Michael Thomas Ozdowski (born September 24, 1955) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who played four seasons with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Colts in the second round of the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 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 May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Early life

Ozdowski played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Parma Senior High School in

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb south of Cleveland. The population was 81,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Parma is the List of municipalities in Ohio, seventh-most populous city in Ohio, ...

, earning three varsity

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and All-State honors as a

middle guard The Middle Guard () was a formation of the French Imperial Army's Imperial Guard. It was an intermediate force between the elite Old Guard and the less experienced Young Guard. It played a role in Napoleon's military campaigns, offering a balan ...

. He was a two-time Plain Dealer Player of the Week honoree and was selected to play in the north–south game. He graduated in 1973. Ozdowski was inducted into the Parma Senior High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

College career

Ozdowski was a four-year varsity letterman for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. He earned All- ACC, All-Academic, and Player of the Year honors during his college career. He was named the 1977 University of Virginia Athlete of the Year.

Professional career

Ozdowski was selected by the

with the 53rd pick in the

. He played in 54 games, starting 29, for the Colts from 1978 to 1981. He spent the 1982 season on injured reserve with a neck injury. Ozdowski became the Colts' new player representative during the

1982 NFL lockout The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president J ...

after

Herb Orvis Herbert Vaughn Orvis (October 17, 1946 – August 14, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Colts in a ten-year career that lasted from 1972 to 1981 in the Nati ...

, the prior representative, was cut by the team. Mike was released by the Colts on March 8, 1983.

Personal life

Ozdowski worked as a math teacher at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozdowski, Mike Living people 1955 births Players of American football from Cleveland American football defensive ends Virginia Cavaliers football players Baltimore Colts players Schoolteachers from California