| No. 53 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1970-07-30)July 30, 1970 (age 55) Beaufort, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | South Carolina State |
| Career history | |
| 1995 | Shreveport Pirates |
| 1996–2001 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2002 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 2003–2004 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2005–2006 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Awards and highlights | |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2011) | |
Joe Montford (born July 30, 1970) is aCanadian andAmerican footballdefensive end. Montford played with theShreveport Pirates (4 games in his first year in theCFL), theToronto Argonauts, theEdmonton Eskimos, theCharlotte Rage of theArena Football League (AFL) and, most famously, theHamilton Tiger-Cats. He was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
From 1989 to 1993, Montford attendedSouth Carolina State University, leading the school in tackles in 1993. In 2007 South Carolina State celebrated there "100 years in football", and selected Montford as one of the top 100 players of all-time.
Considered by many commentators as one of the greatest defensive players in the history of theCanadian Football League, Montford was a four-time CFL sack leader, three-time winner of theCFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award, five-time East Division All-Star, and five-time CFL All-Star. In November, 2006, Montford was voted one of the CFL'sTop 50 players (#40) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.
Montford enjoyed his best seasons as aHamilton Tiger-Cats as the key player in the team's defensive front seven. Montford was the Tiger-Cats' all-time leader in tackles until former teammate and linebackerRob Hitchcock broke the record while Montford was with the Eskimos. In1999, Montford came within half a sack of Hall-of-FamerJames Parker's single season record of 26.5, but missed out on defensive player of the year honours to teammateCalvin Tiggle as Hamilton, withMost Outstanding PlayerDanny McManus also on the team, took the87th Grey Cup 32-21.
Montford signed a high-priced deal with Toronto for the2002 CFL season, but he failed to bring his old self to Toronto and struggled on a mediocre Argonauts team. This led to the team trading Montford back to Hamilton for speedy receiverTony Miles and non-import fullbackRandy Bowles on March 13, 2003. Montford played2003 and2004 back with Hamilton, as the team slid down the East Division standings.
After the 2004 season, Montford was traded to Edmonton for offensive linemanDan Comiskey (who the Eskimos later re-acquired in theTroy Davis trade). Montford played the2005 season with Edmonton, and helped the team take the93rd Grey Cup. In the championship game, it was Montford who chasedMontreal Alouettes quarterbackAnthony Calvillo out of the pocket on third-and-thirty-one and forced him to attempt a quick kick punt on the last play of overtime.
On Wednesday, April 27, 2006, Montford was released from the Eskimos.[1]
On Monday, July 3, 2006, Montford was re-signed by the Eskimos.[2]
Aside from Joe Montford's public career as a professional football player he also spend months working with children in a group home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia in 2000. He left this job after the parent company of the group home which owned similar facilities throughout the United States filed for bankruptcy and the decision was made to close the facility. Joe Montford was known there for teaching the kids many of whom had little or no parental involvement growing up how to play football and other sports. He served as one of the few positive male role models many of the teenage boys there he worked with ever had. To this day one of the boys he worked with who is now a college senior keeps the autographed card Joe Montford gave him in his wallet and carries it with him as a reminder of where he came from.
Montford was inducted onto the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Wall Of Honour on August 23, 2018.[3]