CFL.ca
As the Als prepare to retire jersey number 13 and give thanks on Monday to a future Hall of Famer, it should be noted that If you were one of Anthony Calvillo’s receivers you always knew where you stood.
And if you really wanted to be on the same wavelength, his pass-catchers even knew where to sit.
“Ben (Cahoon) for years would always sit closest to AC so I’d try to sit as close to Cahoon as I could,” reveals former Alouette and two-time Grey Cup champion Brian Bratton.
“When Ben retired I tried to slide in closest but still give AC his space. I just wanted to see this lion up close, this predator on the field . . . so very steady, still . . . but powerful.”
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Anthony Calvillo retired last season as the CFL’s all-time leading passer, with 79,816 passing yards to his name and a career quarterback rating of 95.5. This weekend fans in Montreal have a chance to say thanks as his jersey is retired. |
Bratton would also become locker neighbours in the Alouettes dressing room at Olympic Stadium for several seasons, even after Marc Trestman moved some veteran players’ stalls around to force team bonding beyond positional groupings.
“We did Bible study together, golfed together and became pretty good friends,” says the speedy deep threat and former property of the Atlanta Falcons.
“He (Calvillo) was a serious, but fun guy to be around,” Brian says from South Carolina, where his skilled hands are now trying to settle down his 14 month old son Blaze for the night. “At golf he would beat me — he had a quarterback’s game — accurate, making plays. No matter how much he said he hadn’t played for a while, he never showed any rust.”
“My years there (2007-12) wouldn’t have been the same without him,” says the man on the receiving end of 23 of Calvillo’s 455 regular-season TD passes. “That’s crazy to have played with a guy who was that accomplished to be a part of history and breaking records. That’s pretty cool.”
Bratton is now with the NCCAA Div. ll North Greenville University Crusaders, in his 2nd season as receivers coach sharing wisdom the gun-slinger with the gentle demeanor conveyed to him.
“I tell my guys, those who are best prepared are most successful . . . in life and in football. AC was so locked-in and prepared. It was always cool to see him so even-keeled, never too high or too low.”
Calvillo confided in Bratton and several other teammates long before the 2010 Grey Cup game about his impending medical battle.
“I can’t honestly recollect what he told us . . . we just knew something was up,” recalls Bratton. “We didn’t know he was going to tell everybody right after the game, either.”
“I don’t think we even blinked that he’d beat it (cancer). Whatever it was, he was going to attack like it was just another defense.”
Fitting the visitors on Thanksgiving are the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Anthony’s CFL “BFF” may well be Barron Miles, the Riders’ defensive backs coach who would be a worthy candidate to enter the Canadian Football Hall of Fame the same year AC is inducted.
The other reason is Saskatchewan could have been Anthony’s adopted home.
It was the winter of AC’s discontent, and Riderville’s too. The club had lost a Grey Cup game in ’97 but Reggie Slack was not the future. Als’ GM Jim Popp was talking trade with the Tiger-Cats. Hamilton owed a large lump sum payment and Popp was offering as many as three roster players for the shell-shocked QB of a 2-16 team.
Calvillo had to renegotiate and sign off on the deal, but the ‘Cats let him go to avoid the payment. Saskatchewan came calling, offering a chance to start right away.
“The Don (Mathews) also jumped into the mix,” reveals Popp. “The Argos wanted him to compete with Kerwin Bell after Flutie left for the NFL.”
“Anthony told me ‘I gave you my word so I’m coming’. He knew we had a very good team with a great running back (Mike Pringle) behind him. He discussed that he’d never learned the game and didn’t want everything to be on him.”
“He took a step backwards, but Tracy Ham had told us he’d only play one more year. I just figured AC could fit in our system. You don’t ever know what you got. That’s just luck of the draw.”
Monday, October 13 – Saskatchewan at Montreal
With Calvillo, little was luck.
“He was a man of few words on the sideline or out on the field,” says Bratton, “but he never missed an opportunity to congratulate someone on doing a great job.”
“Look at all the highlights on Youtube where he’s throwing the ball then running down the field with his hands in the air. He was a gunslinger who ate up defenses and had worked so hard for every play, but mostly he was happy for you.”
When number 13 is placed in a position of honour Monday, it should remind us that great teammates make other players better. AC helped some become better men.
