Eric Cradock was one of the three original owners of the Montreal Alouettes.  Craddock, along with Lew Heyman and Leo Dandurand formed the Alouettes in 1946.  It was of course, not the first senior football team in Montreal.  The Montreal Winged Wheelers had a long history that had ended in 1935, and since then there had been a string of short lived t eams that ended with the Hornets in 1945.  The formation of he Alouettes would give a much needed stabiity to senior football in the city.  It was an inspired partnership.  Lew Hayman brought the football expertise from his time with the Toronto Argonauts, Dandurand provided the local and French connections needed for the t eam to succead, and Cradock brought his money.

Cradock claimed to have been a millionaire at 22, and he was just 34 when he helped form the Alouettes.  He had made his money in mining and as a stockbroker in Toronto whereh was born. The partnership lasted until 1951 when Cradock sold his share of the Alouettes and went back to Toronto.  At the t ime, he planned or hoped to buy the Argonauts and bring Heyman back to Toronto to help run them.  That never worked out though, and Cradock only became a minority owner in the Argos at one time.

Besides football, Cradock was also an important figure in Basketball in Canada.  At one time, he owned the Toronto Huskies, an ill-fated venture into the Basketball Association of America, a forerunner of the NBA in the 1940s.

Eric Cradock passed away from a heart attack on October 5, 1985

Alouette Backer Switches Suport - December 2, 1949

Alouette Break Said Unlikely - December 3, 1949

Cradock Departing Alouettes - November 21, 1951.

Voyles Quits Hamilton to Join Cradock Stable - December 9, 1955

Cradock Becomes a Director with Argos as Hayman Takes Over as GM - October 29, 1956

Cradock Firm Suspended by Exchange - May 16, 1958

Cradock Quits Argos in Huff Over Rejection of Filchock - May 16, 1958

Eric Cradock Rememberd - CFL Notebook by Dick Bacon - October 9, 1985