Michael Dion Bates (born December 19, 1969) is an American former two-sport

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who gained fame as a sprinter who won an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

. He also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a kick returner in the National Football League (NFL), where he was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

Early years

Bates attended

Amphitheater High School Amphitheater High School, also known as Amphi High, is a public high school, located in northwest Tucson, Arizona, United States. Amphi is the flagship high school of Amphitheater Public Schools of Tucson, and serves grades 9–12. The school mas ...

, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. He played as a running back, recording more than 1,000 rushing yards in each of his last three seasons. As a senior, although he played in only 8 games because of an injury, he still managed to run for 1,557 yards. He set state records 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 conteste ...

(10.34 seconds) and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(20.68 seconds). He bypassed his senior season in track, while disputing some scheduling rules by the Arizona Interscholastic Association. As a senior, he received ''

Parade magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

'' All-American, The Arizona Republic's male Athlete of the Year and '' Long Beach Press-Telegram'' "Best in the West" honors. He was rated by ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' as the second-best prospect in the country at running back behind

Terry Kirby Terry Gayle Kirby (born January 20, 1970) is a former professional American football player who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1993 to 2002. A 6'1" running back from the University of Virginia, he is the younger br ...

. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.

College career

Bates accepted a football scholarship from the University of Arizona. He played as a running back and wide receiver with the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

, but was mainly used as a kickoff returner, averaging 23.7 yards on 45 kickoff returns during his college career. As a true freshman in 1989, he had 14 returns for a 24.1-yard average. As a sophomore in 1990, he ranked among the All-purpose leaders in the Pac-10 and received honorable-mention honors. His 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Washington State University was the fourth-longest in school history. He collected 31 kickoff returns for a 23.5-yard average. In

, he was voted the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

's Outstanding Male Performer at the conference track championships in 1989 and 1990, winning the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

. He was also a member of the Wildcats 400-meter relay team that finished second in the 1989 NCAA Championships. His college-best time was 10.17 in the

. In 1991, he did not enroll at the school so he could concentrate on his track career. He declared for the NFL Draft in 1992. In 2013, he was inducted into the University of Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

Olympics

At the June 1992 Olympic Trials he finished third, qualifying for the Olympics, edging Carl Lewis by one one-hundredth of a second for the final qualifying spot. In the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, his time of 20.38 from the inside lane, put him 0.37 seconds behind gold medal winner Michael Marsh and 0.25 seconds behind silver medalist

Frankie Fredericks Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only ...

to win the bronze medal. He set his personal best time in the

was 20.01 seconds, set at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich 13 days after the Olympics.

Personal bests

Professional career

At the 1992 NFL Scouting Combine, Bates ran a 4.4 40, a full tenth of a second faster than top RB prospect

Vaughn Dunbar Vaughn Allen Dunbar (born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers, and earned A ...

and almost 2 tenths of a second than any of the other 34 halfbacks tested. Bates was selected by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the 6th round (150th overall) of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 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 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

. Because of contract negotiations, he did not sign with Seattle and held out during the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

, although the time away from playing helped him to reshape his body for football. On March 7, 1993, he signed an incentive laden contract including a $15k workout bonus, $10k playoff percentage time bonus and over $50k in performance bonus. He was a backup wide receiver, setting a franchise team record with 22 special teams tackles and was a Pro Bowl alternate to

Steve Tasker Steven Jay Tasker (born April 10, 1962) is an American sports reporter, locally in Western New York on the MSG Western New York cable TV station, and on WGR Radio and formerly for CBS Sports. He is a former football player who was a wide receive ...

. In 1995, Bates was an exclusive rights free agent where Seattle ended up agreeing to terms with him on a 1-year $700k deal in July. After new head coach Dennis Erickson traded for Ricky Proehl and drafted

Joey Galloway Joseph Scott Galloway (born November 20, 1971) is an American former professional football player who is an analyst with ESPN. He was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Galloway was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the ...

, Bates became expendable and was waived August 27. On August 28, 1995, the Carolina Panthers claimed Bates off waivers only to turn around and trade him the next day to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for linebacker

Travis Hill Travis LaVell Hill (October 3, 1969 – March 28, 2018) was an American professional football player who played two seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers. Drafted in the 7th round by the Clevelan ...

. Bates spent the last 3 games of the season on the inactive list and was not retained. On March 11, 1996, he signed as a free agent with the Panthers and began his great run of seasons with the franchise, returning 33 kicks for 998 yards, with a remarkable average of 30.2 yards per return - and one kick returned for a touchdown. After five seasons in Carolina, Bates was let go, and the Washington Redskins signed him to a 2-year, $1.33 million contract. At the end of the season he was named a Pro Bowl alternate. He was released on March 12, 2002. On March 25, he was signed by the Carolina Panthers. His season was cut short that year, however, due to a broken right ankle he suffered in preseason against the Dallas Cowboys and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 26. On March 31, 2003, he re-signed with Carolina but was let go in the final cut-down process for the regular season on August 31. On September 10, Bates was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, but a right-hand injury placed him on the injured reserve list on November 11, and he was later released on December 23. On December 26, he was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Cowboys for their playoff run. He was not re-signed after the season. Bates finished with 9,154 total yards in kick returns and five kick-return touchdowns (the NFL record for kickoff return touchdowns in a career is six). He was selected to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

Panthers franchise records

's NFL off-season, Michael Bates held at least 12 Panthers franchise records, including: * Kick Returns: career (233), season (59 in 1998), game (9 on 1998-10-04 @ATL), playoff game (5 on 1997-01-05 DAL; with Rod Smart and Mark Jones) * Kick Return Yds: career (5,987), season (1,480 in 1998), playoff game (155 on 1997-01-05 DAL) * Yds per kick return: career (25.7), season (30.24 in 1996), playoff game (31 on 1997-01-05 DAL ) * Kick Return TDs: career (5), season (2 in 1999; with

Steve Smith Sr. Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers, also playing for the Ba ...

)

Pro Bowl records

* Most career kick returns (17) * Most career kick return yards (488)

Personal life

His brother Mario played for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

and was a second-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints in

from Arizona State.Brothers in Pro Football
Another brother, Marion, played college football at Southern California and Arizona. During his pro day, fellow Arizona quarterback Shane Nagore threw passes to Bates, sprinter James Bullock and running back

Napoleon Kaufman Napoleon "Nip" Kaufman (born June 7, 1973) is a former American football player and currently an ordained minister and head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California. He is a former NFL running back, playing for the ...

in front of scouts from the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Michael 1969 births Living people Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona Track and field athletes from Arizona American male sprinters American football return specialists American football wide receivers Arizona Wildcats football players Arizona Wildcats men's track and field athletes Seattle Seahawks players Cleveland Browns players Carolina Panthers players Washington Redskins players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players National Conference Pro Bowl players Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes in the National Football League Universiade gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade