Alouettes To Retire A-C's # Next Month

The Montreal Alouettes organization will honour Anthony Calvillo, the former star-quarterback who rewrote the CFL’s record books during his sixteen seasons with the Alouettes, as the team will retire his number 13 jersey on Monday, October 13 when the team faces the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.

The longtime face of the franchise and five-time CFL All-Star was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player on three separate occasions over the course of his career and holds league records of 79,816 passing yards, 455 touchdown passes, 5,892 completions and 9,437 pass attempts.

“Having my number 13 retired alongside the team’s greatest legends like Sam Etchevery, Peter Dalla Riva and my former teammate Mike Pringle at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium is an incredible privilege”, commented Anthony Calvillo. “I consider myself very fortunate to have been surrounded by so many talented individuals throughout my career. Without the contributions from Jim Popp, those exceptional coaches and my great teammates, none of this would have been possible”.

Calvillo broke into the CFL with the Las Vegas Posse in 1994 and spent the following three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before rising to stardom as a member of the Montreal Alouettes in 1998. Serving as quarterback Tracy Ham's understudy for two seasons, Calvillo took over as the starting pivot in 2000 on his way to winning three Grey Cups with Montreal in 2002, 2009, and in 2010. He was also named the 2002 Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player.

Calvillo, who was presented with the Key to the City at the end of the 2011 season, led the Alouettes to eight Grey Cup tilts and owns several championship records for most pass completions (179), passing yards (2,470) and touchdown passes thrown.

The veteran pivot became pro football’s all-time passing leader in spectacular fashion at Percival Molson Stadium against the Toronto Argonauts on October 10, 2011, following a 50-yard touchdown strike to Jamel Richardson.

“Anthony Calvillo has invested body and soul throughout his entire career for the Alouettes and the City of Montreal. We want to pay tribute to professional football’s greatest quarterback by awarding him the highest honour a player can have bestowed upon him”, declared Mark Weightman. "We invite all of our fans on October 13 to join us in celebrating an athlete that has marked our sport but also an exceptional man who has marked the lives many along the way".

In 2012, Calvillo became the first quarterback in league history to reach the 5,000-plus passing yards mark seven times over his brilliant career. He also threw for over 300 yards in eight straight games, breaking Doug Flutie's single-season CFL record of seven, set in 1991 with the B.C. Lions. That season, Calvillo deservingly earned his tenth nomination as the team's Most Outstanding Player.

Calvillo lives in Montreal with his wife Alexia and their daughters Olivia and Athena.

Calvillo’s number 13 is the tenth jersey that the Alouettes retire. His jersey will join those of Herb Trawick (56), Virgil Wagner (78), Sam Etchevery (72), Hal Patterson (75), George Dixon (28), Pierre Desjardins (63), Peter Dalla Riva (74), Junior Ah You (77) and Mike Pringle (27).