The first time that I watched Anthony Calvillo throw a football was in 1994 during the one-year run of the Las Vegas Posse, a CFL expansion mistake from Sin City. One of the few smart decisions in ‘Vegas was the choice of Calvillo as the team’s quarterback.
Calvillo showed early signs of the brilliance that would become his trademark in the CFL in the 1994 game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the Posse rounded up the ‘Riders in the desert heat.
Maybe it was the Canadian national anthem sung to the stirring melody of O Christmas Tree, or maybe it was the absence of (former Roughrider quarterback) Kent Austin that caused the meltdown for Saskatchewan on that sultry day in Las Vegas.
All I know is that Anthony Calvillo owned the ‘Riders that day and I wished that he would have been the replacement for Austin as the Rider starter. He looked poised and ready to play in the CFL as a rookie.
The American CFL experiment ended after two seasons and Anthony Calvillo found employment with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in what proved to be a horrible marriage between a quarterback and a football team.
For some reason, Calvillo never really found his groove in Steeltown, and a rare emotional outburst from AC on the sidelines sealed his fate as a Ti-Cat.
Danny McManus was the new gunslinger in Hamilton and AC was on his way to a new CFL team.
It was the stuff of dreams for Rider fans like me who had clearly understood that Calvillo was the real deal from his debut as a member of the Las Vegas Posse.
The Riders had a chance to grab a legitimate star to guide the team’s fortunes at a bargain bin price.
Calvillo needed a team and the Riders needed — make that desperately — needed a quarterback.
The CFL is a passing league in which championship fortunes ride directly on the arm of its quarterbacks.
It is a simple concept that has been lost on the Saskatchewan administration over the years, and it continued to be lost on then- ‘Rider GM Alan Ford and then- ‘Rider coach Jim Daley.
The Montreal Alouettes were the team with enough foresight to convince Calvillo to assume a backup role behind veteran starter Tracy Ham and the rest became CFL history.
Calvillo bided his time behind Ham and became one of the best quarterbacks ever seen in the game.
Calvillo’s trademark is his legendary film study habits and dedication to perfection that has never diminished even after all of these years in the game. The quarterback position is an intense world of film study and preparation.
Mistakes can cost a quarterback a game, his health, his job, or any combination of the three.
Calvillo understood the concept better than most and worked very hard to avoid any of these negative outcomes. He simply wanted to win and he was willing to put in the time to become a winner.
I was fortunate enough to meet Anthony Calvillo here in Red Deer in June 2003. He was a quiet guy who disguised his enormous competitive fire under a calm exterior.
Congratulations are definitely in order for this man because he is a class act on and off the field.
jim@mystarcollectorcar.com