Mike Pringle ( football player ) Mike Pringle ( born October 1 , 1967 in Los Angeles , California ) is an American former professional gridiron football player . A running back , he had a highly successful career in the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) , during which he set or tied almost every significant league records for the position . He played college football for the California State University , Fullerton Titans and was twice signed by National Football League ( NFL ) teams , though he never played a game in the American league . Along with George Reed and Johnny Bright , Pringle is one of the players most often mentioned as being the greatest running back in CFL history . In November 2006 , Pringle was voted one of the CFL ' s Top 50 players ( # 4 ) of the league ' s modern era by Canadian sports network TSN . In April 2008 , Pringle was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility . Early life . Pringle was born in Los Angeles , California . He attended John F . Kennedy High School in Granada Hills , California and was a student and a letterman in football . College and NFL . Pringle attended California State University , Fullerton , where he played on the Cal State Fullerton Titans football team . . At Cal State Fullerton , Pringle shared the NCAA single - game rushing record at one time with 357 yards against New Mexico State on November 4 , 1989 . He also led the nation that year in all - purpose yardage with a school - record 2 , 690 yards . Pringle played well enough to be selected 139th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1990 NFL draft . However , he would never play a down in the National Football League , spending most of the 1990 NFL season on the practice roster ( although he dressed for the final three games ) . The final cut from Atlanta ' s 1991 training camp , Pringle , like fellow Cal State Fullerton alumni Damon Allen and Allen Pitts , went on to the Canadian Football League , where he became one of the best players in league history at his position . Early Canadian Football League career . Pringle entered the CFL in time for the 1992 CFL season , with the Edmonton Eskimos . In three games , Pringle received 22 carries for 129 yards , posting a respectable rushing average in limited action . However , like fellow import running back Robert Hardy , the Eskimos were not high on Pringle and released him . They opted to stick with their trio of Canadian ball carriers in Michael Soles , Blake Marshall and Brian Walling . Pringle spent the rest of 1992 with the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football . In 1993 , Pringle resurfaced with the CFL ' s Sacramento Gold Miners , remaining in the same city but switching leagues . In Sacramento , Pringle became an everyday player , although not a frequent option in the ground game that was led by former NFL running back Mike Oliphant . Still he racked up 366 yards and four touchdowns in his only season with the Gold Miners , before being traded in the offseason to the team where he would make his most lasting mark , the then - Baltimore Football Club , later to become the Baltimore Stallions . Baltimore years . Going into his third CFL season , Pringle had run the ball 82 times for less than five hundred yards : less than half a season ' s work for a starting CFL running back . Despite his lack of carries , however , Pringle became the starting back in Baltimore two games into the 1994 season replacing Sheldon Caney . Pringle immediately responded to the opportunity . The 27 - year old went loose in Baltimore , running for a record 1 , 972 yards and thirteen touchdowns , narrowly missing becoming the first CFL running back to reach the elusive 2 , 000 yards rushing milestone . He did however set a CFL record with 2 , 414 yards from scrimmage . He even returned 38 kicks for 814 yards and , in his first CFL playoff appearance , rang up 165 yards in two playoff games to lead Baltimore to their first Grey Cup appearance , where they lost the 82nd Grey Cup to the BC Lions 26 - 23 on Lui Passaglia ' s last - minute 38 - yard field goal . It is widely heralded as one of the best CFL games ever . Compared to his remarkable 1994 season , 1995 was a slight dropoff for Pringle , but still a remarkable season by any standard . His rushing totals declined to a " mere " 1 , 791 yards , and while his yards - per - carry fell by . 6 from 6 . 4 to 5 . 8 , his statistics were still the best any back posted in the CFL that year . To top it off , Pringle was a playoff workhorse , as he ran for 484 playoff yards and four touchdowns in three games . On the strong , powerful legs of Pringle , the Baltimore Stallions made their second straight appearance in the Grey Cup . This time , the Stallions would not be denied , taking the famous " Wind Bowl " over the Calgary Stampeders 37 - 20 . After his two seasons in Baltimore , Pringle began to attract more attention from the National Football League . The Denver Broncos signed Pringle to a free agent contract for the 1996 NFL season , but he was a late cut from training camp . Montreal Alouettes . With no other NFL teams expressing interest in his abilities , Pringle returned to the CFL , following the relocated Baltimore franchise and joining the newly christened Montreal