He's caught close to 1,000 footballs for 12,586 yards during his career.
He's been selected to three all-star teams, won a championship and is considered a no-brainer for the hall of fame.
And yet, relatively few people in the United States know about this highly decorated football star.
But Ben Cahoon, slotback for the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and all-time leading non-import receiver, is one of the most-recognized names in the league. And while his statistics, accolades and mind-boggling catches (check him out on YouTube) have made him one of the most-popular
players in the Great White North, he cares most about his family and remaining a faithful Mormon.
Cahoon, who attends the Kirkland Ward in the Montreal Quebec Mount Royal Stake during the season and the Cedar Hills Sixth Ward in the Cedar Hills Utah West Stake during the offseason, doesn't stand on a soapbox and preach about his devotion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But when asked, he'll discuss it with teammates, friends and even strangers.
Being as high-profile as he is, though, has made his faith a target of the Canadian football press, whether it's a recent article in the National Post about how he hates playing on Sunday, or a Calgary Herald story about how religious CFL players keep the faith in a barbaric sport.
"I approach each game with a prayer and ask (God) with help in my performance and with safety and protection," said the returned missionary from the Pennsylvania Philadelphia mission, who adds that serving the Lord for two years helped transform his career. "I've always felt it'd be hard to ask for divine help with football if I hadn't served a mission. If I wasn't there when my Heavenly Father needed me, how could I ask him for help when I needed him?"
The 2009 CFL leader in receptions has also helped elevate the status of the youngling church in Quebec. One year, his coach asked him when the team should hold practices on Sundays so that Cahoon could attend his meetings. He says he's been proud to bring some visibility to the church in a Canadian province with 10,226 members out of a population of 7,598,000.
There was an article written in the Montreal Gazette about Cahoon during the early part of his career. It was a large, front-page article in the sports section that highlighted Cahoon and his faith. The paper was also doing a promotion at an Alouettes home game, so thousands of fans got to read about Mormonism while watching their favorite player in Molson Stadium.
"I was looking out at thousands of fans reading about the church," Ben's wife, Kim Cahoon, remembered. "And I thought that couldn't be coincidence that the paper was giving out this article to thousands of Ben Cahoon fans, and they got to read what he believes and what he stands for. Missionaries said that the article had done more for them with the missionary work. People ask them if they belong to the same church Ben Cahoon does. They're actually letting the missionaries into their homes because of this article. It was very humbling, but we were grateful for it. You never know how the media is going to treat you, and it could have gone either way. We're glad it was such a positive thing."
It was such a positive experience that the article was reprinted in the National Post, which goes out to the entire country.
"I've had missionaries tell me they've used my name in door approaches," Cahoon said. "They ask people if they watch football or know Ben Cahoon. They tell me it helps, and that's great to hear. Hopefully we've been able to show people that we're not weird, and we're just trying to be like everyone else: trying to win at daily life, working hard together as a family to be happy."
Cahoon doesn't just lend his name to the missionaries, but he gives himself up to missionary work. According to Kim, he's held firesides in Montreal and all over Canada.
The CFL slotback isn't the only Cahoon who shares the gospel. One of his daughters led herself to missionary work after she wore a CTR ring to school. The Cahoon girls taught a friend about prayer, and even showed the friend how to pray.
Cahoon is considered a non-import player by the CFL because his parents are Canadian. Although he was born in Orem, while his parents attended BYU, he lived the first years of his life in Cardston, Alberta — an old Mormon town in southern Alberta, where his ancestors and relatives have lived for more than 100 years.
He played football at Mountain View High School, excelled at Ricks College and was a part of the 1996 BYU team that went 14-1 and had a No. 5 ranking after beating Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. The next year, he earned academic all-American honors, led the team as a receiver with 57 catches for 931 yards and four touchdowns, and posted a top-10 receiving performance for his 219-yard game at Arizona State.
But the Cougars finished a disappointing 6-5 that season, and Cahoon didn't get much of a look at a pro career in the United States. He went undrafted in the NFL, but was the sixth overall pick by the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL draft. He did have a free agent tryout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it didn't work out. So Cahoon took his wife, Kim — the oldest daughter of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert — and a young daughter to Montreal.
"(At BYU) we underachieved, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth," Cahoon said. "I told Kim, 'let's go up here for one year, try it out, get this taste out of our mouths, feel good about ourselves, then we can move on with our lives.' "
Cahoon wasn't sure he'd still be on the team a year later, so he applied for graduate school at the University of Utah and at UNLV in physical therapy. But after a rookie year in which he finished third on the team with 33 catches, 471 yards and three touchdowns, Montreal gave him an extension. Cahoon accepted it, and never was able to pursue either graduate degree.
