 The fortunes for the Alouettes started to change during the 1998 season, when they acquired a young free agent quarterback from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Anthony Calvillo, and they drafted slotback Ben Cahoon.Tracy Ham and Mike Pringle led the team to a second-place finish, but they suffered a last-second loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final.The Alouettes finally broke through in 1999, under new head coach Charlie Taaffe, winning their first division title since 1979.