Michael A. Wadsworth (June 4, 1943 - April 28, 2004) was an all-star

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, and later lawyer, QC, Canadian Ambassador to the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, business executive, and television sports analyst. Wadsworth was one of six siblings born t
Bernard "Bunny" and Catherine (née Kehoe) Wadsworth
He played high school football at De La Salle College (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) before attending the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

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 The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

from 1966 to 1970, during which time he also earned his law degree from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

in Toronto. He started his five-year career by winning the Gruen Trophy as the best rookie in the East for . He was later named a 1968 Eastern All-Star. In , Wadsworth became the second president of the

Canadian Football League Players' Association The Canadian Football League Players' Association (or 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 ...

(CFLPA). He was the first active player to hold the position, retiring from the CFL and the CFLPA presidency at the start of the season. After his football days, he became a lawyer and QC. He completed the Advanced Management Program at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

. He was a football analyst on the CFL on CTV broadcasts. He was appointed Canadian Ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1989 and named athletic director at Notre Dame in 1995. He served as an executive with Crownx, Inc. His father starred for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

in 1940 and was voted to their half-century team in 1960.

Death

Wadsworth died of bone and bladder cancer, aged 60, at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. He was survived by his mother (Catherine), his wife (Bernadette), three daughters, and four siblings, and a large extended family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, Mike 1943 births 2004 deaths Canadian football people from Ottawa Ambassadors of Canada to Ireland Deaths from cancer in Minnesota 20th-century Canadian lawyers Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian Football League announcers Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Canadian Roman Catholics Deaths from bladder cancer Deaths from bone cancer Players of Canadian football from Ontario Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic directors Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Toronto Argonauts players Osgoode Hall Law School alumni

Death

See also

References