Michael Soles

Michael "Mike" Soles (born November 8, 1966) is a former all-star Canadian university and Canadian Football League fullback.

Early life

Soles played his high school football with the hometown St. Thomas High School^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

In 2005, he was diagnosed as suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[3]

References