Mike Wadsworth

Last updated

Mike Wadsworth
Born:(1943-06-04)June 4, 1943
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died:April 28, 2004(2004-04-28) (aged 60)
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Career information
CFL status National
Position(s) DL
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight250 lb (110 kg)
College Notre Dame
Career history
As administrator
19701971 CFLPA (President)
As player
19661970 Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
CFL East All-Star 1968
Awards Gruen Trophy (1966)

Michael A. Wadsworth (June 4, 1943 - April 28, 2004) was an all-star Canadian Football League defensive lineman, and later lawyer, QC, Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, business executive, and television sports analyst.

Contents

Wadsworth was one of six siblings born to Bernard "Bunny" and Catherine (née Kehoe) Wadsworth. He played high school football at De La Salle College (Toronto) before attending the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Despite knee injuries, he won a monogram as a defensive tackle in 1964.

Wadsworth played professional football for the Toronto Argonauts from 1966 to 1970, during which time he also earned his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. [1] He started his five-year career by winning the Gruen Trophy as the best rookie in the East for 1966. He was later named a 1968 Eastern All-Star.

In 1970, Wadsworth became the second president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). He was the first active player to hold the position, retiring from the CFL and the CFLPA presidency at the start of the 1971 season.

After his football days, he became a lawyer and QC. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. [2] He was a football analyst on the CFL on CTV broadcasts. He was appointed Canadian Ambassador to Ireland in 1989 and named athletic director at Notre Dame in 1995. He served as an executive with Crownx, Inc. [1] [3]

His father starred for the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1940 and was voted to their half-century team in 1960. [4]

Death

Wadsworth died of bone and bladder cancer, aged 60, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He was survived by his mother (Catherine), his wife (Bernadette), three daughters, and four siblings, and a large extended family. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Palmer</span> Canadian player of American football

Jesse James Palmer is a Canadian television personality, sports commentator, and former professional football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) in the early 2000s. Palmer played college football for the Florida Gators under coach Steve Spurrier, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL before spending half of the 2006 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Reed (Canadian football)</span> American gridiron football player (1939–2023)

George Robert Reed was an American college football and Canadian Football League (CFL) player. Reed, along with Mike Pringle and Johnny Bright, is one of the players most often mentioned as being the greatest running back in CFL history. In November 2006, Reed was voted the second greatest CFL player ever in CFL's Top 50 players of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

The 2004 CFL season is considered to be the 51st season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 47th Canadian Football League season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Dunigan</span> American football player

Matt Dunigan is an American broadcaster and former professional football player and executive. He is a Canadian Football League (CFL) sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN. Dunigan is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the CFL. In 2006, Dunigan joined the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#39) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket Ismail</span> American football player (born 1969)

Raghib Ramadian "Rocket" Ismail is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before moving on to both the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1991–92 and the National Football League (NFL) from 1993–2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlondo Steinauer</span> American gridiron football player and coach (born 1973)

Orlondo Steinauer is the president of football operations for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a player, he played professional Canadian football as a safety for 13 seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts from 1996 to 2008. He finished his career second all-time in CFL history for interception return yards with 1178 yards. Steinauer was a two-time Grey Cup champion as a player after winning in 1999 with the Tiger-Cats and in 2004 with the Argonauts. He has also won a championship as a coach, winning the 100th Grey Cup as the defensive backs coach for the Toronto Argonauts in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (Brampton)</span> Secondary school in Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School is located in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and operates under the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillip Daniels</span> American gridiron football player and coach (born 1973)

Phillip Bernard Daniels is the defensive line coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Hs is also a former American football defensive end who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia.

Mike Morreale is the Commissioner and CEO of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is a former award-winning receiver in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Boreham</span>

Jamie Boreham is a former professional Canadian football punter and placekicker and is the head coach of the Prince George Kodiaks of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL). He played for eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and was a member of the 95th Grey Cup championship team with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Michael P. McCarthy is a professional football executive and scout. He was born in Oneida, New York and raised in Rome, New York. McCarthy began playing football at Rome (NY) Free Academy H.S. where he earned All-State football honours and was an all-star in lacrosse and wrestling. Currently, he is a pro football player personnel consultant.

Dan Ferrone is a former professional Canadian football player. He played with the Toronto Argonauts for 8 seasons, interrupted by one season with the Calgary Stampeders, in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was an offensive lineman with the teams from 1981 to 1992, part of the Argonaut's Grey Cup championships in 1983 and 1991.

Leif Pettersen was a receiver who played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Cuthbert</span> Canadian play-by-play sportscaster

Chris Cuthbert is a Canadian sportscaster. He currently serves as the lead play-by-play commentator with CBC Sports/Sportsnet for Hockey Night in Canada, and calls most national and regional games for the Toronto Maple Leafs on the network. Formerly, he worked for TSN, NBC, and CBC Sports in a multitude of roles. He and Glen Suitor were the lead broadcast team for the CFL on TSN from 2008 to 2019 before Cuthbert gave that lead play-by-play role to Rod Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Ramsay</span>

Brian Ramsay is a former Canadian football offensive lineman and currently serving as the Canadian Football League Players' Association's Executive Director. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 CFL Draft by the Toronto Argonauts. He played college football at New Mexico. He transitioned into the role in April 2016 after completing a CFL playing career spanning from 2006-2015. Ramsay has played a pivotal role in the negotiations and ratification of the 2019 and 2022 collective agreements between the CFL players and the leagues' ownership.

Wayne Anthony Smith is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2004 to 2017. He was drafted first overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2004 CFL Draft and spent four seasons over two stints with the team. Smith won a Grey Cup championship with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007. He was also a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL and the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He announced his retirement in April 2017. He played college football at Appalachian State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Football League Players' Association</span>

The Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA) represents Canadian football players in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The association was established in 1965, when local lawyer John Agro became concerned by the number of Hamilton Tiger-Cats players approaching him with legal questions about contracts, medical coverage and pensions.

John Bernard "Bunny" Wadsworth was an all-star and Grey Cup champion Canadian football lineman. Playing in the early days of the Ottawa Rough Riders, before the Canadian Football League was formed, Wadsworth's career spanned eight seasons, and included three all-star selections and the 1940 Grey Cup championship. He was honored as a member of the Rough Rider "Half Century" team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. J. Jones</span> Canadian-born American football player (born 1992)

Tai-ler "T. J." Fitzgerald Jones is a former American-Canadian professional American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DaVaris Daniels</span> American gridiron football player (born 1992)

DaVaris Daniels is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Notre Dame. After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Daniels signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

References

  1. 1 2 "UND Profile". und.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  2. "Former athletic director Mike Wadsworth dies
    at age 60"
    . Notre Dame News. April 27, 2004.
  3. 1 2 "Mike Wadsworth, 60, Athletic Director, Dies". The New York Times. April 29, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
  4. "Former ambassador, Argo, Mike Wadsworth dies". CTV.ca. April 28, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2008.[ dead link ]