Montreal Beavers
Founded1961
Folded1968
LeagueUnited Football League, Continental Football League
Based inMontreal, Quebec, Canada
ArenaBeaver Stadium
Championships1 (1964)
Division titles0

The Montreal Beavers were a professional American football team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The franchise began as the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League in 1961, where they played for four seasons. During that time the Warriors made the UFL playoffs three times, and advanced to the league championship in 1964. The team moved to Fort Wayne in January 1965,[1] and became a charter member of the Continental Football League (CFL) when it was formed the next month.

Unable to find financial success in Indiana, team owner Al Savill sold the Warriors to a group from Montreal led by construction magnate, and former Montreal Alouette,[2] Johnny Newman[3] in March 1966.[4] Led by former South Carolina head coach Marvin Bass, the Beavers finished with a 7-7 record in 1966 and a 4-8 mark in 1967. The team denied rumours of a sale in early 1968, but nevertheless folded before the season began.

The Indianapolis Capitols were considered "an outgrowth" of the team when the expansion franchise was established in 1969 for play in the CFL.[5]

Season-by-season

Team name Year League W L T Finish Coach
Indianapolis Warriors 1961 United Football League 6 3 1 2nd, Western Division Gene Gedman
1962 9 3 0 2nd, Western Division Ken Carpenter
1963 5 8 0 2nd, Western Division Ray Nolting/Lynn Lynch/John Talley
1964 10 4 0 1st, Eastern Division Ken Carpenter
Fort Wayne Warriors 1965 Continental Football League 8 6 0 2nd, Western Division Ken Carpenter
Montreal Beavers 1966 7 7 0 3rd, Western Division Marvin Bass
1967 4 8 0 3rd, Atlantic North Division

References

  1. ^ "Warriors Moving To Fort Wayne". The Indianapolis Star. January 19, 1965.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Andy. "Montreal'S Johnny Newman failed in his bid to buy Alouettes so he went shopping in the U.S." Google News. Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ Gravenor, Kristian. "Construction magnate Johnny Newman and his Montreal Beavers". Coolopolis.blogspot.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Fort Wayne Warriors Go To Montreal". The Indianapolis Star. Associated Press. March 26, 1966.
  5. ^ "Caps To Open MFL Title Defense At Detroit July 13". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1974. Retrieved April 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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