Standing Alone

Calvillo becomes all-time leader in TD's and passing yards

It all started quietly in the Las Vegas desert but Anthony Calvillo is now the all-time touchdown pass leader in the history of the CFL.

Calvillo surpassed former great Damon Allen with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Deslauriers against the Toronto Argonauts in Week 3.

After a stellar collegiate career at Utah State, Calvillo made his CFL debut with the now-defunct Las Vegas Posse in front of small crowds.

The following season, the Posse were no more and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats selected the Los Angeles native first overall in the dispersal draft. But Calvillo fell short of the high expectations, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in his three-year tenure at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

In 1998, Calvillo asked for and was given his release by Tiger-Cats and it was off to Montreal to back up Tracy Ham, who was nearing the end of a great career. After biding his time, Calvillo took over as the starter with the Alouettes in 2000 and was named to the East Division All-Star team. The rest is history.

Two seasons later, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Grey Cup, leading the Alouettes to a 25-16 win over the Eskimos in Edmonton. He was also nominated as the East Division's Most Outstanding Player.

In 2003, he completed 408 of 675 pass attempts for 5,891 yards and 37 touchdowns, which were all Montreal franchise records at the time. As a result, he won his first of three Most Outstanding Player awards.

The following year, he rewrote the Alouettes' record book again, becoming just the fourth quarterback in CFL history to pass for over 6,000 yards. Once again, he was a finalist for the league's top honour, losing out to Lions' quarterback Casey Printers.

As he continued to rack up the individual statistics, the Grey Cup was proving to become an elusive target, despite regular appearances in the big game. In 2008, Calvillo posted more eye-popping numbers with 43 touchdown passes but the Alouettes came up short in the ultimate contest.

But the drought ended in dramatic fashion the following season. Calvillo didn't reach the 5,000-mark in passing but Montreal edged the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the game's last play to give him his second ring. And it was more of the same last season as Calvillo and the Alouettes ended any talk of an inability to win when it counted.

On Oct. 10 in front a home crowd on Thanksgiving, Calvillo broke the all-time passing record with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jamel Richardson. Calvillo surpassed Damon Allen's record of 72,381 yards, the most by any quarterback in professional football history.

Career Statistics

Career Leaders - Passing Yards