Anthony Calvillo facts for kids
| Montreal Alouettes | |
Calvillo with the Montreal Alouettes in 2023
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| Born: | August 23, 1972 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Career information | |
| CFL status | American |
| Position(s) | Offensive coordinator Quarterbacks coach |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| College | Utah State |
| High school | La Puente |
| Hand | Right |
| Career history | |
| As coach | |
| 2015–2017 | Montreal Alouettes –Receivers coach (2015) –Offensive coordinator (2015–2016) –Quarterbacks coach (2016–2017) |
| 2018 | Toronto Argonauts –Quarterbacks coach |
| 2019–2021 | Montreal Carabins –Assistant head coach (2019) –Offensive coordinator (2021) –Quarterbacks coach (2021) |
| 2022–present | Montreal Alouettes –Quarterbacks coach (2022–present) –Offensive coordinator (2023–present) |
| As player | |
| 1994 | Las Vegas Posse |
| 1995–1997 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 1998–2013 | Montreal Alouettes |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| CFL All-Star | 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012 |
| CFL East All-Star | 2000, 2002–2004, 2006, 2008–2012 |
| Awards |
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| Honours |
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| Records | Most career touchdown passes (455) Most career pass completions (5892) Most career pass attempts (9437) Most career passing yards in Grey Cup games (2470 yards) |
| Career stats | |
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Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Calvillo was once professional football's all-time leader in passing yards. He holds the record for most passing yards in CFL history. During his playing career, he threw for an amazing 79,816 yards. He is one of only ten professional quarterbacks to complete over 400 touchdown passes.
He won three Grey Cup championships as a player (in 2002, 2009, and 2010). He was also named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in 2002. Calvillo won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award three times (2003, 2008, and 2009). This ties him for second all-time in that award. He retired as a player on January 21, 2014. After retiring, he became an assistant coach for the Alouettes and later the Toronto Argonauts.
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Early Life and High School Football
Anthony Calvillo was born in Los Angeles, California. When he was in high school at La Puente High School, he was a star in two sports. He played both football and basketball. Calvillo is of Mexican-American background.
College Football Journey
Calvillo started his college football career at Mt. San Antonio College. After two seasons there, he moved to Utah State University in 1992. He had a strong junior year as the starting quarterback.
His senior year in 1993 was even better. He set a school record with 3,260 total yards of offense. He also tied a school record by throwing five touchdown passes in a single game twice. With Calvillo leading the team, Utah State won the Big West Conference championship. This was their first conference title since 1979. The Aggies finished the year with a 42–33 win over Ball State in the Las Vegas Bowl. Calvillo threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns in that game. He earned the MVP award, and it was Utah State's first-ever bowl victory.
College Career Statistics
| NCAA Collegiate Career statistics | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah State Aggies | |||||||||||
| Season | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||
| Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | TD | ||||
| 1992 | 201 | 360 | 2,494 | 16 | 9 | 65 | 84 | 4 | |||
| 1993 | 247 | 469 | 3,148 | 19 | 10 | 89 | 112 | 4 | |||
| Career | 448 | 829 | 5,642 | 35 | 19 | 154 | 196 | 8 | |||
Professional Football Career
Anthony Calvillo began his professional journey in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was not drafted by an NFL team.
Starting with the Las Vegas Posse
Calvillo started his CFL career in 1994 with the Las Vegas Posse. This team was part of the CFL's expansion into the United States.
Time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Las Vegas Posse team closed down after just one year. Calvillo was then chosen first overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a special draft. In Hamilton, he often played as a backup quarterback.
In 1996, Calvillo showed his talent by setting new team records. He threw for 518 yards in one game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Later that year, he threw for 542 yards against the Montreal Alouettes. This was the highest passing yardage total in the CFL that year.
Becoming a Legend with the Montreal Alouettes
In 1998, Calvillo joined the Montreal Alouettes as a free agent. This is where he became one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history.
He led the Alouettes to the 90th Grey Cup in 2002. This was the team's first Grey Cup win in 25 years. Calvillo was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player for his amazing performance in that game.
During the 2003 season, Calvillo broke many Montreal Alouette passing records. He completed 408 passes for 5,891 yards and 37 touchdowns. In 2004, he threw for 6,041 yards. This made him only the fourth quarterback in CFL history to pass for over 6,000 yards in a single season. He also earned the East Division nomination for Most Outstanding Player.
With Calvillo as quarterback, the Alouettes made history. In 2004, they became the first CFL team to have four players with over 1,000 receiving yards in one season. They repeated this amazing feat in 2005.
