Tony Boles
Encyclopedia
Tony Boles is a retired professional American football
running back
and kick returner
who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys
of the National Football League
(NFL). After starring for the Michigan Wolverines football
, where he once led the Big Ten Conference
in rushing
, he went on to a scandal ridden life. His college football career was ended prematurely due to a knee injury. He has been sentenced to prison multiple times and placed in homes for addicts due to cocaine
abuse.
, Georgia
and his family settled in Westland, Michigan
when he was ten years old. He grew up in a predominately white neighborhood where he was one of only four African American
s in the entire student body at John Glenn High School
. He had also attended Marshall Junior High School. He took a Caucasian
woman to the high school prom
, but was not allowed to enter her home. She had to pick him up for the prom.
Boles starred for coach Bo Schembechler
at the University of Michigan
where he was twice named All-Big Ten on repeat conference champions in 1988 and 1989 and named the team most valuable player
for the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season
. These were Schembechler's final two seasons at Michigan. With Boles, the team won the January 1, 1989 Rose Bowl
, but with him on the sidelines they lost the January 1, 1990 contest
. Boles shared the 1988 Big Ten rushing title with Anthony Thompson. Boles won the title for conference games only, while Thompson won the title for all games played. As a sophomore in 1988, he rushed for 1408 yards (1,287.5 m), but during his junior season he suffered a season ending knee injury. Entering the final game before his injury he had accumulated 822 yards (751.6 m) rushing in nine games on 130 rushes, Schembechler was starting to support his Heisman Trophy
candidacy: During the 1989 season, his carries were somewhat limited due to a pinched nerve. He was seriously injured late in the 1989 season and had arthroscopic surgery on his knee, while Leroy Hoard
replaced him for the final 2.5 games. In 1990, Boles attempted a senior season comeback as a wide receiver
to no avail. Boles compiled 10 100-yard games while rushing for 2247 yards (2,054.7 m) in two years at Michigan. In addition to playing running back, Boles excelled as a kick returner where he accumulated 639 yards (584.3 m) and a touchdown
on 25 returns for a 25.6 yards (23.4 m) per return average. In 1990, Jon Vaughn
and Ricky Powers
carried the load at tailback
in his place. In retrospect, Boles sometimes regrets not having gone to one of the historically black colleges and universities
. Before the injury he had been projected as a first round draft pick. After the injury, he dropped out of school fell onto hard times. 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.
, was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft
with the 291st overall selection by the Dallas Cowboys as part of Jimmy Johnson
's rebuilding efforts. He was part of a Cowboy draft class that included three first round selections (Russell Maryland
, Alvin Harper
, and Kelvin Pritchett
), eleven picks in the first four rounds and eighteen overall selections. Boles was assigned rookie initiation
duties of washing Emmitt Smith
's Pathfinder
, but instead of washing the car disappeared with it for two days while binge
ing. He eventually tested positive and was released by the Cowboys. The Cowboys placed him on the reserve non-football injury list in August 1991. He then played a season with the San Antonio Riders
of the World League of American Football
for most of a season until he got mixed up in criminal activity. At first, he mysteriously disappeared from practice on a day of random drug testing. Before the disappearance, his World League performance had enabled Boles to get signed as a free agent
by the Cowboys in early April of 1992, but by June the team released him.
.
Boles discovered at age 27 that he had not been reared by his biological father. He soon thereafter started experimenting with 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. 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. 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 call
s, daily tasks, and progress logs.
Physically, in 2006, Boles was described as starting to gray, missing two top front teeth and suffering from an arthritic
knee. He stood and 190 lb (86.2 kg; 13.6 st). He had a 21-year-old daughter and kept in touch with his mother. His stepfather had died in 1994.
Boles was arrested in Ypsilanti
, Michigan
on September 9, 2007 and pled 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.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
and kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). After starring for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
, where he once led the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
in rushing
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
, he went on to a scandal ridden life. His college football career was ended prematurely due to a knee injury. He has been sentenced to prison multiple times and placed in homes for addicts due to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
abuse.
Youth
Although Boles was born in ThomasvilleThomasville, Georgia
Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and his family settled in Westland, Michigan
Westland, Michigan
Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located about west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,094.-Politics:...
when he was ten years old. He grew up in a predominately white neighborhood where he was one of only four African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in the entire student body at John Glenn High School
John Glenn High School (Westland, Michigan)
John Glenn High School is a public high school in Westland, Michigan. It is a part of the Wayne-Westland Community Schools district. The school mascot is a rocket.-History:...
. He had also attended Marshall Junior High School. He took a Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
woman to the high school prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
, but was not allowed to enter her home. She had to pick him up for the prom.
College
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he was twice named All-Big Ten on repeat conference champions in 1988 and 1989 and named the team most valuable player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
for the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season
1989 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 80s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program....
. These were Schembechler's final two seasons at Michigan. With Boles, the team won the January 1, 1989 Rose Bowl
1989 Rose Bowl
The 1989 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Monday January 2, 1989 because New Year's Day was on a Sunday. It was the 75th Rose Bowl Game, and also the 100th anniversary of the Tournament of Roses parade. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the USC Trojans 22-14. Michigan FB Leroy...
, but with him on the sidelines they lost the January 1, 1990 contest
1990 Rose Bowl
The 1990 Rose Bowl was the 76th Rose Bowl Game. The game was a rematch of the 1989 Rose Bowl, won by Michigan, 22-14. Gaining a measure of revenge, the USC Trojans defeated the Michigan Wolverines 17-10. USC running back Ricky Ervins was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game...
