Michael Lashuk (December 9, 1938 – October 24, 2023) was a Canadian football player and coach. An fullback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, he played 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 ...

for the

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 ...

from 1957 to 1963. He was head coach of the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

Dinosaurs football program for 13 seasons from 1969 to 1976 and 1978 to 1982, leading the team to its first conference championship and their inaugural appearance in the

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), pl ...

Playing

A native of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Lashuk was a star fullback at

Victoria Composite High School Victoria School of the Arts (formerly Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts) is a public school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, operated by Edmonton Public Schools, offering students from kindergarten through grade 12 an International Baccal ...

and played for the

Edmonton Huskies The Edmonton Huskies are a Canadian Junior Football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The Huskies play in the six-team Prairie Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes annually for the nat ...

of the Alberta Junior Football League in 1956. He entered the professional ranks in 1957 as a linebacker and fullback for the Edmonton Eskimos. He won the

Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy The Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy is a Canadian Football League award, given to the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division. Each team nominates a player for this award, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy ...

for Canadian rookie of the year in the west, rushing for 164 yards and intercepting 2 passes. He had 3 interceptions in 1958, 5 in 1959 and 4 in 1960. He rushed for 757 yards in 1961 and led the team with 802 rushing yards in 1962. He was the Eskimos' nominee for the

Schenley Award The George Reed Most Outstanding Player Award is an award given annually to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial ...

in 1962. He only rushed for 70 yards in 1963, but intercepted two passes and punted the ball 41 times with an average of 38.9 yards per punt. In 1964, Lashuk decided to accept a teach job in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

and did report to the Eskimos. He attempted a comeback with Edmonton in 1965, but he retired during training camp.

Coaching

Lashuk earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

in 1960 and his master's degree from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

in 1967. After retiring, he coached at

Ross Sheppard High School Ross Sheppard High School or École Ross Sheppard (SHEP or Ross Shep) is a secondary school, high school located in a northwest neighbourhood of Coronation Park, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The school colours are Colombia blue and navy blue, a ...

and Crescent Heights and Henry Wise Wood High Schools in

, winning city championships in 1962 (Ross Sheppard) and 1964 (Crescent Heights). He also spent a season as the head coach of the

Edmonton Wildcats The Edmonton Wildcats (formerly the Edmonton Maple Leafs) are a Canadian football team based in Sherwood Park, Alberta. The Wildcats play in the Prairie Football Conference, which is part of the Canadian Junior Football League and competes for th ...

and led them to the western junior final. In 1968, he became a lecturer and assistant football coach at the University of Calgary, where he worked under his former Huskies Dennis Kadatz. Kadatz retired after the 1969 season to focus on his dutites as athletic director and Lashuk succeeded him as head coach. Lashuk was head coach of the Dinos from 1969 to 1976 and 1978 to 1982, with a record of 57–49. He led the team to its first conference championship and their inaugural appearance in the Vanier Cup in 1975. Lashuk died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on October 24, 2023, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lashuk, Mike 1938 births 2023 deaths Calgary Dinos football coaches Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Canadian football people from Edmonton Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from Alberta