Tony Boles
Dallas Cowboys | |
Born: | KR | December 11, 1967
---|---|
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
Weight | 196 lb (89 kg) |
College | Michigan |
NFL draft | 1991, Round: 11, Pick: 291 |
Career history | |
As player | |
1991 | Dallas Cowboys |
1992 | San Antonio Riders |
Honors |
|
Career stats | |
|
Tony Boles (born December 11, 1967) is an American former professional
Early years
Although Boles was born in
In high school, he received
College career
Boles starred for
As a sophomore in
During the 1989 season, his carries were somewhat limited due to a pinched nerve. Entering the final game he had accumulated 822 yards (752 m) rushing in nine games on 130 rushes, Schembechler was starting to support his Heisman Trophy candidacy:
Michigan tailback Tony Boles can run (can he ever!) but he can't hide from the Heisman Trophy anymore. He's finally got Bo Schembechler touting him for college football's most glamorous honor and that's never happened before. … 'He's (darn) good,' Schembechler said. 'You're (darn) right. He's averaging 6.3 yards (5.8 m) a carry. That's not too shabby.' ... Boles, who last season rushed for 1,408 yards (1,287 m) and nine touchdowns, has 822 yards (752 m) and nine TDs this season. ... 'That's the difference between Tony and some of the other backs we've had here. He was not a big track man. He was baseball and all-sports in high school.'[7]
On November 18, he was seriously injured against the
In 1990, Boles attempted a comeback as a wide receiver to no avail and spent his senior season in rehabilitation.[9] Jon Vaughn and Ricky Powers carried the load at tailback in his place. In retrospect, Boles sometimes regretted not having gone to one of the historically black colleges and universities.[1] He dropped out of classes because he says "didn't want to be crutching around campus" and he eventually stopped rehabbing his knee and became irregular with his workouts.[10] After the injury, he dropped out of school and fell onto hard times.[11]
Boles compiled 10 100-yard games while rushing for 2,247 yards (2,055 m) in two years at Michigan. In addition to playing running back, Boles excelled as a kick returner where he accumulated 639 yards (584 m) and a touchdown on 25 returns for a 25.6 yards (23.4 m) per return average.[12]
Professional career
Boles was represented by agent
In 1992, he played with the
Personal life
On November 11, 1994, Boles was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and petty theft and wound up in jail in Naples, Florida.[19]
Boles discovered at age 27 that he had not been reared by his biological father. He soon thereafter started using cocaine. After football ended, he worked various jobs such as construction and working at a grocery store. He then started selling drugs and then using his product. This led him to a series of arrests, prison stays, and homeless periods. In 2003, two former teammates tracked him down and set him up with a job at a car wash. However, Boles fell back into his criminal ways.[10] Boles was convicted of robbing an elderly couple and was sentenced to three to fifteen years in prison. He was released into a work program. He also found himself at the Elmhurst Home, Inc. substance abuse treatment center in 2006.[1][10] The residential treatment center has since 1972 been used to host about 100 recovering addicts at a time providing Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meeting places, military-style roll calls, daily tasks, and progress logs.[10]
Physically, in 2006, Boles was described as starting to gray, missing two top front teeth and suffering from an arthritic knee. He stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg; 14 st). He had a 21-year-old daughter and kept in touch with his mother. His stepfather had died in 1994.[10]
Boles was arrested in Ypsilanti, Michigan on September 9, 2007 and pleaded guilty to one count of receiving and concealing stolen property. He was sentenced to serve two to five years in prison for receiving and concealing stolen property in violation of his parole in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. He had previously served six months in prison for unarmed robbery before he was paroled in 2005. Boles' most recent infraction occurred when with an outstanding warrant, he provided a false name to officers investigating why he was blocking traffic with a car they would find out had been stolen from Detroit, Michigan. He had been attempting to converse with sidewalk pedestrians while purchasing drugs.[20] Boles lost his son, Christopher, to a traffic accident at the age of 17 in February 2016.[21]
See also
- Lists of Michigan Wolverines football rushing leaders
References
- ^ a b c d Shelton, Steven Malik (May 2006). "The Nightmare Run of Tony Boles". Afromerica.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "1988 Football Team". The Regents of the University of Michigan. March 31, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "1989 Football Team". The Regents of the University of Michigan. March 31, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Michigan's Bowl Game History". The Regents of the University of Michigan. March 25, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Michigan's Bowl History" (PDF). University of Michigan & Host Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Big Ten Football: Annual Statistical Champions – Individual" (PDF). The Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Bo knows Boles can be candidate for Heisman," AP Article, 1989-11-15, retrieved December 15, 2007
- ^ Wallace, William N. (November 26, 1989). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Michigan Gains Rose Bowl Slot". The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ Sisak, Michael (August 26, 1990). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL '90; Lots of Volunteers for the No. 1 Spot". The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ Ann Arbor News. Associated Press Sports Editors. Archived from the original(PDF) on August 30, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
- ^ "Tony Boles: A Cautionary Tale". thosewhostaywillbechampions.blogspot.com. May 12, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "1991 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ "1991 Dallas Cowboys". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- ^ "TRANSACTIONS". The New York Times Company. August 21, 1991. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
- Newsbank. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- Newsbank. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- Newsbank. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- Newsbank. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Aisner, Art (November 3, 2007). "Ex-U-M football star Boles to serve 2-5 years in prison". Ann Arbor News. Michigan Live LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ Camp, Terry (April 8, 2016). "Parents of teen killed in accident think investigation should have been more thorough". WJRT-TV. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.