Michael Robert Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for 10 seasons with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

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 ...

. He won four

Super Bowls The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

as a member of the famed

Steel Curtain The Steel Curtain was the defensive line of the 1970s American football team Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). The line was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won four Super Bowls ( IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in si ...

defense.

Playing career

Born in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, Wagner graduated in 1967 from Carmel High School in Mundelein. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

in Macomb, earning NAIA All-American status in 1969. He was added to the Western Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976. Wagner was selected by the

in the 11th round of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

, the 268th overall selection. First looked at as a wide receiver on offense, he was soon switched to defense as a safety. Wagner tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, appeared in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Pro Bowls and recorded 36 career interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries. He won four

, recording interceptions in

Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Minnesota Vikings to decide the National Football League (NFL) cha ...

and

Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...

. After ten seasons with the Steelers, he retired in January

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

After retirement

Wagner is currently a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Pine-Richland High School Pine-Richland High School is a large public high school located at 700 Warrendale Road, in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only high school in the Pine-Richland School District and is located in Pine Township. In the 2018–2 ...

Gibsonia, Pennsylvania Gibsonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Richland Township, Allegheny County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, north of the city of Pittsburgh. It had a population of 2,733 at the 2010 Census. Its ZIP code is 1504 ...

. He was interviewed for the

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ot ...

documentary

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

'' America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions'' on the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers. For a short time, Mike Wagner also served as an assistant coach on the

(Gibsonia, PA) coaching staff, mainly working with the defensive backs and special teams. Mike Wagner was the guest speaker at the 3rd annual Steel City Mafia Banquet in

Latrobe, Pennsylvania Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States and part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The city population was 8,338 as of the 2010 census (9,265 in 1990). It is located near Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Rid ...

, on August 15, 2009. After pro football, Wagner applied his bachelor's degree in accounting and worked in the financial industry. He earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and, as of 2012, is a bank vice president in Pittsburgh.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Mike 1949 births Living people American football safeties Pittsburgh Steelers players Western Illinois Leathernecks football players American Conference Pro Bowl players People from Mundelein, Illinois Sportspeople from Waukegan, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois