But yesterday, the Als made it official, after a spectacular run as one of the marquee players of the Canadian Football League, Ben Cahoon has brought his career to an end.
The stats are impressive; 13 seasons of play as a Montreal Alouette , 224 regular season games, 1,017 receptions, 13,301 yards and 65 touchdowns.
The awards of a 13 year career are many, and even more could have, should have been bestowed upon him. Outstanding Canadian twice, league all star three times, three time Grey Cup champion, the outstanding Canadian in two of them.
He was a complete player, an icon for the Alouettes and the league, leading by example, without fanfare or boasting, a work ethic worthy of a league that is perhaps one of the most workmanlike of all the sports leagues on the continent.
The word class has been used many times whenever Cahoon's name comes up, a worthy candidate for the moniker, though talent as always is the defining character in sport and Cahoon had that as well.
He was part of one of the most magical of passing combinations the league has seen, the frequent target of Anthony Calvillo, one's success dependent on the other and both complimented each other like few combos have in the past.
When Calvillo dropped back to pass, there was a pretty good chance that Cahoon was going to be at the other end of the pattern, shaking off double coverage, diving that extra few inches to make the catch, almost always gaining the needed yards, almost always moving the ball forward.
The Als have been as much of a dynasty over the last decade as any of the ancient teams of CFL legend of the past, slowly they are filtering away, retirement and age taking its toll on the chemistry that has been assembled and helped take football to its most popular place in Quebec's long storied football history.
An ongoing reference material that features some great names of the past, with a few more destined to the join the ranks of Sonny Wade, Peter Dalla Riva, Sam Etcheverry and oh so many more, they'll be saving a chapter for Anthony Calvillo and as should be expected, there will be a section for Ben Cahoon.
Likewise, we are sure that it won't be too long before he makes yet another trip north, for his enshrinement at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, where he will received his due from the league at large.
His final day with the Alouettes took place this week at a press conference to announce his departure, sometime this season we imagine there will be a public celebration of a great CFL career in Montreal, to fully recognize the talent, work ethic and personality that has made football worth watching in Quebec for 13 years.
There are countless videos uploaded to YouTube featuring his amazing catches, among the best of them is this one:
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With word of his retirement, the tales are being told about his remarkable run with the Alouettes, samples of what he brought to the game and what CFL fans were fortunate to view for thirteen years, some of them can be found below.
Montreal Gazette-- 'Magical ride' ends for Cahoon
Montreal Gazette-- Alouette's Cahoon retires as CFL's all time leading receiver
Globe and Mail-- Als' Cahoon closes out stellar career
National Post-- Cahoon retires as CFL's all time leading receiver
Examiner.com-- Class Act Cahoon goes out on top
Toronto Sun-- CFL's all-time leading receiver Cahoon retires
CBC-- Alouette's Cahoon retires
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