Would it not be great to see a NFL team vs. a CFL team. As many of you know the Buffalo Bills played a few games in Toronto already. Their opponent this year were the Chicago Bears who made their first appearance in Canada. The Chicago Bears in Canada for the first time. Wait it minute. First time? They were in Montreal in 1961 playing against the Montreal Alouettes. The NFL has played already against Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal in exhibition games for a total of seven games in the early sixties. The year that the Bears came to Montreal, future hall of famer Mike Ditka was playing for Chicago. Chicago beat Montreal 34-16.
The Bears and the Alouettes met at Molson Stadium in Montreal on August 5, 1961. The Quebec populous were intrigued by the prospect of a contest between the two leagues in the days leading up to the game. Of course, the American teams were expected to be much stronger. Perry Moss, former Packer star and the youngest college head football coach in the US at Florida State, was the newly acquired head coach of the Alouettes in 1961. Montreal had offered Moss 5% of the team and a substantial raise to head north. He would go on to coach in the NFL, WFL, USFL and Arena League. Moss told the press before the game, “We perhaps will lose 50-0 or 80-0, maybe it will be closer. I do not believe that it is important. What is important is to prove with the majority our players, who have never faced the talent of the NFL, that they also are human beings; that they also make errors.” George Halas, legendary founder of the NFL, was the coach of the Chicago Bears. The contest featured a bench clearing brawl. The Canadian Press mentioned this, the Chicago Tribune did not.
via-mmbolding