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. 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 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" 1,326 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.
Read more about this topic: Mike Pringle (gridiron Football)