Peter Dalla Riva
Encyclopedia
Peter Dalla Riva, is a former professional Canadian football
player with the Montreal Alouettes
of the Canadian Football League
at the tight end
and wide receiver
positions. Dalla Riva played with the Alouettes for his entire 14 year career. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
, and has had his jersey number #74 retired by the club.
, Canada
with his family in 1953. Dalla Riva played amateur Canadian football
with the Burlington Braves
and Oakville Black Knights of the Canadian Junior Football League
.
as a tight end
. He would play for a franchise record 14 seasons, until the 1981 CFL season
, including 197 regular season games. He would catch 450 passes for 6,413 yards and scored 55 touchdowns, he was also an excellent blocker
. He played in 6 Grey Cup
games, winning three: the 58th Grey Cup
of 1970, the 62nd Grey Cup
of 1974, the 65th Grey Cup
of 1977, scoring a touchdown in the latter game, a 7-yard pass from Sonny Wade
. He also lost three: the 63rd Grey Cup
of 1975, the 66th Grey Cup
of 1978, the 67th Grey Cup
of 1979. Dalla Riva was named a CFL All-Star 3 times.
. In 2006, Dalla Riva was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's Top 50 players
of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
.
Since his retirement from professional football, Dalla Riva has given much time to participating in community and charity sports events.
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
player with the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
at the tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
and wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
positions. Dalla Riva played with the Alouettes for his entire 14 year career. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
, and has had his jersey number #74 retired by the club.
Amateur football career
Born in Treviso, Italy, Dalla Riva arrived in Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with his family in 1953. Dalla Riva played amateur Canadian football
Football Canada
Football Canada is the governing body for amateur Canadian football. It is Canada's representative member of the International Federation of American Football , the world's governing body for American football.-History:...
with the Burlington Braves
Burlington Braves
The Burlington Braves are a Canadian junior football league team. Founded in 1958 in Burlington, Ontario, they presently play in the Ontario Football Conference of the Canadian Junior Football League. Two legendary CFL Hall of Fame players started their football careers with the Braves: Tony...
and Oakville Black Knights of the Canadian Junior Football League
Canadian Junior Football League
The Canadian Junior Football League is a national amateur Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in six provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl...
.
Alouette career
Dalla Riva began his professional football career with the Alouettes in the 1968 CFL season1968 CFL season
The 1968 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 15th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 11th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1968:J.G...
as a tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
. He would play for a franchise record 14 seasons, until the 1981 CFL season
1981 CFL season
The 1981 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 28th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 24th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1981:...
, including 197 regular season games. He would catch 450 passes for 6,413 yards and scored 55 touchdowns, he was also an excellent blocker
Blocker
Blocker can mean any of the following:*Blocker *The nickname of Steve Roach, Australian rugby league footballer*Blocker , slang for a defensive-minded batsman in cricket*The inverse of a filter...
. He played in 6 Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
games, winning three: the 58th Grey Cup
58th Grey Cup
The 58th Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1970 before 32,669 fans at Exhibition Stadium at Toronto. The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Calgary Stampeders 23 to 10...
of 1970, the 62nd Grey Cup
62nd Grey Cup
The 62nd Grey Cup was played on November 24, 1974 before 32,454 fans at Empire Stadium at Vancouver. The Montreal Alouettes beat the Edmonton Eskimos 20 to 7 on rain slick field...
of 1974, the 65th Grey Cup
65th Grey Cup
The 65th Grey Cup, played on November 27, 1977 and also known as The Ice Bowl, was the 1977 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship final between the Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos...
of 1977, scoring a touchdown in the latter game, a 7-yard pass from Sonny Wade
Sonny Wade
Sonny Wade born April 1, 1947 in Martinsville, Virginia, a graduate of the "powerhouse" football program at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, and played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1969 to 1978....
. He also lost three: the 63rd Grey Cup
63rd Grey Cup
The 63rd Grey Cup was played on November 23, 1975 before 32,454 fans at McMahon Stadium at Calgary. The Edmonton Eskimos won an extremely close game, decided on the last play, against the Montreal Alouettes by the score 9 to 8.-Box Score:...
of 1975, the 66th Grey Cup
66th Grey Cup
The 66th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 1978 before 54,695 fans at Exhibition Stadium at Toronto. The Edmonton Eskimos won against the Montreal Alouettes with a close 20-13 victory.- Box Score :First QuarterEdmonton - FG – Dave Cutler 37 yards...
of 1978, the 67th Grey Cup
67th Grey Cup
The 67th Grey Cup was played on November 25, 1979 before 65,113 fans at the Olympic Stadium at Montreal. The Edmonton Eskimos won against the Montreal Alouettes by the score 17 to 9.-Box Score:First Quarter...
of 1979. Dalla Riva was named a CFL All-Star 3 times.
Awards, honours, and post-football life
Dalla Riva's jersey number #74, was retired by the Als on October 24, 1981. In 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of FameCanadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
. In 2006, Dalla Riva was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's Top 50 players
TSN Top 50 CFL Players
The TSN Top 50 CFL Players was a list of the greatest fifty Canadian Football League players, as selected by a panel of sixty former CFL players, then-current and former coaches, executives, and media members in 2006. The panel was assembled by sports television network TSN in partnership with the...
of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
Since his retirement from professional football, Dalla Riva has given much time to participating in community and charity sports events.