| No. 18, 98 | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Running back •Defensive back •Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1927-02-16)February 16, 1927 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 1995(1995-08-17) (aged 68) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | St. Augustine's College |
| Career history | |
| 1951–1961 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| Awards and highlights | |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1980) | |
Elmer Roland "Rollie" Miles (February 16, 1927 – August 17, 1995) was a professionalfootball player for theCanadian Football League (CFL)'sEdmonton Eskimos. Miles playedoffence (running back),defence (linebacker,defensive back), andspecial teams (kickoff/punt returner,punter), during his eleven-year career with the Eskimos. Miles is a member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and theEdmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour. In November 2006, Miles was voted one of the CFL'sTop 50 players (#48) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports networkTSN.[1]
Miles was born in Washington, D.C., and attended college atSt. Augustine's College inRaleigh, North Carolina. At St. Augustine's, Miles excelled inbaseball, football, andtrack and field.
Miles initially left the United States for Canada to play baseball inRegina, Saskatchewan, but was convinced by the famedAnnis Stukus to play football for theEdmonton Eskimos. He would continue to playsemi-professional baseball in Canada during his CFL career.[2]
Miles was one of the most versatile players in the history of the CFL during his eleven-year (1951–1961) career with theEdmonton Eskimos. As a defensive player (linebacker and defensive back), Miles intercepted 38 passes for 547 yards. As a special teams player, Miles returned punts (finishing with 279 punt returns for 2,085 yards) and kickoffs (88 returns for 2,131 yards), and punted on occasion. On offence, Miles was often found in a backfield with such CFL greats asJackie Parker,Normie Kwong,Johnny Bright,Bernie Faloney andDon Getty; he could run or pass on theoption with skill.
Selected as aCFL Western Conference All-Star eight times (three at running back, three at defensive back, two at linebacker) Miles was also named the Eskimos' team Most Valuable Player three times.
Miles played in five CFLGrey Cup championship games, winning three during the Eskimos' dynasty of successive Grey Cup titles in1954,1955, and1956.[3] Miles played in the famous1954 Grey Cup game with separated ribs, but still helped his underdog team win that classic game.
Miles was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in1980. The Eskimos added Miles' No. 18 jersey to itsWall of Honour in1983. TheCity of Edmonton named the Rollie Miles Athletic Field in his honor.
Source:[4]
| CFL Statistics | Rushing | Receiving | Passing | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | # | Yds | Ave. | Lg | TD | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lg | TD | Att | Com | % | Yds | TD | Int |
| 1951 | Edmonton | 14 | 52 | 416 | 8.0 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 33.3 | 162 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1952 | Edmonton | 16 | 46 | 220 | 4.8 | 40 | 0 | 22 | 342 | 15.5 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 42.9 | 183 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1953 | Edmonton | 15 | 134 | 819 | 6.1 | 91 | 8 | 37 | 657 | 17.8 | 3 | 27 | 12 | 44.4 | 287 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1954 | Edmonton | 14 | 148 | 834 | 5.6 | 27 | 4 | 16 | 283 | 17.7 | 44 | 2 | 64 | 31 | 48.4 | 410 | 3 | 4 |
| 1955 | Edmonton | 11 | 50 | 224 | 4.5 | 15 | 0 | 16 | 235 | 14.7 | 47 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 16.7 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956 | Edmonton | 6 | 38 | 226 | 5.9 | 30 | 2 | 29 | 410 | 14.1 | 37 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 33.3 | 30 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | Edmonton | 14 | 28 | 183 | 6.5 | 18 | 1 | 14 | 250 | 17.9 | 40 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25.0 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1958 | Edmonton | 16 | 6 | 14 | 2.3 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 149 | 21.3 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | Edmonton | 15 | 10 | 75 | 7.5 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 58 | 14.5 | 19 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1960 | Edmonton | 14 | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 20.0 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| 1961 | Edmonton | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 515 | 3032 | 5.9 | 91 | 19 | 150 | 2456 | 16.4 | 47 | 15 | 138 | 60 | 43.5 | 1174 | 9 | 9 | ||
| CFL Statistics | Kick Off Returns | Interceptions | Punt Returns | Punting | |||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | # | Yds | Ave. | Lg | TD | Int | Yds | Y/Int | Lg | TD | # | Yds | Ave. | Lg | TD | No | Yds | Ave. | Lg |
| 1951 | Edmonton | 14 | 7 | 103 | 14.7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | 33 | 269 | 8.2 | 0 | 24 | 925 | 38.5 | ||
| 1952 | Edmonton | 16 | 16 | 474 | 29.6 | 101 | 1 | 4 | 80 | 20.0 | 29 | 0 | 41 | 384 | 9.4 | 32 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1953 | Edmonton | 15 | 6 | 123 | 20.5 | 32 | 0 | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 29 | 0 | 54 | 464 | 8.6 | 32 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1954 | Edmonton | 14 | 17 | 406 | 23.9 | 52 | 0 | 4 | 71 | 17.8 | 40 | 0 | 18 | 124 | 6.9 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 104 | 26.0 | 40 |
| 1955 | Edmonton | 11 | 5 | 117 | 23.4 | 63 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 20.0 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1956 | Edmonton | 6 | 15 | 403 | 26.9 | 52 | 0 | 4 | 145 | 36.2 | 69 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1957 | Edmonton | 14 | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 19 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 42 | 42.0 | 42 |
| 1958 | Edmonton | 16 | 4 | 71 | 17.8 | 29 | 0 | 10 | 57 | 5.7 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 13 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1959 | Edmonton | 15 | 12 | 330 | 27.5 | 67 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 8 | 0 | 75 | 487 | 6.5 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 48.0 | 48 |
| 1960 | Edmonton | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 14 | 0 | 33 | 208 | 6.3 | 22 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1961 | Edmonton | 11 | 3 | 75 | 25.0 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 26 | 0 | 18 | 87 | 4.8 | 16 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 88 | 2131 | 24.2 | 101 | 1 | 38 | 547 | 14.4 | 69 | 1 | 279 | 2085 | 7.5 | 33 | 0 | 30 | 1119 | 37.3 | 48 | ||
Miles received his Bachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Alberta in 1956, and began work in the off season with the Edmonton Catholic School Board, where hetaught school and organized high school sports. Miles continued working with the Edmonton Catholic School Board upon his retirement from the CFL in1961.
Miles and his wife,Dr. Marianne Miles, had seven children: Craig "Tony" Miles, Rolanda Miles, Michelle Miles, Monica Lipscombe,Rollie Miles, Jr. (lineman on theUniversity of AlbertaGolden Bears 1980Vanier Cup national championship football team, and Most Valuable Player of the 1980Churchill Bowl),Brett Miles (noted singer, songwriter and saxophonist),[5] andMario Miles (co-founder of the Millwood Grizzlies Minor Football Association in Edmonton in 1996, and coach from 1996 to present).
Miles was the grandfather of actorJesse Lipscombe.[6]
Miles died in 1995 inEdmonton.