Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Thanks Retro Rider ...

I still wonder, especially with four Grey Cup championships, why Damon Allen didnt sign with the NFL ? Was there no interest, or did he prefer the CFL ?

In some ways I am being harsh with Warren Moon, especially since he had to win games for the Oilers with a chuck-and-duck offense(run-and-shoot) but the Oilers had too much talent on both sides of the ball to never win a divisional playoff game. Munchak and Matthews were HOF players, with Hill, Givens, Childress and Fuller having HOVG cases. He then left for another talented team in Minn but couldnt get it done there as well. A great athlete and passer but you would think a HOF QB would have at least a .500 record as starter and win some games on the road but Moon couldnt. Looking at the Oilers before he got there and afterward however, he was definitely a difference maker for the franchise.

I'm guessing there was still some institutionalized bias against the kind of running QB that Allen was in the 1990s, and he wouldn't have been hailed as any kind of savior if he took an NFL offer, just another guy who wasn't guaranteed anything. I'd be willing to bet more of his NFL offers than not would have tried to convert him to a RB or other position, too, and I'm sure he wanted none of that. I'm more curious why the far more prototypical Calvillo never accepted an NFL look; I'm sure many teams across his tenure would have sold their soul for his services...

Brian wolf wrote:I still wonder, especially with four Grey Cup championships, why Damon Allen didnt sign with the NFL ? Was there no interest, or did he prefer the CFL ?

"Nothing (Damon does) really surprises me," Marcus Allen said. "Damon has always done his own thing and made his own choices and he chose to play in the CFL." - Marcus Allen, Edmonton Journal, November 22, 2004

"He blazed his own trail and obviously didn't let the fact that I was his older brother bother him at all." -Marcus Allen, Fresno Bee, July 22, 2021

"We had the best athlete in the family. Marcus is Damon Allen's brother, that's what we say around here." -Coach Gene Murphy, Cal State Fullerton Titans, Los Angeles Times, October 18, 1984

JohnH19 wrote: Don’t judge Lancaster by his stats. He was truly great and belongs on the mountain. Similar to the NFL and AFL, it was an era where QBs threw riskier passes downfield and interception totals were much higher than in later years.

As has been previously mentioned by others, this forum needs a "like button." While 396 interceptions is a mouth full, it does not tell the whole story. It was a much different era when Lancaster played. In 1970 Lancaster was selected as the CFL's Most Outstanding Player. If I remember correctly he threw 16 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions that year. He also led Saskatchewan to a league best 14-2 record before suffering a season ending rib injury in the brutal, best 2 out of 3 Western Final. Montreal's Sonny Wade was named 1970 Grey Cup MVP after going 16/34 for 159 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INT's. Numbers like that would get you benched in a heartbeat nowadays, if not a one way ticket out of town!

Here are some random factoids pertaining Lancaster's career:

Four of the top five leaders in career interception percentage (2,000 or more attempts) are in the Hall of Fame:

Sonny Wade
1969-1978
89 TD Passes / 169 INT / 2087 ATT
(8.1 INT %)


Bernie Faloney (HOF)
1954-1967
151 TD Passes / 201 INT / 2876 ATT
(7.0 INT %)


Jerry Keeling (HOF)
1961-1975
119 TD passes / 158 INT / 2477 ATT
(6.37 INT %)
*Note: Keeling was also an outstanding defensive back in the 1960's. He was named to the CFL Alumni Association's All-Time All-Star Team in 1993 at Safety.


Ron Lancaster (HOF)
1961-1978
333 TD passes / 396 INT / 6233 ATT
(6.35 INT %)


Sam Etcheverry (HOF)
1952-1960
186 TD passes / 213 INT / 3407 ATT
(6.30 INT %)


Ten of Lancaster's main contemporaries from the 1960's & '70's:

Jackie Parker (1954-65, 1968): 123 INT's / 88 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1960)

Bernie Faloney (1954, 1957-1967): 201 INT's / 151 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1961)

Joe Kapp (1959-1966): 130 INT's / 136 TD Passes

Ken Ploen (1957-1967): 106 INT's / 119 TD Passes

Russ Jackson (1958-1969): 125 INT's / 185 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1963, '66, '69)

