[b][u]The time John Candy tried to bring 49ers' Joe Montana to the CFL[/u][/b] SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS[b]A trio of wealthy buddies -- Candy, Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall -- owned the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL and in 1992 wanted to make a splash by luring an established NFL star.
"When I mentioned to (Candy) the idea of Montana, he said, 'Oh, my god. That would be wonderful. We have to find a way to do it. How can I help?" McNall, 65, said in a phone interview.The trio ventured that Montana might at least think about trying something different. This was three years after that Super Bowl moment, when the three-time All-Pro was working his way back from an elbow injury that cost him all of the '91 season.
The Argonauts owners theorized that the 49ers passer, at age 36, might be fed up with the enduring Steve Young quarterback controversy in San Francisco. Plus, Candy and his group were on a roll. A year earlier, the shocked football by signing college star Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, the Heisman Trophy runner up, to a four-year $18.2 million deal.
Ismail promptly led Argonauts to the 1991 Grey Cup championship."We'd won the championship and so forth and I thought to myself, 'Maybe there's a way of getting a real superstar player who is nearing the end of his career," McNall said. "Maybe it would be someone who wants to try a different venue and become the biggest gun in Canada's history."
"I knew he wasn't going to be cheap. We were prepared to give him a big number, for sure."No spoiler alert here: Montana somehow resisted the lure of the CFL and finished his career in the USA.
In November, speaking at Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce event in San Jose, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection said, "Now, I'd met John Candy already because, a number of years before that, my contract was up and ... he was trying to get me to come to Canada."McNall: "For sure. You can't help but look back and think, 'Wow. What could have been? It was really something special," he said. "That opportunity was there. ... We definitely put out some feelers and gave it a shot." [/b]
[url=http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_29431180/time-john-candy-tried-bring-49ers-joe-montana]http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_294 ... oe-montana[/url]
I would of liked to have seen Montana play here it would have been great . A bigger star than the Rocket Ismail .
yes and it would have caused quite a stir in the sports world.
I wonder how much of a "big number" they were willing to give Montana, especially considering Rocket's $18.2 million dollar deal, and if he spurned their offer thinking that it would tarnish his legacy had he failed in the CFL.....who knows.
Yes, Candy and company, ah the good ol days. Now my memory ain't what it used to be but wasn't it Toronto that brought in Vince Ferragamo and White Shoes Johnson??? :cowboy:
That was Montreal
Ah yah, I thought of that after. I New someone would set me straight.
Thanks :thup:
Nelson Skalbania. Never found a team or league he didn't do his damndest to get into, then did his damndest to wreck.