The Montreal Alouettes have folded twice, yet they remain a Canadian football powerhouse.

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Montreal Alouettes are a professional football anomaly. Founded in 1946, the franchise has collapsed and been resurrected twice, once even morphing into the Concordes to avoid legal disputes. Despite these turbulent cycles and a nine-year hiatus, the team has secured eight Grey Cup championships, including a 2023 victory.

The Alouettes' history is a complex tapestry of relocations, rebranding, and ownership shifts. Originally established in 1946, the team enjoyed immense success in the 1970s under owner Sam Berger. However, the franchise collapsed in 1982 due to financial instability and high-profile debt. It was briefly revived as the Montreal Concordes, a name chosen to avoid litigation from former owner Nelson Skalbania, but the team struggled with attendance and identity, eventually folding again in 1987.

The modern era began in 1996 through a unique maneuver. Jim Speros, owner of the Baltimore Stallions—the most successful American expansion team in CFL history—relocated his franchise to Montreal. Although the Stallions had won the 1995 Grey Cup, the arrival of the NFL’s Ravens in Baltimore made the CFL team’s future untenable. Speros moved the organization to Montreal, where it was rebranded as the Alouettes. Officially, the CFL treats this as a reactivation of the original 1946 franchise, effectively erasing the Baltimore Stallions from the league's record books.

Since their 1996 return, the Alouettes have been a dominant force, particularly during the 2000s, when they appeared in almost every Grey Cup final of the decade. The team has navigated various ownership changes, including a period of league ownership in 2019 and again in 2023, before being purchased by Pierre Karl Péladeau. Their resilience is underscored by their ability to maintain a competitive core, even after the 2015 end of their record-breaking playoff streak. Today, the Alouettes stand as a testament to the enduring, if occasionally chaotic, nature of professional sports in Montreal.

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