick thrills 36,022 fans". The Gazette. p. C1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Bosley, Don (April 5, 1992). "Surge turns defense in win over Machine". The Sacramento Bee. p. E1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "QB Dilweg leads well-oiled Machine". The Toronto Star. April 13, 1992. p. D7. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Woods, Mark (April 20, 1992). "Thunder sack Machine 16–8". Florida Today. p. 6C. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Bell, Daryl (April 27, 1992). "Knights overrun Machine". The Star-Ledger. p. 45. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Hickey, Pat (May 4, 1992). "Archer's passes kill Machine's hopes". The Gazette. p. F2. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Scott, Richard (May 11, 1992). "Fire stays alive with OT". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. B1. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ MacDonald, Ian (May 19, 1992). "Dussault baffled by Machine's ugly loss". The Gazette. p. H3. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Mattura, Greg (May 24, 1992). "Late-blooming Knights maul Machine in finale". The Record. p. S4. Retrieved February 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.