Jim Foley is a graduate of St. Dunstan's University (SDU) in Charletown, Prince Edward Island. In 1969, SDU merged with another university to form the University of Prince Edward Island.

Foley was originally drafted in the first round of the 1969 CFL college draft by his hometown Ottawa Rough Riders, but didn't sign and was drafted again the following year in the fifth round by the Montreal Alouettes.

It is hard to classify Foley as either a running back or a receiver since the CFL game and positions were in a transition in the early 1970s as teams moved from three running backs to just two. In the transition, there emerged the position of wingback, a player whose duties were fairly evenly spilt between rushing and receiving. Eventually, the wingback position would disapear to become a slotback with almost exclusive receving duties.  The best known of the wingbacks was Johnny Rodgers in Montreal, but Foley would also fit into that acatagory. After two seasons witgh Montreal (1971-72) where he was used mainly as a receiver with 20 catches in each of his first two seasons and only 8 rushing attempts, Foley was dealt to the Ottawa Rough Riders. In 1973 in Ottawa had 20 carries and 21 pass receptions. Foley's most wingback like season was probably 1975 when he carried the ball 36 times for 225 yards and 25 catches for 350 yards. By 1976, the transition to a more modern slotback position is reflected in Foloey's stats of just 11 rushing attempts but a career high 56 catches for 847 yards.

Jim Foley in Wikipedia

Foley is Montreal Nomination for top Canadian Rookie - September 29, 1971

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