At the age of 30, Mickey-Miles Felton moved from New York to Tucson in the spring of 1976, leaving behind friends, family, and his career as a mortgage broker alongside his brother. Fast forward to the fall of 2018, and he is now an Arizona Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee, and a global icon for the sport of lacrosse.
Felton immediately established himself as a successful businessman in his early years of work, but he needed more to his life. “I was never really happy” he said.
His journey to Arizona began while walking the streets of New York City, where he stopped what he was doing to check on a man climbing the subway stairs who appeared as if he were going to be sick. When he asked the man if he was alright, the man responded that he was fine and just needed some air. It was at this moment that Felton thought to himself, “That could be me in two years.” Mickey then decided to sell his house and move to Arizona.
When he had first arrived in Tucson, he felt as if he was meant to be there. “Something just came over me” he stated, “This is where I wanted to be… Where I needed to be.”
After Mickey’s first step onto the campus of the University of Arizona, it didn’t take him long to make a name for himself. He quickly participated and took over the men’s lacrosse team, and shortly turned it into a successful program. Felton’s achievements with the program on and off the field crowned him Tucson’s “Mr. Lacrosse.” The rest was history.
Aside from running numerous lacrosse programs throughout the state of Arizona, Mickey is also a key figure in the Israel Lacrosse Association. In the summer of 2012, Mickey traveled to Israel to help coach and promote the sport. He returned in summer 2017 to take the reigns of Herzliya LC in the Israel Premier Lacrosse League.
When asked about his Hall of Fame induction this past October, Felton said the experience was eye-opening and impossible to describe. “I was greeting people walking in and then watching them greet each other after being apart for 30-40 years.” “Guys were hugging and crying. It was amazing to me.” The everlasting comraderies that come with the sport of lacrosse are one of the
few things that makes the sport so special to Mickey.
The emotions that were flowing through the crowd that night when Felton addressed everyone taught him a very valuable lesson. “I took a lot of criticism over the years, but after seeing tears flow down everyone’s face that night, I knew how special I was and how important I was to them.”
“That changed my life…I will never let anyone judge me anymore.”
Throughout his career, Mickey-Miles Felton has received many awards, all of which reinforce his passion for both lacrosse and helping others. He is truly an admirable man full of enthusiasm and valuable lessons.
“40 years was such a great journey… it was so spectacular,” said Felton, who will go down in history as one of the all-time greats for the sport of lacrosse.
–Spencer Kaufman/Israel Lacrosse Association