Mike Power is an American football quarterback who played for the
Boston College Eagles
The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...
and various professional teams.
High school
Power became
Westborough High School's starting varsity quarterback during his freshman year when his brother Tom, who was supposed to be the varsity starter, separated his shoulder before the season started and was out for the year. By Mike's senior season, he was one of the best quarterbacks in
Central Massachusetts Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area and the seat of Worces ...
. He led Westborough to a 10–1 record and defeated Fitchburg 25–7 to win Westborough's first and currently only football championship.
In addition to playing football, Power was also a starting guard on Westborough High School's basketball team and a starting outfielder on their baseball team.
Boston College
Power always planned to attend Boston College. His father and uncle played for the
Boston College Eagles men's basketball
The Boston College Eagles are a Division I college basketball program that represents Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. The team has competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2005, having previously play ...
team and one of his cousins,
Frank Power, was a long-time assistant basketball coach. Power committed to BC in November 1984.
In addition to Power, Boston College signed Parade High School All-Americans
Mark Kamphaus and David Thompson, as well as Ed Duran. During their freshman season, coach
Jack Bicknell
Jack Bicknell (born February 20, 1938) is a retired American football coach, most recently known for his long involvement in NFL Europa and its predecessor, the World League of American Football (WLAF). He served as the head football coach at t ...
moved Thompson and Duran to defense, which allowed Power to moved up to second on the depth chart, behind
Shawn Halloran
Shawn Halloran (born April 23, 1964) is an American high school sports administrator and former football player and coach. He played college football as a quarterback for the Boston College Eagles and professionally for St. Louis Cardinals of the ...
. Halloran struggled during the Eagles' 1986 season opener and Power replaced him.
He completed 9 of 17 passes for 64 yards and ran for another 42 yards in three quarters before suffering a foot injury that kept him out for the rest of the season.
Entering his sophomore season, Power competed with Mark Kamphaus for the starting job. Ten days before the season opener, Bicknell named Power the starter
and Power finished the season as the team's leading passer. He completed 133 of 233 passes for 2,071 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
His 8.9 passing yards per attempt were fourth best in Division I football, behind
Don McPherson
Donald G. McPherson (born April 2, 1965) is a former National Football League and Canadian Football League quarterback. He spent seven seasons in the NFL and CFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Oilers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Ottawa Ro ...
of Syracuse,
Chuck Hartlieb
Charles Gregory Hartlieb (born March 12, 1966) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1984 to 1988 and started at that position from 1987 to 1988. He was a high school standout at Mari ...
of Iowa, and
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, ...
of UCLA.
During his junior year, Power completed 72 of 146 passes for 883 yards and threw 2 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
During his senior year, Power was benched in favor of Mark Kamphaus and Willie Hicks. Coach Bicknell did, however, allow Power to start his final college game, a 13–12 loss to Georgia Tech.
During his career at Boston College, Power completed 230 of 428 passes for 3,176 yards and threw 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Professional career
Power went undrafted in the
1990 NFL draft
The 1990 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 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...
. He had a tryout with the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
, but was not signed. He planned on joining Boston College's coaching staff as a graduate assistant, but instead decided to make an attempt at playing professional football and joined the Bay State Titans of the Minor League Football System, a new football league established with some assistance from the
NFL as a feeder league for the
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
. Power beat out former
UNH starter and
1989 draft pick Bobby Jean for the starting job. In his first play from scrimmage in his first game, Power injured his right rotator cuff. He did not start the next game, but came in during the fourth quarter and completed 8 of 14 attempts for 114 yards. He returned to the starting lineup the following week, but was replaced by former
Northeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
quarterback Rich Rodriguez after an ineffective first quarter. Despite this, Power was chosen to start the following week and led the Titans to victory over the Charlotte Barons. It was Charlotte's first defeat in two years.
The Titans finished the season 8-2 and finished second in the Eastern Division behind the eventual league champions, the Charlotte Barons. While playing for the Titans, Power also served as a volunteer assistant at Westborough High School, painted houses, and attended graduate school at Boston College.
In 1992, Power signed with the
Barcelona Dragons of the WLAF, who were coached by Power's former college coach, Jack Bicknell. Later that year,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
starting quarterback
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonto ...
held out of training camp so the Oilers' General Manager and former Boston College player and coach
Mike Holovak
Michael Joseph Holovak (September 19, 1919 – January 27, 2008) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was an All-American at fullback in 1942.
Holovak was the fifth ov ...
signed Power. Power was cut during training camp, but was brought back the following year only to be cut once again.
In 1994, Power signed with the
Massachusetts Marauders
The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
.
Business career
In 1989, while playing his fifth year of football, Power began attending graduate school at Boston College.
He earned his MBA in 1991 and began working for
Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
before signing with the Barcelona Dragons. After his football career ended, Power went to work for
Paine Webber
PaineWebber & Co. was an American investment bank and stock brokerage firm that was acquired by the Swiss bank UBS in 2000. The company was founded in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts, by William Alfred Paine and Wallace G. Webber. Operating with t ...
as a bond trader on Wall Street. In 1995 the company moved him to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. In 2004, he started Power Asset Management, where Power manages bond portfolios for high-end families. In 2009, Power managed about $200 million in assets for around 50 families.
Since 1996, Power has also run quarterback clinics in the Los Angeles area.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Mike
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) players
Boston College Eagles football players
Houston Oilers players
Massachusetts Marauders players
Merrill (company) people
People from Westborough, Massachusetts