Aish and long time Norwood teammate Garry McIntosh continually resisted many big-money offers to move to Melbourne to play in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and remained loyal to Norwood and South Australian football.
He had two siblings; his older brother Andrew also played league football for Norwood, and his younger sister Susan represented South Australia in both netball and softball.
[1] He won the SANFL's highest individual honor, the Magarey Medal in 1981 at the age of just 20 and was a premiership player with Norwood in 1982 when they defeated Glenelg in the Grand Final and again in 1984 when the Redlegs defeated Port Adelaide to become the first team in SANFL history to win the premiership after finishing the minor round in 5th place.
Aish represented South Australia 15 times at interstate football, captaining the side in 1986 and 1989 as well as earning All-Australian selection in 1983 and 1986.
Michael Aish retired after Norwood's Grand Final loss to Woodville-West Torrens in 1993.