Sam Etcheverry

Sam Etcheverry (May 20, 1930, Carlsbad, New Mexico, U.S. – August 29, 2009, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), nickname "The Rifle", was a professional American and Canadian football player and head coach. Etcheverry played the quarterback position, most famously with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and was named Canadian football's Most Outstanding Player in 1954. Etcheverry's jersey #92 is one of seven retired by the Alouettes.

Etcheverry is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and in 2006, was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#26) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

College career

Etcheverry was the son of Basque sheep farmers who emigrated to New Mexico. Known as "The Rifle", Etcheverry played for the University of Denver from 1949 to 1951 where he still holds most of the Pioneers' football records for passing offense.

Professional football career

In 1952, Etcheverry joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (which became part of the Canadian Football League in 1958 and was renamed the Eastern Football Conference in 1960). As his team's quarterback, he was twice voted "Most Outstanding Player" of the eastern pro circuit and was named an eastern...
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