The 2008 season was full of milestones for Calvillo. He became the second all-time leading passer in the CFL. He also became the fourth quarterback in league history to reach 300 career touchdown passes. Later, he became the second quarterback to reach 4,000 career pass completions. With 5,633 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes, Calvillo won the 2008 Most Outstanding Player award. He led the Alouettes to the 96th Grey Cup final, but they lost to the Calgary Stampeders.
In 2009, Calvillo continued to break records. He passed Canadian Football Hall of Famer Ron Lancaster for second place in all-time career touchdown passes. He led Montreal to an incredible comeback victory in the 97th Grey Cup. The Alouettes won 28–27 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a last-second field goal.
Calvillo won his third Grey Cup on November 28, 2010, at the 98th Grey Cup. They defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders again, 21-18. He added to his record for passing yards in Grey Cup games with 2,470 yards. He also set a record for Grey Cup starts with eight.
After the 2010 season, Calvillo had surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his thyroid. The surgery was successful.
On July 15, 2011, Calvillo completed his CFL record 395th career touchdown pass. On October 10, 2011, he became professional football's all-time leading passer. In 2012, Calvillo became the only player in football history to pass for 5,000 yards seven times. He also reached 4,000 yards passing eleven times, which is a CFL record.
Calvillo signed a two-year contract in December 2012. However, in Week 8 of the 2013 season, he suffered a concussion. This injury kept him out for the rest of the 2013 season.
On January 21, 2014, Anthony Calvillo announced his retirement from professional football. On October 13, 2014, the Alouettes retired his jersey number, #13, in a special ceremony. When he retired, he was the last active player who had played for a US-based CFL team during the league's expansion in the mid-1990s.
Career Statistics
| Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Att | Cmp | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | ||
| 1994 | LV | 17 | 14 | 348 | 154 | 44.3 | 2,582 | 13 | 15 | 64.4 | 42 | 195 | 4.6 | 21 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1995 | HAM | 18 | 9 | 385 | 211 | 54.8 | 2,831 | 19 | 21 | 72.1 | 24 | 51 | 2.1 | 13 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1996 | HAM | 13 | 7 | 265 | 157 | 59.2 | 2,571 | 13 | 13 | 87.8 | 40 | 311 | 7.8 | 53 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1997 | HAM | 12 | 10 | 278 | 160 | 57.6 | 2,177 | 12 | 11 | 80.6 | 53 | 242 | 4.6 | 29 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1998 | MTL | 18 | 5 | 172 | 98 | 57.0 | 1,526 | 6 | 10 | 74.0 | 31 | 121 | 3.9 | 11 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | MTL | 18 | 9 | 249 | 166 | 66.7 | 2,592 | 13 | 6 | 108.4 | 56 | 211 | 3.8 | 27 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2000 | MTL | 18 | 17 | 435 | 272 | 62.5 | 4,277 | 27 | 5 | 111.1 | 58 | 230 | 4.0 | 26 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2001 | MTL | 18 | 15 | 412 | 250 | 60.7 | 3,671 | 16 | 9 | 93.6 | 40 | 253 | 6.3 | 29 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2002 | MTL | 18 | 17 | 569 | 338 | 59.4 | 5,013 | 27 | 10 | 96.8 | 45 | 327 | 7.3 | 24 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 2003 | MTL | 18 | 18 | 675 | 408 | 60.4 | 5,891 | 37 | 14 | 98.4 | 45 | 169 | 3.8 | 46 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2004 | MTL | 18 | 18 | 690 | 431 | 62.5 | 6,041 | 31 | 15 | 96.6 | 44 | 237 | 5.4 | 18 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2005 | MTL | 18 | 17 | 661 | 437 | 66.1 | 5,556 | 34 | 19 | 97.4 | 35 | 189 | 5.4 | 15 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2006 | MTL | 18 | 18 | 640 | 402 | 62.8 | 4,714 | 20 | 15 | 85.8 | 28 | 185 | 6.6 | 21 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2007 | MTL | 13 | 13 | 459 | 308 | 67.1 | 3,608 | 17 | 8 | 95.8 | 21 | 137 | 6.5 | 17 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2008 | MTL | 17 | 17 | 682 | 472 | 69.2 | 5,633 | 43 | 13 | 107.2 | 26 | 189 | 7.3 | 29 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | MTL | 18 | 16 | 550 | 396 | 72.0 | 4,639 | 26 | 6 | 108.4 | 32 | 198 | 6.2 | 30 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2010 | MTL | 16 | 15 | 562 | 380 | 67.6 | 4,839 | 32 | 7 | 108.1 | 16 | 107 | 6.7 | 16 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2011 | MTL | 18 | 18 | 654 | 404 | 61.8 | 5,251 | 32 | 8 | 98.2 | 21 | 155 | 7.4 | 20 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2012 | MTL | 18 | 17 | 555 | 333 | 60.0 | 5,082 | 31 | 14 | 98.3 | 19 | 155 | 8.2 | 22 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 2013 | MTL | 7 | 7 | 196 | 115 | 58.7 | 1,322 | 6 | 5 | 78.7 | 6 | 26 | 4.3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | ||
| CFL totals | 329 | 277 | 9,437 | 5,892 | 62.4 | 79,816 | 455 | 224 | 95.5 | 682 | 3,688 | 5.4 | 53 | 34 | 93 | |||
Playoff Games
| YEAR & GAME | TEAM | GP | GS | ATT | COMP | YD | TD | INT | RUSH | YD | TD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 North Semi-Final | HAM | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | ||
| 1996 East Semi-Final | HAM | 1 | 1 | 37 | 20 | 234 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1998 East Semi-Final | MTL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | ||
