Resolving to be great: the CFL all-time leaders - Mike Pringle

By Chris Lawton

It’s a New Year and 2026 has opened its doors to the world. To quote Taylor Swift, (no not that one), “This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” People are making their resolutions and looking to the future. For some though it is also a time for reflection and as a lover of the history of the game I think it’s a perfect opportunity to look to the past for inspiration too.

Which is why here at Touchdown Towers we thought we would take a look at some of the greats of the CFL past. Unlike Dickens’ Ghost of Christmas Past however, we are not here to look back at the decisions that led to disaster but rather at the great players who sit atop the CFL all-time lists, and as a bonus check out where the 2025 league leaders sit in comparison to them from an all-time perspective.

We are in the thick of the college football playoffs and the NFL is hurtling to its regular season end. Meanwhile the CFL has had its 2025 champion since November and is already looking ahead to the 2026 schedule. So, it seems like a little reflection would not go amiss. With this in mind let’s take a look back at the career of the CFL all-time rushing leader, Mike Pringle.

From the World League to League Leader

Mike Pringle is the CFL all-time rushing leader having surpassed former all-time leader George Reed by 309 yards by the time he hung up his cleats. He also is responsible for five of the top ten highest single season rushing totals in league history, including the top two, with all five of those seasons coming between 1994 and 2000. But he didn’t just burst onto the scene and dominate. There was a hard road first.

Mike Pringle would have a glorious career in the CFL. But before that he struggled to get traction in his career. He started out as sixth round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. It didn’t pan out. Look up Mike Pringle’s career stats on NFL.com and there isn’t much there. Just 3 games played with the Atlanta Falcons in 1990 resulting in 2 carries for 9 yards and 1 return for 14 yards.

After being released by the Falcons in 1991 he joined the Sacramento Surge of the WLAF. Whilst with the Surge in 1992 he would win a World Bowl title. A training camp with the LA Raiders didn’t result in anything. But Pringle did make his first step into the CFL. Having signed for Edmonton however he was used sparingly. Appearing in only 3 games, making a total of 22 carries, 4 receptions, and six kick returns.

Expansion Gives The Chance To Shine

The arrival of the short-lived US expansion era in the CFL provided Mike Pringle with another opportunity. One he would go on to take with both hands. Pringle signed as a free agent with the expansion Sacramento Gold Miners for the 1993 season. With the Gold Miners, Pringle appeared in all 18 games and was used more as a receiver out of the backfield than a runner. He carried the ball only 60 times for 368 yards but caught the ball 56 times for 523 yards.

As part of a trade the next stop for Mike Pringle was with the Baltimore Stallions. In 1994, his third season in the CFL, and first in Baltimore, Pringle saw his career take off in a big way. That season he ran for 1,972 yards with an impressive 6.4 yards per carry average. He followed that up in 1995 by rushing for 1,791 yards. In his two seasons in Stallions colours, he had 617 carries for 3,763 yards, (6 yards per carry), and 26 touchdowns.

He played no small part in the Stallions being the first American CFL franchise to make it to the Grey Cup. A game they lost to the BC Lions, 26-23, on a last-second field goal. As well as, in 1995, the first, and still only non-Canadian franchise to win the Grey Cup. This time with an impressive display against the Calgary Stampeders, winning 37-20. Those 1995 Stallions went 18-3 between regular season and playoffs. A run highlighted by a 16-game winning streak to see out the season.

Quite The Run, Pun Intended

A few months later, the CFL folded up the American expansion experiment. The Baltimore Ravens played their first NFL season in 1996. Instead of competing with the NFL, the Baltimore franchise moved to Montreal. To this day, the Montreal Alouettes don’t recognize the Stallions in their official team history. But for players like Mike Pringle, it surely felt like the same Franchise in a different city. The Alouettes were immediately successful. Pringle was with the organization from 1996-2002. During that time, they went 83-42-1 and appeared in the playoffs every season.

Pringle missed some playing time due to injury in 1996 and 2002. But from 1997-2001 he recorded five straight 1,000-yard seasons. During this run he recorded 8,597 of his career 9,649 yards as an Alouette. How dominant was his peak? Mike Pringle had 5 of the 8 highest rushing totals in CFL history: 2,065 (Montreal 1998), 1,972 (Baltimore 1994), 1,791 (Baltimore 1995), 1,778 and 1,775 (Montreal 2000 and 1997). The only other backs to crack the top eight were Calgary’s Willie Burden 1,896 (1975), Jon Cornish 1,813 (2014), Earl Lunsford 1,794 (1961). Some real milestone seasons in here.

The 2,000 Yard Season

Mike Pringle is the only RB in CFL history to record a 2,000-yard season. The 2,000 Yard club is pretty exclusive as it is. But for Pringle, being the only one in CFL history, is even more exclusive.

Pringle had his memorable season in 1998 whilst with the Montreal Alouettes. It was his seventh season in the league, and third in Als colours. (Although arguably fifth with the same franchise as Montreal were born out of a disbanded Baltimore team). In an 18 game CFL regular season, Pringle had 347 carries, for 2,064 yards, at 5.9 yards per carry, with 9 Touchdowns, averaging 114.66 yards per game. He also added 26 catches for 349 yards. This gave him 2,414 yards from scrimmage on the season. A figure which is still the CFL single season record. It has only been matched once. By Pringle himself in 1994.

Perhaps the Montreal Alouettes thought Mike Pringle was done. He had shown signs of slowing in 2001 and feuded with Don Matthews the team’s Head Coach in 2002 when an injured Pringle managed only 227 yards on the season. Prior to the 2003 season he was released by the team. Edmonton, where he had started his CFL journey, snapped him up. He would reward them by making 36 appearances from 2003-2004, and rushing for a 1,000 yards, and making 40+ catches during both seasons.

Mike Pringle retired after the 2004 season as the all-time leading CFL rusher. His career numbers showed 2,962 carries for 16,425 yards with 137 touchdowns. He also holds the record for the most rushing yards in a single season thanks to his 2,065 yards in 1998. Pringle also sits in second (1,972 yards in 1994) & fifth (1,791 yards in 1995) on that list. His nine 1,000+ yards seasons are second only to George Reed.

Pringle led the CFL in rushing six times over his career and accordingly was voted Division or League All-Star on multiple occasions. He was a Divisional All-Star eight times. Once in the West (2003) and seven times in the East/South (1994 & 1996-2001). Pringle was a league All-Star seven times, – 1994-1995, 1997-2000, and 2003.

On June the 22nd, 2005, Pringle signed a contract with Montreal, so that the team’s all-time leading rusher could retire as an Alouette. They would retire his number 27 jersey. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

Comparing Greatness

As we have seen Mike Pringle had a remarkable and deservedly recognised CFL career. But how does the 2025 single season leader compare and just how far would they have to go to match up to Pringle?

The 2025 CFL rushing leader was Dedrick Mills of the Calgary Stampeders. Mills finished the season with 250 carries for 1,409 yards rushing, (5.6 yards per carry), and 11 touchdowns. That takes his career rushing totals to 622 carries for 3,593 yards (5.6 yards per carry), and 18 touchdowns.

That comes after four seasons in the league, each with Mills recording more yards than the last. For comparison, at the same time in his CFL career Pringle had 699 carries for 4,258 yards, (6.09 yards per carry), and 30 touchdowns.

From a career perspective, to catch up to Pringle, Mills would need to add 12,832 yards and 119 touchdowns. Best of luck Dedrick!

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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