. Boles shared the 1988 Big Ten rushing title with Anthony Thompson. Boles won the title for conference games only, while Thompson won the title for all games played. As a sophomore in 1988, he rushed for 1408 yards (1,287.5 m), but during his junior season he suffered a season ending knee injury. Entering the final game before his injury he had accumulated 822 yards (751.6 m) rushing in nine games on 130 rushes, Schembechler was starting to support his Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
candidacy: During the 1989 season, his carries were somewhat limited due to a pinched nerve. He was seriously injured late in the 1989 season and had arthroscopic surgery on his knee, while Leroy Hoard
Leroy Hoard
Leroy Hoard is a retired American football running back who played for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and Minnesota Vikings of the NFL...
replaced him for the final 2.5 games. In 1990, Boles attempted a senior season comeback as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
to no avail. Boles compiled 10 100-yard games while rushing for 2247 yards (2,054.7 m) in two years at Michigan. In addition to playing running back, Boles excelled as a kick returner where he accumulated 639 yards (584.3 m) and a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
on 25 returns for a 25.6 yards (23.4 m) per return average. In 1990, Jon Vaughn
Jon Vaughn
Jonathan Stewart Vaughn is a former professional American football player who played running back and served as a kick returner in the National Football League for 4 seasons from 1991 to 1994 for the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs...
and Ricky Powers
Ricky Powers
Richard "Ricky" Powers is a former running back in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, and a former University of Michigan Wolverines football co-captain. In the NFL, he had a brief career with the Browns during their final season before they relocated to become the Baltimore...
carried the load at tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
in his place. In retrospect, Boles sometimes regrets not having gone to one of the historically black colleges and universities
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
. Before the injury he had been projected as a first round draft pick. After the injury, he dropped out of school fell onto hard times. 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.
Professional career
Boles, who was represented by agent Thom DardenThom Darden
Thomas Vincent Darden is a former American football cornerback, safety, and punt returner who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League . In the NFL, he was a three-time All-Pro free safety. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1978. He holds most Cleveland Browns franchise...
, was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft
1991 NFL Draft
The 1991 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...
with the 291st overall selection by the Dallas Cowboys as part of Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William "Jimmy" Johnson is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a...
's rebuilding efforts. He was part of a Cowboy draft class that included three first round selections (Russell Maryland
Russell Maryland
Russell James Maryland is a former professional American football player. He played defensive tackle for ten seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Cowboys first overall in the 1991 NFL Draft...
, Alvin Harper
Alvin Harper
Alvin Craig Harper is a former American football player in the National Football League. After going 1-15 in 1989 and 7-9 in 1990, the Dallas Cowboys were poised to capitalize on some key draft opportunities...
, and Kelvin Pritchett
Kelvin Pritchett
Kelvin Pritchett was an American football defensive tackle.Pritchett was a first round selection by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1991 NFL Draft out of the University of Mississippi. However, Pritchett was traded to the Detroit Lions, who he played for, during 10 years and two stints with the team. He...
), eleven picks in the first four rounds and eighteen overall selections. Boles was assigned rookie initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
duties of washing Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
's Pathfinder
Nissan Pathfinder
The Nissan Pathfinder is a SUV manufactured by Nissan Motors since 1986, derived from Nissan's compact pickup truck platform. The Pathfinder is slotted in size between the Murano and Armada or Patrol, but in price between the Xterra and Murano...
, but instead of washing the car disappeared with it for two days while binge
Binge
-People:* Dagmar Anita Binge, German founder of Binge Discs * Ronald Binge, British composer and arranger of light music-See also:A binge is any behavior indulged to excess...
ing. He eventually tested positive and was released by the Cowboys. The Cowboys placed him on the reserve non-football injury list in August 1991. He then played a season with the San Antonio Riders
San Antonio Riders
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played in the Alamo Stadium in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, 45 miles northeast of San...
of the World League of American Football
World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...
for most of a season until he got mixed up in criminal activity. At first, he mysteriously disappeared from practice on a day of random drug testing. Before the disappearance, his World League performance had enabled Boles to get signed as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
by the Cowboys in early April of 1992, but by June the team released him.
Life after football
On November 11, 1994, Boles was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and petty theft and wound up in jail in Naples, FloridaNaples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
.
Boles discovered at age 27 that he had not been reared by his biological father. He soon thereafter started experimenting with cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. 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
Car wash
A car wash or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior and, in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles.- Categories :...
. However, Boles fell back into his criminal ways. 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
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
treatment center in 2006. The residential treatment center has since 1972 been used to host about 100 recovering addicts at a time providing Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
and Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting places, military style roll call
Roll call
Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a list to determine the presence or absence of the listed people . The term applies to the calling itself, to the time moment of this procedure, and to a military signal that announces it Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a...
s, daily tasks, and progress logs.
Physically, in 2006, Boles was described as starting to gray, missing two top front teeth and suffering from an arthritic
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
knee. He stood and 190 lb (86.2 kg; 13.6 st). He had a 21-year-old daughter and kept in touch with his mother. His stepfather had died in 1994.
Boles was arrested in Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on September 9, 2007 and pled 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
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...
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
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
, 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
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He had been attempting to converse with sidewalk pedestrians while purchasing drugs.