Mike Gray is a former award winning and all-star Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 defensive tackle and Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 champion.

After playing his college football at the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 Gray started pro career with the British Columbia Lions

British Columbia Lions

The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...

 in 1985. He played 16 games and had 13 sacks, good for an all-star nod and the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award

CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award

The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually rewarded to the player deemed to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. This is the fifth-last award to be given during the CFL Awards banquet, which takes place the week before Grey Cup weekend in the same city where it...

. After 8 sacks in 1986, the Lions lost Gray to the Ottawa Rough Riders

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 in the equalization draft. Ottawa released him and he began a 7 year stay with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League . They play their home games at Canad Inns Stadium, and plan to move to a new stadium for the 2012 season.The Blue Bombers were founded...

, playing 107 regular season games and being named an Eastern all-star in 1989.

Perhaps Gray's most famous and dramatic play came in the classic 76th Grey Cup

76th Grey Cup

The 76th Grey Cup was the 1988 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Blue Bombers defeated the favoured Lions 22-21...

 game. Facing his old team, the B.C. Lions, Winnipeg had their backs to the wall, leading by only 3 points in the final minute of the game, with the Lions on the Bomber 7 yard line. Matt Dunigan

Matt Dunigan

Matt Dunigan is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the Canadian Football League who is currently a CFL sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN...

's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and, amazingly, Gray came up with the Grey Cup saving interception, earning him the defensive Grey Cup Most Valuable Player

Grey Cup Most Valuable Player

The Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player award is awarded annually to the player deemed to have the best performance in the Grey Cup Game, the Canadian Football League's championship game.-Grey Cup Most Valuable Player Award winners:...

award.

In 1994 Gray was an Assistant Coach with the Lions.