College McGill Cfl all star 1996 Position(s) FB Drafted by Edmonton Eskimos | CFL status National Status Retired Name Michael Soles | |
Date of birth (1966-11-08) November 8, 1966 (age 54) Similar Hines Ward, Yancey Thigpen, Louis Lipps | ||
Michael soles honoured
Michael "Mike" Soles (November 8, 1966 – July 7, 2021) was a former all-star Canadian university and Canadian football League fullback.
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Michael soles
Early life
Soles played his high school football with the hometown St. Thomas High School and played his university ball in Montreal with McGill University (1986–89). As a Redman he was a 3 time all-star and rushed for a then team record 2,231 yards in 20 regular season games. His finest moment came in the 1987 Vanier Cup, when he led the underdog McGill team to an upset 47-11 victory over the heavily favoured University of British Columbia, rushing for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. He won the Ted Morris Memorial Trophy as the game MVP. He was elected to the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Professional career
Soles was drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos and started a seven-year career with them in 1989. His best season was 1992, when he rushed for a career-high 656 yards. He won the Grey Cup in 1993.
He finished his career in his hometown, playing 4 final seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. Paired with the all-time CFL rushing great Mike Pringle, Soles became a blocking back, leading the way for Pringle and catching many short yardage passes (for which he was an all-star in 1996.) He won the Lew Hayman Trophy in 1996 as best Canadian player in the East. When he retired, Pringle paid him a supreme compliment, saying he would have never gained the yards he did without Soles' blocking.
Soles finished his 11-year career with 3,007 rushing yards, 3,501 receiving yards (on 325 catches) and 45 touchdowns.
Personal life
Soles and his family still live in the West Island of Montreal, in Beaconsfield. He works in finance.
In 2005, he was diagnosed as suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Death
He died on July 7, 2021, at Lakeshore General Hospital in Pointe-Claire. He was 54 years old.