Mike Raines

Although he started his career in Montreal and fninished it in Winnipeg, Mike Raines will be best remembered as an Ottawa Rough Rider. The defensive lineman played 8 years in the CFL, from 1975 to 1982. In his first season Raines started the year with Montreal but was sent to Ottawa where he played the rest of his career except for one game in Winnipeg in his final season. Mike Raines is another of those players whose statistics don't do him justice. The CFL only started tracking quarterback sacks in his second last year in 1981, and no tackle stats were kept until 1987. You can measure Mike Raines' talent, however, by his other accomplishements. Raines was a four time East All-Star at defensive tackle (1978, 1979, 1981 and 1981) as well as a CFL All-Star in 1981. Raines played in two Grey Cups, winning one with Ottawa in 1976 over Saskatchewan on the late Tony Gabriel catch and losing one in 1981 against Edmonton. As mentioned previously, the stats are few for defensive linemen at that time, but there is one interesting stat to note. I his rookie season, Raines had not one, but two interceptions and returned one of those for a touchdown. Not bad for a defensive lineman!