"We really liked it in Montreal," Cahoon said. "So we told ourselves, 'We'll go back for one more year,' and it's been that way 11 times since."
Kim Cahoon added: "Sometimes, I'm grateful for the unanswered prayer. We would have missed out on 10 years of some of the most amazing experiences. The experiences we've had in Montreal, we never would have been able to have here in Utah. We've gotten to have the best of both worlds — we get to go out to Canada and experience the mission field and be one of the only Mormons on the team, but in the offseason, we get the blessing of living close to family in Utah. Heavenly Father knew what was better for us."
While he admits playing in the NFL was a big dream of his, Cahoon does not regret the decision to play north of the border.
"In the NFL, it's big money, the coaches are all uptight and sleep-deprived because their jobs are on the line. They're yelling and screaming, for the most part, at you. I went up to Canada, met my coach, called him 'coach,' and he told me, 'Don't call me coach; call me Dan.' That was the atmosphere and the feel that was prevalent in Canada, and still is to this day. It was a breath of fresh air for me. And after my first year, I realized I could make a good living and the game play is more conducive to family life."
While the game is mostly the same, there are some slight differences between the NFL and CFL that Cahoon says make for a more exciting experience, and translate to his skill set. At 5-foot-9, 184-pound Cahoon has flourished in a league that uses a longer, wider field than the NFL and makes teams reach the 10-yard first down marker in three downs, instead of four.
"Because of (the rule differences), there's more wide-open passing than running," Cahoon said. "As a wide receiver, it makes it more fun. But it's still the same football: You've got to beat the guy covering you and get open, get the quarterback to find you."
The rules have made Cahoon a legend in the game. He was named the best Canadian player in 2002 and 2003, when he had a breakout year as well, catching a league-record 112 passes for 1,561 yards and 13 touchdowns. He never drops a pass, which gave him the nickname "Velcro hands." He's been a model of consistency, going over the 1,000-yard receiving plateau in nine of his 12 seasons, all while juggling various LDS ward callings.
But for Cahoon, the inconsistent playing schedule of the CFL — games can be played anywhere from Thursdays through Sundays — is a blessing and a curse.
"It's the biggest negative of my job," Cahoon said. "I don't feel good about (playing on Sundays) and never have. I am able to go to church about half the time during the football season, so it's not great, but I am fortunate that I can go that often. I don't think if I were playing in the NFL that would be the case at all."
"Practices are out in four hours, so I still feel like I have half a day to spend with my family," he said. "It's a challenge. I feel that when I'm able to go to church, I absolutely cherish it. It does help me appreciate sacrament meeting and partaking of the sacrament, and singing the hymns and feeling the spirit. It's made me feel fortunate those few weeks I'm able to go."
It's a minor miracle the 37-year-old father of four girls — 12-year-old McKelle, 9-year-old twins Kylee and Camri, and 3-year-old Hallie — has lasted so long in such a punishing sport, let alone stayed healthy enough to break CFL records. He attributes his longevity north of the border to his family and his faith, along with the "tricks of the trade" to keep him healthy.
"I have no doubt that I've been blessed because of obedience to the Word of Wisdom. I've had strength and endurance, my injuries have healed quickly. Those are the types of things that are included in the promises in the Word of Wisdom," said Cahoon, who drank cherry Gatorade out of the Grey Cup chalice when Montreal won the championship in 2002. "I've been very blessed, no question about it. I've been lucky to have a wonderful, supportive wife who takes good care of me and allows our family to be transplanted into another country every year."
Cahoon's worship habits don't just stay in Montreal on Sundays, either. He tries to make it to a Mormon meetinghouse whenever he can, whether playing at home or on the road. He's sat through general conference sessions in Regina, Saskatchewan, and attended sacrament meeting in Calgary while teammates were preparing for the Grey Cup.
And while constantly traveling between Montreal and Utah is tough on Kim and the children, the Cahoons are grateful for the opportunity to be visible member-missionaries in another country and for receiving answers to prayers on husband-and-father's behalf.
"He's not really built like a football player," Kim said. "He's one of the smallest guys even in the CFL, but he's never suffered a major injury. He's had incredible success, and I attribute it all to Heavenly Father protecting him and blessing him. Maybe the Lord used him in this capacity to be a missionary in Canada. I know he's been able to use Ben as an instrument up there."
e-mail: nnewman@desnews.com