Cougar pride reunites at Champlain
Dozens of former football players from Champlain Regional College gathered on campus yesterday for a special Wall of Champions unveiling ceremony, honoring the championship teams from 1975, 1979 and 1981.
Among the football alums in attendance were several members of team 1974, the very first team at Champlain,
coached by Tom Allen.
“This is before we had uniforms, before we had the Cougar paw logo,” explained John Ellyson, Mark Winokur and Rob Wright, three members of the original team.
Champlain College opened in 1971. During the first few years, athletes attending Champlain who wanted to play football joined the Bishop’s University team.
In 1973, the rules changed. When a handful of players found out, they went to see the administration at Champlain. With the help of Peter Hill and Tom Allen, the players got the green light to do enough fundraising to put a team together.
“It was just plain jerseys with no names, just numbers,” the players remembered.
“But we had fun.”
According to Ellyson, the Champlain football team’s first game was against Drummondville. They won 34-0.
“By 1975 we were unstoppable,” commented Harry Webster, another 1974 player.
That was true. The Cougars won the provincial championship in 1975.
“It’s been a good ride. It’s amazing to see what the place has become.”
The Cougar reunion was part of a plan to honour all the Champlain championship teams since the CEGEP was founded in 1971, leading up to the 50th anniversary in 2021.
“There have been so many great athletes,” explained Champlain Athletic Director Sylvain Laflamme, adding they wanted to find a way to honour them.
After discussions with former coaches and athletic directors from Champlain, Laflamme said they came up with the plan. “We decided we should honour the team first,” he said.
Leading up to the 50th anniversary, Champlain will be hosting ceremonies similar to the one this past Sunday, for all 26 teams from Champlain that have won a provincial title over the years. They will be added to a Wall of Champions in the Champlain building.
The list includes seven hockey championships (six men’s, one women’s), one basketball, one soccer, three field lacrosse and 14 football championships.
While the focus of Sunday’s ceremony was the 1975, 1979 and 1981 championship football teams, every Cougar available came to the event to connect with former teammates and remember the good old days on the football field.
The current Champlain Cougar team also attended the ceremony.
“The linemen are a lot bigger,” remarked former coach Al Ansell.
The former players spent around an hour catching up with each other, and then Champlain Campus Director Nancy Beattie opened the ceremony by pointing out the strong foundation established by the former Cougars, and how it shaped the school and sports programs to what they have become today. “This is all because of you,” she said. Following the ceremony, the Cougars alumni had a pizza party, and then headed over the field to watch the current Cougars play against the Lionelgroulx Nordiques at 8 p.m.
Maybe the Cougars were inspired by the prospect of being added to the Wall of Champions, or maybe they were motivated by around 50 former players watching them on the field-no pressurein any case, Champlain won the game 44-10.
According to Laflamme, the next Wall of Champions ceremony will be held in May, honouring the 1983 and 1991 championship hockey teams.