Rueben A. Mayes (born June 6, 1963) is a Canadian former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1986 to 1993. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He is a member of the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Early life

Mayes is a direct descendant of a group of

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

who fled racial persecution in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in 1910 and traveled north to

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada, after reading flyers which promised of free land to anyone willing to move there. This group of pioneers were known as the " Shiloh People", named after the "Shiloh Baptist Church", a small log cabin church they built after they arrived. He first gained acclaim as a

at North Battleford Comprehensive High School in

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

, Saskatchewan. In 1980, Mayes led the NBCHS Vikings to an undefeated season and the SHSAA 3A provincial football championship. In 1981, he set a provincial record in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

at the SHSAA provincial track and field championship that still stands. His sister is

Lesa Mayes-Stringer Lesa Mayes-Stringer (born 13 May 1968 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan) is a former bobsled athlete who competed for Canada from 1999 to 2007. She was known as "Silly Stringer" during her years as a member of the Calgary Bobsled Club, due to her ...

, a former bobsled athlete who competed for Canada from 1999 to 2007.

College career

Mayes played

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in Pullman, where he was recognized as a consensus

and finished tenth in the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

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1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Mayes set single-season and career-rushing school records (1,632; 3,519 yards) with the Cougars, and established an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

record for most rushing yards in one game (357 at

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

). It was the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

record for over a quarter century, until broken by

Ka'Deem Carey Ka'Deem Carey (born October 30, 1992) is an American professional gridiron football, football running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats football, Ar ...

in 2012. In 1995, a panel of experts commissioned by ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' named Mayes to the all-time WSU team. The honor was repeated in 1998 by Cougfan.com when it picked its list of the school's all-time greatest players. On May 1, 2008, he was elected to the

. In August 2017, a group of panelists commissioned by the Pac-12 Network picked the 12 greatest Washington State players of all time and Mayes ranked No. 1.

Professional career

Mayes was selected in the third round (57th overall) of the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He was also selection second overall in the 1986 CFL Draft by the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

, but never played in the CFL. He won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award that year from the

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, and although his NFL career was hampered by injuries, he was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

twice. After five seasons with the Saints, Mayes was traded to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in April

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, where he played the final two years of his career.

NFL career statistics

Later life

After football, Mayes began a career in higher education administration and philanthropy. He later earned a masters of business administration degree. After 15 years in higher education leadership positions at Washington State University and University of Washington, he transitioned to healthcare administration and philanthropy. Five years as senior development officer PeaceHealth System and 10 years as chief development and external relations officer at Pullman Regional Hospital. Currently he is the regional partnerships and philanthropy officer at Seattle Children's Hospital. His wife of 36 years, Marie Mayes, serves as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and as a clinical assistant professor in the WSU Carson College of Business. Their oldest son Logan was a three-star recruited linebacker at Marist Catholic High School in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, and committed to play at Washington State, following his father's footsteps. He went on to graduate with a finance degree at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Logan is now a senior financial analyst for Amazon Corporation. After graduating with an international business degree from the WSU Carson College of Business, Kellen Mayes (younger son) completed a two-year Peace Corps project in rural Albania. He is a third year medical student at the

University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Graduate School rankings, University ...

. Mayes is the most successful Canadian-born skilled player to play in the NFL and one of the only six Saskatchewan natives to make it to the NFL; the others were Arnie Weinmeister, Jon Ryan, Ben Heenan, Brett Boyko and Brett Jones. Mayes was the subject of a 1989 documentary film, ''The Saint from North Battleford'', directed by Selwyn Jacob.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, Rueben 1963 births Living people American football running backs Canadian expatriate American football people in the United States Players of American football from Saskatchewan New Orleans Saints players Seattle Seahawks players Washington State Cougars football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees National Conference Pro Bowl players NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year winners Sportspeople from North Battleford Gridiron football people from Saskatchewan Black Canadian players of American football Black Canadian sportsmen 20th-century Canadian sportsmen