Inside the CFL: Former Alouettes receiver S.J. Green enters Hall of Fame

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From the Alouettes’ practice roster to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

That now is receiver S.J. Green‘s legacy — not to mention the three Grey Cup championships, two CFL All-Star selections and seven 1,000-yard seasons over 13 years, including twice in which this was achieved over three successive campaigns.

But few players, if any, play professionally with the goal of being enshrined into the pantheon of Canadian football, Green admitted.

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“When you start playing the game, I don’t know that I thought about being in the Hall of Fame,” Green told The Gazette this week by telephone from his home in the Tampa area. “When I started, I wanted to be remembered as one of the best players to come through the country of Canada and play. I wanted to be remembered when I left. Playing with guys I consider to be legends before me, that helped me get to this point.

“Football eternity, that’s what the Hall of Fame means to me. I’ll forever be remembered for the rest of time.”

Green, originally from Fort Worth, Tex., is one of five players and two builders part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class. He’s joined by receiver and return-specialist Chad Owens, who began his career in Montreal, receiver Weston Dressler, cornerback Marvin Coleman and defensive-end Vince Goldsmith. Former head coach Ray Jauch and amateur football executive Ed Laverty are entering the builders’ category, with Laverty posthumously.

The group were officially inducted during a Friday evening ceremony in Hamilton and will be honoured at halftime of Saturday’s game between Ottawa and the Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field.

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Green, 39, spent 10 seasons with the Alouettes beginning in 2007, when he started on the practice roster. He won consecutive Cups with Montreal in 2009-10 and the 6-foot-3, 216 pounder gaining a reputation for spectacular one-handed receptions — including one in the back of the end zone at Regina’s Taylor Field during a wild and high-scoring 2010 game.

Green said he spent the winter heading into that season working daily with his father-in-law on a high school practice field — catching balls at different angles, while falling to the sideline and using only one hand. The practice served him well over the years.

“As I got older I realized that was going to be my niche, because I wasn’t the fastest receiver,” Green explained. “I knew I had to do something well, something great and worked at that. I knew that was my way of being what I thought was great, consistent and making those catches.”

Green caught most of those passes over that decade from legendary quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who said he came to expect the extraordinary from the receiver.

“He always worked hard from the beginning, whether he was in the weight room or practice roster,” said Calvillo, now Montreal’s offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach. “He had to wait for his time, but he also was learning from guys in front of him. After a while, you kind of got used to the one-handed catches. It happened on the practice field and he carried it over to the games.

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“I talk about guys who can play consistent football. Those are the guys that can play for a long time. He took it to another level. You think about the hard work, the different quarterbacks and offensive co-ordinators he dealt with. He was able to learn and get better every single time while maintaining his same level of play. All that hard work got him into the Hall of Fame.”

Calvillo suffered a concussion during the 2013 season and forced to retire. Although the Alouettes made the playoffs the following season, the team began a four-year swoon in 2015. Green tore three ligaments and the meniscus in his right knee in 2016, prompting former general manager Kavis Reed to trade him to Toronto for a sixth-round draft choice. Reed made many poor decisions during his tenure, with this deal near the top.

Green had a career season with the Argonauts in 2017 and won his final Cup title. He retired following the 2019 campaign having made 716 receptions for 10,222 yards in 170 games. He scored 60 touchdowns and produced 30 career 100-yard games. He signed a one-day contract with Montreal on Oct. 21, 2022, so he could retire as an Alouette, but admitted he would have preferred spending his entire career with one team.

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“I was bitter for a long time, I’ll be honest,” Green said. “To get written off like that, it hurt. But if I’m being honest, it’s probably what I needed at that time. I was feeling complacent around 2014-15. Things were getting redundant. I was having successful seasons, but we were losing. I was having 1,000-yard seasons, but we’re losing. The different coaches, the different quarterbacks. I wasn’t ready to retire, but I felt the drudgery of the process at that time.

“Getting hurt was the worst thing and the best. I had to be away from the game, couldn’t watch it and had to recalibrate.”

Green will be remembered as one of the Montreal’s greatest receivers, who was an all-around selfless teammate prepared to put the good of the team before personal accomplishments. He lead by example, while leaving the speeches to others.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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