1981 Montreal Alouettes season
Canadian football team season
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The 1981 Montreal Alouettes finished the season in third place in the East Division with a 3–13 record. They appeared in the East Semi-Final, where they lost to the Ottawa Rough Riders 20–16. After the season the Alouettes folded after owner Nelson Skalbania lost $2 million, and the CFL revoked the franchise from him with the team now heavily in debt.
Jim Eddy (Interim)
| 1981 Montreal Alouettes season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Joe Scannella Jim Eddy (Interim) |
| Home stadium | Olympic Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–13 |
| Division place | 3rd, East |
| Playoffs | Lost East Semi-Final |
| Uniform | |
| |
Offseason
The Alouettes were purchased by Nelson Skalbania.[1] Skalbania proceeded by signing several American stars. His biggest acquisition was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo (who appeared in Super Bowl XIV) to a $300,000 contract.[2] The other signings included wide receiver James Scott, kick return specialist Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, running back David Overstreet and defensive end Keith Gary.[2]
Preseason
| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| A | Sun, June 7 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 21–27 | 0–1 | Olympic Stadium | 21,742 |
| B | Tue, June 11 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 17–18 | 0–2 | Lansdowne Park | 16,139 |
| C | Sun, June 21 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 21–17 | 1–2 | Olympic Stadium | 21,249 |
| D | Sat, July 27 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 38–24 | 2–2 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 16,604 |
Regular season
Despite the high-profile talent, the Alouettes finished the season with only 3 wins, but because of how weak the East Division was that year, the team did earn a playoff berth (the crossover rule, which allows a fourth place team with a better record than a third place team in the other division to qualify, had not yet been implemented).[3] Skalbania lost two million dollars and the CFL revoked his ownership.[2]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Div | Stk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (C, Q) | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 414 | 335 | 79 | 23 | 6–0 | W1 |
| 2 | Ottawa Rough Riders (Q) | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 306 | 446 | −140 | 10 | 3–3 | L1 |
| 3 | Montreal Alouettes (Q) | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 267 | 518 | −251 | 6 | 2–4 | W1 |
| 4 | Toronto Argonauts | 16 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 241 | 506 | −265 | 4 | 1–5 | L2 |
(C) First round bye; (Q) Qualified for playoffs
Schedule
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Sat, July 4 | at BC Lions | L 8–48 | 0–1 | Empire Stadium | 26,627 |
| 2 | 2 | Fri, July 10 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 23–22 | 1–1 | Olympic Stadium | 35,281 |
| 3 | 3 | Fri, July 17 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 31–33 | 1–2 | Lansdowne Park | 24,872 |
| 4 | 4 | Sun, July 26 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 17–33 | 1–3 | Olympic Stadium | 45,835 |
| 5 | 5 | Sun, Aug 2 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 23–43 | 1–4 | Olympic Stadium | 33,205 |
| 6 | 6 | Sat, Aug 8 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 2–58 | 1–5 | Winnipeg Stadium | 32,936 |
| 7 | Bye | ||||||
| 8 | 7 | Sun, Aug 23 | vs. BC Lions | L 14–29 | 1–6 | Olympic Stadium | 28,932 |
| 9 | 8 | Sat, Aug 29 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 11–16 | 1–7 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 27,180 |
| 10 | 9 | Sun, Sept 6 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 26–35 | 1–8 | Taylor Field | 28,526 |
| 11 | 10 | Sat, Sept 12 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 10–26 | 1–9 | Olympic Stadium | 27,270 |
| 12 | Bye | ||||||
| 13 | 11 | Sat, Sept 26 | at Edmonton Eskimos | L 11–62 | 1–10 | Commonwealth Stadium | 48,470 |
| 14 | 12 | Sun, Oct 4 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | W 22–16 | 2–10 | Olympic Stadium | 22,222 |
| 15 | 13 | Sat, Oct 10 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 3–29 | 2–11 | McMahon Stadium | 28,896 |
| 16 | 14 | Sat, Oct 17 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 14–20 | 2–12 | Exhibition Stadium | 31,038 |
| 17 | 15 | Sat, Oct 24 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 13–33 | 2–13 | Olympic Stadium | 20,487 |
| 18 | 16 | Sun, Nov 1 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 39–15 | 3–13 | Olympic Stadium | 20,867 |
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| East Semi-Final | Sun, Nov 8 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 16–20 | 0–1 | Lansdowne Park | 17,754 |
Roster
| 1981 Montreal Alouettes final roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Injured list
| ||||||