By Jack Bedell,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Hammond, LA – The early-to-mid-90s might be a sore spot for a lot of CFL fans, but as a fan down here in the States, I have to admit some of my favourite memories of the league come from those US expansion years.
For the first time since the NFL strikes in the late 70s, I was able to watch CFL games regularly on ESPN. And while I probably should have been a fan of the Shreveport Pirates because of proximity, that team was just about unwatchable. To paraphrase an old saying we use down here, you’d have to tie pork chops to that team’s ears to get the dog to play with them!
Of all the US franchises, the team I most enjoyed watching was the Baltimore Stallions. I really liked the fearlessness of the coaching staff, the level of talent on the field, and the tempo team kept on both sides of the ball.
There was just no way to watch the Stallions without noticing the impact of Tracy Ham and later Elfrid Payton. On offence Ham was always a threat. He put pressure on defences as well as any pivot I’ve seen, exploiting space with his legs and his arm whenever defences gave him an opening.
Payton was a carbon copy of that explosiveness coming off the edge of the Stallions’ defensive front. He had amazing gift for finding the straight line to the quarterback, whether that line drew him around the edge or through the offensive tackle.
Patience above all else
For two players who made careers off their speed and aggressive play, it’s funny to me that my lasting impression from the Stallions’ 1995 Grey Cup victory was how much patience Ham and Payton exhibited in the game.
Playing in a serious wind, Payton spent much of the day setting the edge to contain Doug Flutie and the Stamps outside running game, and Ham was forced to maintain field position to make sure Carlos Huerta could boot through a steady stream of treys to pile up enough points to win the day.
As excited as I was about the Stallions’ championship, that event paled in comparison to the news that the Montreal Alouettes were re-entering the CFL in 1996. And that great news was made even better by the fact that Ham and Payton (along with the GM who put them on the field, Jim Popp) would be part of the Als’ rejuvenation.
More than anything, Ham and Payton brought instant competitiveness to Montreal’s roster. Their talent and championship experience were a couple of the main ingredients that allowed the franchise to hit the ground running in 1996.
As Alouettes, Ham and Payton were the bulwarks of the excellence we’re enjoying with the club’s success today.
Making a major impact
Ham set the standard for QB play the team expects, and more directly than that was instrumental in turning Anthony Calvillo into the consummate pro he is today. In his four years as an Alouette, Ham gave the team a chance to win every week, bringing them to an East Division Final within two seasons.
In his time with Montreal, Payton set a sack standard for the club (52) that lasted until last season when Anwar Stewart finally surpassed it. He was a player capable of taking over a game with his relentless pursuit of the quarterback. When I remember Payton, what sticks out immediately is the number of multiple sack games he posted with the Als. It seemed like week-in and week-out, Payton lived in opponents’ backfields.
For their impact on the league, and their impact on the franchise I love, I can’t think of two players more deserving of Hall of Fame induction than Tracy Ham and Elfrid Payton. They’ve certainly given me some Hall of Fame memories, and it’s great to know those memories with be preserved in the Hall forever now.
