Dalla Riva began his professional football career with the Alouettes in the 1968 CFL season as a tight end. He would play for a franchise record 14 seasons, until the 1981 CFL season, including 197 regular season games. He would catch 450 passes for 6,413 yards and scored 55 touchdowns, he was also an excellent blocker. He played in 6 Grey Cup games, winning three: the 58th Grey Cup of 1970, the 62nd Grey Cup of 1974, the 65th Grey Cup of 1977, scoring a touchdown in the latter game, a 7-yard pass from Sonny Wade. He also lost three: the 63rd Grey Cup of 1975, the 66th Grey Cup of 1978, the 67th Grey Cup of 1979. Dalla Riva was named a CFL All-Star 3 times.
Awards, honours, and post-football life[]
Dalla Riva's jersey number #74, was retired by the Als on October 24, 1981. In 1993, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 2006, Dalla Riva was voted to the Honour Roll of the CFL's Top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.[1]
Since his retirement from professional football, Dalla Riva has given much time to participating in community and charity sports events.