Editing Montreal Alouettes (section)

=== Montreal Concordes (1982–1985) ===
The CFL had anticipated the collapse of the Alouettes and was well prepared when Skalbania returned the franchise to the league. Among potential suitors for the troubled franchise was Montreal businessman [[Charles Bronfman]], founder and owner of the Alouettes' co-tenants at the Big O, the [[Montreal Expos]]. Bronfman had made it clear to league officials that he would not deal with Skalbania, but would be willing to establish a replacement franchise on short notice if the Alouettes ceased operations. On May 14, 1982, a day after the original Alouettes franchise folded, the CFL granted the Montreal franchise rights to Bronfman. However, Skalbania continued to assert ownership of the Montreal Alouettes name, logos and related intellectual property even though he had given up the franchise.

Rather than risk a lawsuit from the notoriously litigious Skalbania, and unwilling to negotiate with him, Bronfman chose to operate his team under another aviation-inspired name, the Concordes. The new name was not only a reference to the then-revolutionary [[Concorde]] supersonic passenger jet, but appeared to be an appeal to both anglophones and francophones, Concorde was an [[United Kingdom|Anglo]]-[[France|French]] joint venture. Unfortunately, the new name angered management at one of Montreal's most prominent corporations, aviation manufacturer [[Bombardier Inc.|Bombardier]]. After being a prominent sponsor of the Alouettes, Bombardier refused to have anything to do with a football team named for an aircraft built by one of its competitors, the French-based [[Aérospatiale]].

The Concordes inherited the franchise history and records of the 1946–1981 Alouettes, as well as the CFL rights of all Alouettes players. Bronfman retained most of the Alouettes' coaching staff, including recently hired head coach [[Joe Galat]], and most of the Alouettes' front office personnel. In an effort to bring the team's expenses under control, Bronfmam released the former NFL players signed by Skalbania. While many players returned to the U.S., one factor working in Bronfman's favour was that [[1982 NFL strike|a players' strike]] was looming in the NFL (which would last 57 days from September to November), which helped persuade star quarterback [[Johnny Evans (NFL player)|Johnny Evans]] and a few other Skalbania signees to stay in Montreal.

A nine-game losing streak to end the season doomed the 1982 Concordes to a 2–14 record – the worst record in franchise history (percentage points below the 1969 Als). The Concordes featured quarterback [[Luc Tousignant]], the only Québécois quarterback to start a CFL game besides [[Gerry Dattilio]]. The club also featured star collegiate running back [[David Overstreet]] (a holdover from the 1981 Alouettes) who rushed for 190 yards in six games before ending his season on the injured reserve list. Other stars on the club included quarterback Johnny Evans, quarterback [[Turner Gill]], slot back [[Nick Arakgi]], running back [[Lester Brown (Canadian football)|Lester Brown]], wide receiver Brian DeRoo, local kick returner [[Denny Ferdinand]], defensive tackle [[Glen Weir]], safety [[Preston Young]], defensive end [[Gordon Judges]], kicker-punter [[Don Sweet]], and linebacker [[William Hampton (Canadian football)|William Hampton]].

The team slowly rebounded on the field over the next three years. The Concordes won five games in 1983. While still well below .500, the East Division was so weak that year (only the eventual Grey Cup champion Argos finished with a winning record) that the Concordes were still in playoff contention on the season's final weekend. The Concordes' final game of the season was at Olympic Stadium against the Tiger-Cats. With Hamilton and Montreal tied at 5–10 for the division's third and final playoff spot, a respectable crowd of 41,157 converged to watch the Concordes play what was effectively a playoff game. These fans left heartbroken after Hamilton kicker [[Bernie Ruoff]] made a last-minute field goal to tie the game 21–21. Since [[Overtime (sports)|overtime]] would not be introduced in the CFL regular season until 1986, the Tiger-Cats won the final Eastern playoff berth on account of a better head-to-head record (having beaten the Concordes earlier in the year).

The team returned to the playoffs in 1984, again doing so in a very weak East Division; only the defending champion Argos finished with a winning record. In 1985, they advanced all the way to the East Final. Their East Semifinal win over Ottawa that year was both their only home playoff game and only playoff win under the Concordes banner; 1984 and 1985 were the only playoff appearances for the franchise from 1982 to 1986. However, as in 1984, they made the playoffs in an extremely weak East Division; the Concordes and Ti-Cats both finished with identical 8–8 records, with the Ti-Cats getting the division title by virtue of sweeping the season series. No other team in the division even managed a .500 record.

However, attendance did not keep pace with the team's performance. The Concordes' 1983 season finale against Hamilton was the only game to attract a crowd surpassing even 30,000 under Bronfman's ownership. Moreover, the 1985 East Semifinal was a disaster at the box office due in part to poor weather conditions and haphazard facility preparations. Only 11,372 fans attended what would turn out to be the team's last home game played under the Concordes name.