death_date death_place birth_place administrating_years administrating_team position cfhofyear birth_date cfhof article_title name
24 july 1992 ottawa , ontario , canada ottawa , ontario , canada 1930-1968 1969 -- 1981 ottawa rough riders montreal alouettes owner president 1993 01 january 1900 bergersamuel sam berger
 sam berger
sam berger

samuel `` sam '' berger , -lrb- january 1 , 1900 -- july 24 , 1992 -rrb- was a canadian owner of the canadian football league 's ottawa rough riders and montreal alouettes and president of the cfl .
a lawyer by profession , he was an early football fan who became involved with the ottawa rough riders team as its legal advisor , president , and as an owner .
he served three , three-year terms as the club 's president during which time the team made it to the grey cup seven times , winning the championship on four occasions .
active in the ottawa community , berger twice ran for mayor of the city , losing to charlotte whitton in the 1960 and 1962 elections .
in 1969 sam berger sold his shares in the ottawa club and donated the proceeds to charitable causes .
he then purchased the troubled montreal alouettes franchise and in the ensuing twelve years built it into a powerhouse that made six grey cup appearances and won it three times .
he was president of the canadian football league in 1964 and 1971 and as an attorney and owner played a key role in putting together the league 's first television contract .
he retired in 1976 as the active owner of alouettes , handing over the presidency to his eldest son , david .
on march 6 , 1981 , berger sold the alouettes to vancouver businessman nelson skalbania .
in 1986 , sam berger was made a member of the order of canada , canada 's highest civilian honour , for `` his commitments to the sport and to the city of montreal '' .
in 1993 he was inducted into the canadian football hall of fame .
