MONTREAL – No other player in Montreal Alouettes history will ever wear the number 86 jersey again. The team announced on Wednesday that it will retire the number made famous by receiver Ben Cahoon during a half-time ceremony that will take place on Friday, July 29, at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, when the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be the visiting club.
Cahoon played all of his 13 seasons as a slotback in the CFL with the Alouettes, becoming the league’s all-time pass receptions leader at home, on October 11, 2010 against the Calgary Stampeders, catching his 1,007th career pass and surpassing Terry Vaughn prior to retiring that off-season as a Grey Cup champion.
The slotback’s sure hands and reliable route running helped him and quarterback Anthony Calvillo pair-up to become one of the league’s best pass-and-catch duos over the years. Remembered for routinely making highlight-reel plays across his 224-game career, Cahoon recorded 1,017 receptions over 13 seasons for totals of 13,301 career yards and 65 touchdowns. He amassed over 1,000 yards in nine seasons throughout his career.
The three-time Grey Cup winner was at the top of his game when the stakes were the highest, being voted the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in two Grey Cup appearances in 2003 and 2009 as well as the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons. He is the Grey Cup’s all-time leading receiver with 46 career receptions and 658 receiving yards in the league’s championship game.
Cahoon, whose last name became part of game day lore at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, also showcased his versatility by kicking a game-winning 22-yard field goal in overtime in a 30-27 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on August 2, 2007.
In 2004, he was part of an Alouettes receiving corps, which consisted of four receivers each reaching the 1,000-yard single-season receiving mark – leading the way with 1,183 yards. The following year, the Alouettes would repeat the feat albeit with Cahoon as the only player from the previous year to eclipse the plateau for a second consecutive season.
Cahoon holds the team record with 32-career games with 100 or more receiving yards, He also held a streak of 144 games with at least a catch, the longest in team history and fourth-longest in CFL history. In 2003, he completed the year with 112 receptions, which is a team record and is one reception shy of being a CFL record.
A three-time CFL All-Star and ten-time East Division All-Star, Cahoon was born in Utah of Canadian parents and grew up in both Alberta and Montreal. He was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1998 CFL Canadian Draft. His number becomes the 11th retired by the Alouettes.
