Michael Eben (born January 29, 1946) is a former

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played ten seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL), mainly 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 based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. Eben also played for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

, and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

University career

Eben played CIAU football for the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...

and won the

Hec Crighton Trophy The Hec Crighton Trophy (sometimes referred to as the Hec Crighton Award) is awarded annually to the most outstanding Canadian football player in U Sports. The trophy is named after Hec Crighton who was a former teacher, coach, referee, and the ...

in 1967 as the most outstanding Canadian university player. While playing professional football, he earned his doctorate in German literature from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Professional career

Eben was initially drafted by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

as the first overall draft pick in the

1968 CFL Draft Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. He played for the

, and

. Over his ten-year career, he was a divisional all-star three times.

Personal life

He taught at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

for 22 years. Eben taught French at Sterling Hall School, an independent school in Toronto, Canada following his retirement from UCC. He now consults at various schools in the Toronto area. Married with two children, Eben has been doing voice over work and narration for radio and television for more than fifteen years. He has done numerous commercials, sports promotions and recently was a German translator on the 10 part series "The Greatest Tank Battles" featured on The History Channel.
RETRO '70s PROFILE: MIKE EBEN

External links

MIKE EBEN (1968-69, 71-77)

References

1946 births Living people Canadian football wide receivers Canadian people of Czech descent Canadian players of Canadian football Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Naturalized citizens of Canada Ottawa Rough Riders players Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Varsity Blues football players University of Toronto alumni People from Žatec Sportspeople from the Ústí nad Labem Region First overall CFL draft picks {{Canadianfootball-widereceiver-stub