Peter Liske (1965-68; 1973-1975): 133 INT's / 130 TD
Passes (CFL MVP 1967)

Jerry Keeling (1961-1975): 158 INT's / 119 TD Passes

Don Jonas (1970-1974): 130 INT's / 98 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1971)

Tom Wilkinson (1967-1981): 126 INT's / 154 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1974)

Dieter Brock (1974-1984): 158 INT's / 210 TD Passes (CFL MVP 1980, 1981)

Only Jonas & Liske aren't in the Hall of Fame.


Most Selections - CFL ALL-Star QB 1960's & 1970's:

Ron Lancaster (4) - 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976
Russ Jackson (3) - 1966, 1968, 1969
Tom Wilkinson (3) - 1974, 1978, 1979

Most Seasons leading CFL in passing yards 1960's & 1970's:

Ron Lancaster (6) - 1966, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
Joe Kapp (3) - 1962, 1964, 1965
Peter Liske (3) - 1967, 1968, 1974

Most Seasons leading CFL in pass completions 1960's & 1970's:

Ron Lancaster (5) - 1966, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
Joe Kapp (3) - 1962, 1964, 1965
Peter Liske (3) - 1967, 1968, 1974

Most Season leading CFL in touchdown passes 1960's & 1970's:

Ron Lancaster (5) - 1966, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
Russ Jackson (3) - 1964, 1965, 1969
Joe Kapp (2) - 1962, 1963
Peter Liske (2) - 1967, 1968
Don Jonas (2) - 1971, 1972
Dieter Brock (2) - 1977, 1978


While there was no official Grey Cup MVP award from 1963-1966, the Football Reporters of Canada took an informal poll after the 1966 classic and chose Lancaster as the game's MVP. They later presented him with a plaque which is pictured in the 2009 book, West Riders Best (1966: Before, Then and After). He was also selected as the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 1970 and 1976. When Ron Lancaster retired he was nearly 25,000 passing yards ahead of second place Sam Etcheverry. In 1993 the CFL Alumni Association named him to the CFL's All-Time All-Star Team at quarterback:
From 1963-1978 Lancaster led Saskatchewan to 50 come from behind victories, many in dramatic fashion (including playoffs). From 1966-76 he guided the Roughriders to the most victories in North American Professional football:

​​​​​​​Regular Season:
Saskatchewan Roughriders 117
Oakland Raiders 116
Dallas Cowboys 112

Including Playoff Games:
Saskatchewan Roughriders 133
Oakland Raiders 126
Dallas Cowboys 122

CFL Winningest Teams 1966-1976

Regular Season:
Saskatchewan Roughriders 117
Ottawa Rough Riders 96
Edmonton Eskimos 93
Hamilton Tiger Cats 86

Including Playoff Games:
Saskatchewan Roughriders 133
Ottawa Rough Riders 110
Edmonton Eskimos 98
Hamilton Tiger Cats 94

1966-76 Saskatchewan Roughriders
Regular Season: 117-55-4 (68% win percentage)
Post Season: 16-14
Overall: 133-69-4 (66% win percentage)
1 Grey Cup win
4 Grey Cup appearances in 7 years (66, 67, 69, 72)
5 Western Conference Titles (66, 67, 69, 72, 76)
5 West Division Titles: (66, 68, 69, 70, 76)
11 Consecutive years playing in the Conference/Division Finals - still a CFL record (tied with the 1950-60 Edmonton Eskimos).

This thread has greatly increased my appreciation for Damon Allen. Not only did he set a number of CFL passing records, he was money in the post season. Allen was a perfect 4-0 (3-0 as a starter) in Grey Cup games while winning 2 GC MVP awards. His performance in the 1993 Western Final - played in arctic conditions - was incredible. He also led the Western Division in rushing that year, finishing just 5 yards short of the league leader. And he won the 2005 CFL MVP at age 42! ​

Some additional food for thought:

In 2006 Canada's TSN assembled a panel of former players, coaches, broadcasters, and football executives to determine the Top 50 CFL players in the post-WWII era:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TSN_Top ... The_Top_50

TSN assembled an independent voting panel of 60 CFL past and present executives, coaches, players and media, who were asked to rank the top 50 players from a list of 185 nominees, in order, from the post-WWII history of the CFL (since 1945).