Alouettes late in the season . Pringle played only eight games but rushed for 825 yards and five touchdowns . It was in 1997 that Pringle once again took his place as the CFL ' s best running back . His 1 , 775 yard season was his worst in a full season as a starter , but it was still an extremely strong season . With the Alouettes lacking in playoff success and their attendance at Olympic Stadium flagging , Pringle was one of the team ' s few bright spots in a disappointing year . But for the 1998 season , the Als moved permanently to the smaller Percival Molson Stadium , where they regularly drew sell - out crowds . They came to watch the Alouettes , especially Pringle , and he would not disappoint . Pringle ' s 1998 CFL season stands out with Doug Flutie ' s 48 - touchdown 1994 season , as one of the greatest CFL seasons an offensive player ever had . Pringle ran for only nine touchdowns but nobody in the league much cared : the story was his 2 , 065 rushing yards that year , a CFL record by a considerable margin . Pringle became the first , and so far only , man in CFL history to run for over 2 , 000 yards . He also tied his CFL record with 2 , 414 yards from scrimmage . At 31 years old , Pringle had hit his prime with a bang , and though he would never approach 2 , 000 yards again , he continued to be an elite back for several years . In 1999 , Pringle ran for 1 , 656 yards , over 400 fewer than in his record - shattering 1998 . Moreover , playoff failure continued to dog the Alouettes . Pringle had run for 522 yards in his last four playoff games over two seasons , but a disappointing East Division final exit to the eventual champion Hamilton Tiger - Cats had Alouettes fans confused and angry . In 2000 , the Alouettes would finally get to play in the 88th Grey Cup but lost to the BC Lions , 28 - 26 . Pringle ' s rushing totals increased to 1 , 778 yards , but , more significantly , he rushed for a CFL record 19 touchdowns , a mark almost 50 % greater than his previous season high of 13 . Pringle also had a touchdown in the Grey Cup game . By the end of the 2001 season , Pringle was 34 years old , an advanced age for a power running back . He was beginning to show wear and tear , as he ran for " only " 1 , 323 yards in that season while fighting nagging injuries all year . In 2002 , the Alouettes would win the 90th Grey Cup over the Edmonton Eskimos 26 - 16 , but Pringle would not be a big part of the game . Pringle was injured much of the year and feuded publicly with head coach Don Matthews , who believed Pringle was washed up and used running back Lawrence Phillips as his starter even when Pringle was healthy . Pringle , incensed at the treatment , left the Alouettes bitterly at the end of the season , signing with the team he had broken in with : the Edmonton Eskimos . Final seasons . Pringle ' s 2003 season with the Eskimos was a return to form for the aging running back . Although he was not the man of 1998 , Pringle was still a capable starter for a team on the rise , and with Ricky Ray at quarterback he did not have to be the main part of the team ' s offense . Pringle ran for 1 , 376 yards , his best total since 2000 , and helped the Eskimos reach , and win , the 91st Grey Cup . Remarkably for a man whose first two seasons were spent largely on the bench , Pringle had George Reed ' s record 16 , 116 career rushing yards and 134 career rushing touchdowns well within his sights . Despite his age , most analysts believed Pringle breaking these records was not a matter of if , but when . 2004 proved these analysts right . Pringle ran for 1 , 141 yards , fourth in the CFL but a career low in a full , starting season . However , the yardage gave Pringle a total of 16 , 425 rushing yards , as Pringle broke the record in Vancouver , British Columbia against the BC Lions ( he had been only a handful of yards short in the previous week ' s home game against the Calgary Stampeders , but despite receiving the ball on every play on the last few possessions Pringle did not set the mark in front of his home fans ) . The season ended on some bitterness for Pringle , however . In the last game of the season , the Eskimos were close to the goal line in a tight game . Pringle at the time had 137 touchdowns , tied for Reed ' s record , and needed only one more to break it . However , head coach Danny Machocha called a quarterback sneak that resulted in a score , meaning that Pringle finished the season tied with Reed . Pringle was publicly upset at Machocha , and the controversy may have affected the Eskimos in their playoff loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders . After the 2004 season , Pringle announced his retirement from professional football . He finished with 16 , 425 career rushing yards and 20 , 254 total yards from scrimmage , both CFL records . He also finished tied with George Reed with 137 career touchdowns . Pringle led the CFL in rushing yards six time during his career . On June 22 , 2005 , Pringle signed a contract with the Montreal Alouettes and then officially filed his retirement papers , so that he could retire as an Alouette . His jersey number 27 was retired by the Alouettes at their June 23 season opener . On April 2 , 2008 , Pringle was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame .