Pierre Vercheval (born November 22, 1964) is a former all star offensive lineman in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. Vercheval played his university football at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, where he won the J. P. Metras Trophy top lineman in Canadian university football in 1987. He tried out with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

, unsuccessfully, and signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

in 1988, beginning a 14-year CFL career. He played five seasons in Edmonton, then moved to the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

for four seasons, from 1993 to 1997 (68 total games.) He was an all star three times and was part of the Argonauts powerful back-to-back

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

winners of 1996 and 1997. He finished his career with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

, from 1998 to 2001 (78 games) being named an all star three more times and winning the CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award in 2000. In 2007, he became the first francophone to be inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

. Always a fan favorite in predominantly Francophone

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, fully bilingual Vercheval is currently enjoying a successful second career as a football commentator on the French-language RDS television station alongside Pierre Durivage (2002), Denis Casavant (2003–2013) and David Arsenault (since 2014).

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vercheval, Pierre 1964 births Belgian emigrants to Canada Canadian Football League announcers Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football offensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Living people Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Liège Players of Canadian football from Quebec Toronto Argonauts players Western Mustangs football players Belgian players of Canadian football