| 1998 East Final | MTL | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | ||
| 1999 East Final | MTL | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | ||
| 2000 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 21 | 8 | 165 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2001 East Semi-Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 38 | 18 | 229 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 2002 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 26 | 17 | 142 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2003 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 35 | 25 | 228 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2004 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 23 | 16 | 176 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005 East Semi-Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 31 | 22 | 314 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2005 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 33 | 19 | 190 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2006 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 22 | 14 | 252 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2007 East Semi-Final | MTL | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2008 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 32 | 20 | 295 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2009 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 28 | 19 | 312 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2010 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 26 | 19 | 334 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2011 East Semi-Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 42 | 30 | 513 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2012 East Final | MTL | 1 | 1 | 34 | 20 | 303 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013 East Semi-Final | MTL | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Totals | 18 | 14 | 436 | 270 | 3699 | 20 | 13 | 44 | 283 | 1 | |||
Grey Cup Appearances
| YEAR | TEAM | GP | GS | ATT | COMP | YD | TD | INT | RUSH | YD | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 26 | 13 | 242 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2002 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 260 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2003 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 38 | 22 | 371 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 43 | 29 | 361 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2006 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 41 | 20 | 234 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2008 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 38 | 29 | 352 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | |
| 2009 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 39 | 26 | 314 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2010 | MTL | 1 | 1 | 42 | 29 | 336 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | |
| Totals | 8 | 8 | 298 | 179 | 2,470 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 104 | 1 | ||
Coaching Career
After his amazing playing career, Anthony Calvillo moved into coaching.
Coaching the Montreal Alouettes (First Time)
On December 15, 2014, the Montreal Alouettes announced that Calvillo would join their coaching staff. He started as the receivers coach in January 2015. Later that year, he became the quarterbacks coach. He was also named co-offensive coordinator.
For the 2016 season, Calvillo was the offensive coordinator. He continued as the quarterbacks coach for the 2017 season.
Coaching the Toronto Argonauts
On March 19, 2018, Calvillo was hired by the Toronto Argonauts as their quarterback coach. This move reunited him with his former general manager and head coach.
Coaching the Montreal Carabins
In December 2018, Calvillo became the assistant head coach for the Montreal Carabins football team. This was a university team in U Sports. He was later promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2021 season.
Coaching the Montreal Alouettes (Second Time)
On January 6, 2022, Calvillo returned to the Alouettes as their quarterbacks coach. In 2023, he took on the role of Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach. In this role, he won his first Grey Cup as a coach.
Honors and Awards
Anthony Calvillo has received many honors throughout his career:
- In 2011, he became professional football's all-time leader in passing yards.
- He is a 4-time Grey Cup Champion (2002, 2009, 2010, 2023 as a coach).
- He won the CFL Most Outstanding Player award three times (2003, 2008, 2009).
- He was named East Division Most Outstanding Player seven times.
- He was the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in 2002.
- He was selected for the CFL All-Star team multiple times.
- He was also chosen for the CFL East Division All-Star team many times.
- In 2012, Canada Post honored him with his image on a special postage stamp for the 100th Grey Cup.
- On October 13, 2014, the Alouettes retired his jersey number 13.
- He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Personal Life
Anthony Calvillo and his wife, Alexia, have two daughters. They live in Montreal, Quebec, all year round. Calvillo became a Canadian citizen on November 19, 2021.
See Also
- List of Canadian Football League records (individual)
- List of CFL quarterbacks
