Start of a new franchise Starting in the
1993 CFL season, the league began expanding into the
United States with hopes of boosting revenues and saw five
US-based teams in
1995, including the dominant
Baltimore Stallions. Prior to the
1996 NFL season,
Cleveland Browns owner
Art Modell, announced his intentions to move the Browns to
Baltimore (to be reborn as the
Ravens, meaning there would be two professional football teams in the city. Stallions owner
Jim Speros realized that the Stallions could not realistically compete with an
NFL team and decided to move the team elsewhere. He looked into moving the team to
Houston, Texas (which would lose their NFL team, the
Oilers by the end of that same year), but after a deal could not be resolved, he decided to move the team to Montreal as the third (and current) incarnation of the Alouettes. Stallions
General Manager Jim Popp came with Speros to Montreal, but he had to build the team from scratch since the CFL did not allow the team to retain its Baltimore legacy. It was, however, allowed to reclaim the history and records of the old 1946–86 Alouettes (and the Concordes from 1982 to 1985). According to official CFL records, Speros is reckoned as having canceled the Stallions' franchise and reactivated the dormant Alouettes franchise. The Alouettes are now reckoned as having suspended operations from 1987 to 1995. While all Baltimore players were released from their contracts, Popp was able to resign future
Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Tracy Ham and future Hall of Fame
running back Mike Pringle, who would go on to become the CFL's all-time leading rusher. Both Ham and Pringle, along with other former Baltimore players re-signed by Popp, would play large roles in the success of the reborn team. The new Alouettes played their first regular season game on June 27, 1996; almost ten years since their last game in the city of Montreal.
1996 CFL draft 1996 CFL expansion draft ==Preseason==