Sam "The Rifle" Etcheverry was born in Carlsbad in 1930, attended St. Edward Catholic School, and in 1948 graduated from Carlsbad High School where he began his legendary football career. After graduation he played football at the University of Denver and went on to play as a professional in the American and Canadian football leagues. After his playing career he became head coach in Montreal. Etcheverry played quarterback, most famously with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and was named Most Outstanding Player in the CFL East Division twice. In 1954 he won the Schenley Award as the CFL’s most outstanding player. He was also was named an eastern all-star a total six of times. Etcheverry’s awards were well earned; his accomplishments include setting a single-game passing record of 586 yards that stood from 1954 – 1993. In 1954, he set a season passing record of 3,610 yards that not only set a CFL record, but was more than the NFL record set in 1947. Etcheverry's jersey #92 is one of seven retired by the Alouettes. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and in 2006 was voted by Canadian sports network TSN as one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#26) of the league's modern era.