The 1950 Montreal Alouettes was the fifth season for the franchise as they competed in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, the highest level of play in eastern Canada. Finishing in third place within the IRFU, the Alouettes failed to make the playoffs despite winning the 37th Grey Cup the previous season.
Background
In 1949, the Montreal Alouettes finished with an 8–4 record. The team became Grey Cup champions by defeating the Calgary Stampeders 28–15.
Acquisitions
The Alouettes signed tackle Jim Ambrose from the Quebec Senior Football League before the start of the regular season.
Exhibitions Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record A Aug 19 at Calgary Stampeders L 7–19 0–1 Mewata Stadium 14,000 B Aug 21 at Edmonton Eskimos L 6–11 0–2 Clarke Stadium 10,500 C Sept 28 vs. McGill University Redmen W 19–6 1–2 Delorimier Stadium 10,403
Regular season
By late August, head coach Lew Hayman publicly stated that the Alouettes were performing more poorly than they had the previous season. The team had failed to find permanent starters for two spots on their roster, a tackle and an end. Hayman hoped to fill those roster spots with American players, but he also pointed to a "lack of drive" from the team to explain their two preseason losses. He predicted that the team would struggle for "a third of the schedule" before improving. This prediction proved accurate. After the Alouettes won their season opener against Ottawa Rough Riders, they lost their next four games to fall to a 1–4 record. Their poor performance was partially blamed on injuries, a situation which worsened when former all-star halfback John Harper suffered a dislocated shoulder in a late September exhibition game against the McGill Redmen. The Alouettes improved in October, winning four of their next five games to reach an even 5–5 record. They remained a possible playoff team through the final week, when a win by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats pushed them into third place and prevented them from making the playoffs. The Alouettes finished with a 6–6 record.
Season standings + Interprovincial Rugby Football Union Team GP W L T PF PA Pts Hamilton Tiger-Cats 12 7 5 0 231 217 14 Toronto Argonauts 12 6 5 1 291 187 13Montreal Alouettes 12 6 6 0 192 261 12Ottawa Rough Riders 12 4 7 1 182 231 9
Season schedule Week Game Date Opponent Results Venue Attendance Score Record 1 1 Aug 27 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders W 14–7 1–0 Delorimier Stadium 18,000 2 2 Sept 2 at Toronto Argonauts L 6–26 1–1 Varsity Stadium 16,000 3 3 Sept 9 at Toronto Argonauts L 12–43 1–2 Varsity Stadium 18,000 4 4 Sept 16 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 15–42 1–3 Lansdowne Park 15,000 5 5 Sept 23 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 12–18 1–4 Civic Stadium 7,000 6 6 Oct 1 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 31–18 2–4 Delorimier Stadium 15,000 7 7 Oct 7 at Ottawa Rough Riders L 8–18 2–5 Lansdowne Park 13,000 7 8 Oct 8 vs. Ottawa Rough Riders 18–14 3–5 Delorimier Stadium 18,894 8 9 Oct 14 vs. Toronto Argonauts W 24–16 4–5 Delorimier Stadium 13,424 9 10 Oct 22 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats W 16–13 5–5 Delorimier Stadium 16,687 10 11 Oct 28 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 18–29 5–6 Civic Stadium 12,000 11 12 Nov 4 at Toronto Argonauts W 18–17 6–6 Varsity Stadium 11,000
References