Anthony Calvillo
Picture Tom Brady, if he looked like Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Before Tompa Bay, during the reign of the Ugg Boots comercial, before the TB12 method…
Before Lebron, Federer, Nadal and our other ageing icons were defying the laws of the universe and dominating professional sports into their late 30’s and early 40’s…
One quarter back had stretched the might of father time to his breaking point.
He would finish his career as the undisputed goat of Canadian football, and hold onto the record for most yards thrown by a professional quarter back 6 seasons after his retirement.
Yes, that’s correct.
Until Drew Brees and Tom Brady passed him in 2020, Anthony Calvillo was professional footballs all-time leader in yards.
He won 3 Grey Cup, including a Grey Cup MVP.
He won three CFL Most Outstanding Player awards.
He is 1 of the 9 Quarter Backs to complete 400 Touch Down passes.
His career lasted 19 years (1994–2013).
And he is, without a doubt, the greatest and most underrated quarterback to have ever laced up a pair of cleats.
He started his CFL career in Las Vegas.
You read that right, the CFL had a team in Vegas.
Now they’re the NFL’s Raiders.
Back then, they were the Vegas Posse.
Talk about an image upgrade.
Raiders fans love to depict themselves as these tough guy, badasses. I wonder how many of them are aware that they used to be called something as intimidating as The Posse.
And that their teams league was based in Canada.
Despite Vegas’ posse problems, they were lucky enough to start Calvillo.
And then immediately trade his ass to the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
When he wound up in Montreal a few seasons later, Calvillo probably didn’t know that that’s where he would be until he ended his career. At 41 years old no less.
And when Marc Trestman took the reigns as head coach of the team in 2008, he couldn’t have known that the run he and Calvillo were about to go on (2 Championships through 4 Grey Cup appearances in 5 years) would catipult him to a head coaching job in the NFL. An opportunity he gives all credit to Calvillo for:
“Without Anthony Calvillo, I know absolutely I most certainly would not have been here,” Trestman said during a conference call. “I have no doubt about it.
“I owe him everything and by the grace of God he was able to play and I was able to coach him.”
— CBC
And while it didn’t work out for Coach Trestman in Chicago, there was plenty of fun moments for CFL fans to remember.
Like when Da Bears nearly signed Wide Reciever Andy Fantuz of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, just a short time after naming Trestman as head coach.
The two had recently battled it out in back to back Grey Cups. The first of which would go down as one for the ages:
A Roughriders missed field goal, after they had made the game winning kick a play before, that was subsequently disallowed after Saskatchewan was penalized for having too many men on the field, gave Calvillo and Trestman their first championship together.
Fantuz made it to preseason with the Bears, but was cut shortly after.
He’d return to star in the CFL for a few more seasons.
Calvillo was brought into the organization to help Coach Trestman get Jay Cutler acquainted with his West-Coast style offence.
Whoops.
But don’t hold that against Calvillo.
Trestman… I guess its hard coaching when you have 1 extra down.
Calvillo and Trestman dominated the CFL in Calvillo’s twilight years. Honestly playing Calvillo’s best football at the end of his career.
Brady today shows shades of Calvillo in his savy verteran confidence. That look of destiny.
The way you know he’s about to get it done.
So when we talk about Tom, Lebron, Federer, Nadal, Jagr, Joe Thornton…
When we speak of the ageless wonders.
We, up here in Canada, will speak about Anthony Calvillo.
And those Montreal Alouettes.
