Thomas A. Haskins (born August 11, 197

is a former

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

College career

Haskins played for

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

for three seasons. There, he finished his collegiate career holding 21 school records, co-holding 5 school records. In addition to scoring 50 all-time touchdowns, he set the all-time

rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

ing record for

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

with 5349 yards. As of 2002, this ranks him third all-time in Division I-AA. As of 2008, Haskins is the only VMI football player to have his jersey number retired. He is also set to be inducted into the VMI Sports Hall of Fame in November 200

Professional career

In 1997, Haskins joined the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the CFL and played there for the next six seasons, winning a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championship in his final year with the team. On February 22, 2003, Haskins signed a free-agent contract with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

. However, a month later, Haskins suffered from a

benign Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...

the size of an orange which was remove

As a result, Haskins did not suit up for a single game for the Eskimos. Despite that, the Eskimos honoured his contract for the 2003 season. In March 2004, Haskins was released by the Eskimos. Despite vowing to return to professional football after recovering from the tumor, Haskins decided to retire.

External links

Just Sports Stats
Living people 1973 births Montreal Alouettes players Canadian football running backs American players of Canadian football VMI Keydets football players American football running backs African-American players of Canadian football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{Canadianfootball-runningback-stub