- Éric Lapointe (Canadian football)
Infobox CFL player
Name=Éric Lapointe
team=
ImageWidth=150
Caption=
status=Retired
import=no
Position=RB
number=5
College=Mount Allison
DateOfBirth=1974-09-13
Birthplace=Montreal ,Quebec
Height_ft=5
Height_in=11
Weight_lbs=208
playing_years=1999
2000
2001–2006
playing_teams=Hamilton Tiger-Cats Toronto Argonauts Montreal Alouettes
career_highlights=*
Awards=1995CIAU Rookie of the Year
1996Hec Crighton Trophy
1998Hec Crighton Trophy
Honors=
Records=CIAU: 1,619 rushing yards in a season (1996)
CFL=131Éric Lapointe (born
September 13 ,1974 inMontreal ,Quebec ) is a retiredCanadian football player. He was arunning back with theMontreal Alouettes in theCanadian Football League .A native of
Brossard, Quebec , Lapointe is an alumnus ofMount Allison University where he played football for theMount Allison Mounties . While playing at the university level, he was Canada's Rookie of the Year, a three-time All-Canadian, and a two-timeHec Crighton Trophy winner as Most Outstanding Player in Canada (1996 and 1998), for which he received special congratulations by theLegislature of Nova Scotia . [ [http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/han57-1/h98dec01.htm Hansard - Tue., Dec. 1, 1998 ] ] He was also a rushing leader for the Atlantic conference and nationally. In 1996, he rushed 1,619 yards to break the record inAtlantic University Sport . In his four years of playing, he rushed 4,666 yards, just 29 yards short of theCIAU all-time career rushing record. Despite being eligible to play for 5 years in Canadian university football, Lapointe graduated and opted to finish his university sports career after only 4 years. He still supports the team and often can be seen at their games in Quebec.In 2005, he was selected by Canadian university football fans as the best university football player of all time. [ [http://www.universitysport.ca/e/story_detail.cfm?id=4740 Lapointe tops poll of university football fans - universitysport.ca] ]
After graduation in 1999, Lapointe was selected in the third round (20th overall) of the CFL entry draft by the
Edmonton Eskimos but was released shortly afterward to play for theHamilton Tiger-Cats . As part of this 1999Grey Cup winning team, Lapointe started for only 2 games yet finished 11th in the league with 691 rushing yards. In 2000, Lapointe was traded to theToronto Argonauts in a multi-player deal but languished and left the team during the 2001 off-season as afree agent to work in the financial services industry, closer to his home in Montreal.Lapointe joined the
Montreal Alouettes in February 2001 and played mainly as a backup for the team during the 2001-2004 seasons; during the 2005 season he came into prominence after being named the starting running back for the Alouettes in the93rd Grey Cup (the Als lost 38-35 to the Esks in a thrilling overtime showdown).Lapointe announced his retirement from the CFL following the 2006 season and is currently working as a financial analyst in Montreal.
References
External links
* [http://www.montrealalouettes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=388&SPSID=5641&DB_OEM_ID=1300&ATCLID=37049&Q_SEASON=2006 Montreal Alouettes page]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.