Michael Thomas Ozdowski (born September 24, 1955) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

who played four seasons with the Baltimore Colts of the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the 1977 NFL Draft. He played college football at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and attended

Parma Senior High School Parma Senior High School (alternatively known as PSH or Parma High School), is one of three public high schools in the Parma City School District in Parma, Ohio. The school is a member of the Northeast Ohio Conference. The Parma Board of Educati ...

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, an ...

Early years

Ozdowski played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Parma Senior High School Redmen, earning three varsity

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

and All-State honors as a

middle guard The Imperial Guard (French: ''Garde Impériale'') was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he ...

. He was a two-time Plain Dealer Player of the Week honoree and was selected to play in the north–south game. He graduated in 1973. Ozdowski was inducted into the Parma Senior High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

College career

Ozdowski was a four-year varsity letterman for the Virginia Cavaliers. He earned All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

, All-Academic, and Player of the Year honors during his college career. He was named the 1977 University of Virginia Athlete of the Year.

Professional career

Ozdowski was selected by the Baltimore Colts with the 53rd pick in the 1977 NFL Draft. He played in 54 games, starting 29, for the Colts from 1978 to 1981. He spent the 1982 season on injured reserve with a neck injury. Ozdowski became the Colts' new player representative during the

1982 NFL lockout The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...

after

Herb Orvis Herbert Vaughn Orvis (October 17, 1946 – August 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Colts in a ten-year career that lasted from 1972 to 1981 in the Nation ...

, the prior representative, was cut by the team. Mike was released by the Colts on March 8, 1983.

Personal life

Michael Ozdowski is currently the Head of the Mathematics Department at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego, California.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozdowski, Mike Living people 1955 births Players of American football from Cleveland American football defensive ends Virginia Cavaliers football players Baltimore Colts players Schoolteachers from California