Houston, we have a problem. In January 1969 Danny Houston signed with Montreal as the running back who would save the franchise, which was teetering on the edge of financial and competitive collapse. At age 19, he was the youngest player in the CFL that year, and arrived with very little experience and a lot of legal woes. The fact that he had been convicted of passing bad cheques was offset by his 6’3”, 230 lb. frame that he propel through the 100 in 9.3 seconds. Originally from Toledo, Ohio,  he starred in high school and turned down many scholarship offers and opted for junior college football for the New Mexico Military Academy. An ill-planned  transfer to Utah State ended up with both Houston suspended for a year and Utah State on probation. During his suspension he was arrested by police in New Mexico for passing bad cheques.  When Montreal coach Kay Dalton learned of his football exploits - and his legal problems, - he offered to provide rehabilitation and employment with the Alouettes. This necessitated obtaining the rights to Houston, held by Edmonton; The Alouettes surrendered their first draft choice to the Eskimos and Ray Lychak for the opportunity. The team repaid the amounts owed from the bad cheques, cleared his release through various legal jurisdictions and brought him to Montreal. Much ballyhooed in the press and impressive in training camp, his pro career lasted only three plays when he suffered a torn ligament  when hit by Marshall Shirk of the Ottawa Rough Riders (Shirk was penalized on the play) on July 24, 1969, the day the Apollo 11 astronauts returned to earth. Houston underwent surgery, but neglected to pursue the prescribed physiotherapy, and the knee never recovered enough to allow him to play football again.

Note: The Alouettes traded first round draft pick (#2 overall in 1970) probably didn’t matter to the Alouettes – they were so financially strapped that they had not hired any scouts that year and had to rely on word of mouth and newspaper stories instead. As a result only one pick that year, Jim Foley, ever made it to the CFL.

Sharp Side of the Fork - The Deseret News, November 1, 1968

A Fast Kid Gets Another Chance