PLAYER #63 - TOMMY KANE (1994)

When certain people were lobbying for Montreal to get back into the Canadian Football League, one of the reasons they gave was the emergence of junior and high school football in the area.

It is a region that has produced many outstanding athletes who have gone on to great collegiate and professional careers, the best of which may have been Tommy Kane.

A native of the Little Burgundy neighbourhood in Montreal, Kane was an exceptional high school athlete who caught the eye of recruiters from major U.S. colleges. Playing a year with the Jr. Alouettes also cemented his status as a blue-chip prospect, and it was Syracuse University who eventually got to benefit from the talents of this speedy receiver with good hands and fluid motion.

After a four-year stint in Syracuse, where he got to play with ex-CFL quarterback Don MacPherson, Kane joined the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, where he was teamed with Brian Blades to form one of the top receiving duos in football. However, after a solid five-year career in the west coast city, injuries slowed him down, and his achilles problems led to a controversial split with the team in 1994.

Enter the Toronto Argonauts. "I (rehabilitated), got into some good shape, and got the last few routes in me out," said Kane, who joined the Argos midway through the 1994 season. He got into five games with the team, catching 10 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown, a memorable 37-yarder against Hamilton in the annual Labour Day classic.

What was equally memorable was the fact that Kane donated his entire salary that year to a local community organization in the area he grew up in, which during the baseball strike that was taking place at the time, was a particularly touching gesture and proved not athletes are in it solely for the money.

Unfortunately for Kane, injuries caught up to him again and he was released before the season was over. "Toronto's a great city, I loved Toronto," said Kane, who ended his playing career in the CFL. "It's an exciting game. I enjoyed the three downs, but I was a little banged up and couldn't take advantage of it like I wanted to do."

This year, Kane is back in the CFL in a different way, as the colour commentator on English-language radio station CJAD for the revived Montreal Alouettes, who were in town to face the Argos last week.

"I grew up watching the Als," said Kane. "It would have been great to play for Montreal, but it's not great timing for me."

For now, Kane is content to analyze the game, as well as hold football camps like the one he had in early July in Montreal that attracted a lot of former and current NFL players. He is also busy with his continuing community work, and is the co-owner of a furniture store called Kane and Meloche. He lives in Montreal with his fiancee Tammy and son Tommy Jr.