The candidates were identified following a comprehensive three-month research and consultation process.

Members of the voting panel were instructed to judge and compare players based on the totality of their on-field contributions - be it at different positions or in different team roles. As part of the voting process, voters were required to include at least one quarterback, two running backs, four receivers, five offensive linemen, one punter (or punter/kicker), one kicker (or kicker/punter), four defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. This added up to a total of 26 players representing each CFL position. There were no restrictions on the remaining 24 choices.

Quarterbacks who made the Top 50 Greatest Players list (in order by rank):

#1 Doug Flutie (received 35 of 60 first place votes)
#3 Jackie Parker (multi-position player, received 16 first place votes)
#5 Warren Moon (3 first place votes)
#7 Ron Lancaster (1 first place vote)
#8 Russ Jackson (2 first place votes)
#14 Damon Allen (2 first place votes)
#26 Sam Etcheverry
#39 Matt Dunnigan
#46 Jack Kroll (1 first place vote)
#47 Tom Clements

In 2020 TSN announced all-time teams for each of the 9 CFL clubs. Here are the quaterbacks that were selected for their respective teams:

Ottawa - Russ Jackson (1958-1969)
Toronto - Doug Flutie (1996-1997)
Hamilton - Bernie Faloney (1957-1964)
Montreal - Anthony Calvillo (1998-2013)
Winnipeg - Ken Ploen (1957-1967)
Edmonton - Ricky Ray (2002-2003, 2005-2011)
Saskatchewan - Ron Lancaster (1963-1978)
Calgary - Doug Flutie (1992-1995)
British Columbia - Travis Lulay (2009-2018)

FWIW, Doug Flutie was also named at quarterback on the B.C. Lions 50th Anniversary Team in 2003.

Retro Rider wrote:This thread has greatly increased my appreciation for Damon Allen. His performance in the 1993 Western Final - played in arctic conditions - was incredible.

The 1993 CFL western final. It hurts to the bone just watching this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtUYdJ1xkic

Thanks guys ... great stats and information. I still remember the wild card game where Flutie and the Bills took on Marino and the Dolphins in 98/99. Might have been a different outcome if Bills receiver Andre Reed doesnt act crazy on the field and draw a costly penalty during a critical drive ...

What HC Phillips did to Flutie, starting Rob Johnson over him in the Music City Miracle wild card game in 99/00 for Buffalo was ridiculous.

I saw Damon live in a Lions-Stampeders game at Vancouver in 2002 and although he was 39 years old at the time he still was one of the top CFL quarterbacks.

RyanChristiansen wrote:

Retro Rider wrote:This thread has greatly increased my appreciation for Damon Allen. His performance in the 1993 Western Final - played in arctic conditions - was incredible.

The 1993 CFL western final. It hurts to the bone just watching this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtUYdJ1xkic

I believe that is still the coldest CFL game on record at -21.3 degrees celsius (-6.34 fahrenheit). With the windchill factored in it was -32C.

https://cfldb.ca/2014/06/statistics-refresh/

I recorded that game and still have the tapes. I haven't watched it in several years but I do remember Doug Flutie taking himself out of the game in the 4th quarter with frozen hands. The joke afterwards was that Flutie would never make it as a farmer on the Canadian prairies. If I remember correctly, Damon Allen was wearing gloves. He put up some impressive numbers in ridiculous weather.

Brian wolf wrote:Thanks Retro Rider ...

I still wonder, especially with four Grey Cup championships, why Damon Allen didnt sign with the NFL ? Was there no interest, or did he prefer the CFL ?

I don't know the answer to that Bryan. Maybe someone on the forum can provide insight. You would think there would have been an NFL team willing to give him a look. I totally agree about Flutie getting the start over Rob Johnson in the Music City Miracle game. Flutie was a winner.