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Mike Lashuk coached the University of Calgary Dinosaurs to respectability in the 1970s and 1980s, laying the groundwork for their first Vanier Cup championship in 1983. Source: https://godinos.com/news/2023/10/25/athletics-news-dinos-mourn-mike-lashuk.aspx (May be subject to copyright) |
It was a “Catch-22” – literally.
Soon after that, I discovered a show on CBC Channel 9 on the peasant vision dial, back when they did a lot of interesting local television.
The show was called “Catch-22”, it was hosted by local sportscaster Gary Arthur on Thursday nights, and it was about the Calgary Stampeders.
More than that though, Gary Arthur also gave a lot of coverage to the University of Calgary Dinosaurs football team.
That’s where I met Mike Lashuk, the head coach of the Dinos.
Yesterday, I was on social media when I saw Mike Lashuk had died.
He was 84.
The years before
Mike Lashuk was born in Edmonton, played his high school football at Victoria Composite High School, and played his college football for the University of Albeta Golden Bears. He joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1957, and was named rookie of the year in the West Division. He would rush for 757 yards in 1961 and lead the team in rushing in 1962 with 802 yards.
Mike Lashuk was born in Edmonton, played his high school football at Victoria Composite High School, and played his college football for the University of Albeta Golden Bears. He joined the Edmonton Eskimos in 1957, and was named rookie of the year in the West Division. He would rush for 757 yards in 1961 and lead the team in rushing in 1962 with 802 yards.
He retired in 1963.
Coaching success
Lashuk had two stints coaching with the University of Calgary Dinosaurs. He began coaching them in 1969 and stayed until 1976. His record was 2-4 in 1969, and improved to 5-3 in 1970, 1971, and1972. His record fell to 3-5 in 1973, and rebounded to 5-3 in 1974.
Lashuk had two stints coaching with the University of Calgary Dinosaurs. He began coaching them in 1969 and stayed until 1976. His record was 2-4 in 1969, and improved to 5-3 in 1970, 1971, and1972. His record fell to 3-5 in 1973, and rebounded to 5-3 in 1974.
He led the Dinos to their first conference championship, after going 7-3 in the regular season, and first appearance in the Vanier Cup in 1975, where they lost to Ottawa by a score of 14-9 in Toronto.
Lashuk’s record fell to 3-5 in 1976. He took a sabbatical leave in 1977, returning to the Dinosaurs in 1978 and stayed until the end of the 1982 season. That’s when I saw him on “Catch 22”.
His record in 1978 was 6-3, dropped to 4-4 in 1979, improved to 6-3 in 1980, then dropped to 3-5 in both 1981 and 1982.
It was during that period that he recruited players such as runningback Tim Petros and quarterback Greg Vavra. The year after he left, the Dinosaurs went on to win the Vanier Cup under new head coach Peter Connellan in 1983, with Petros and Vavra being two of the key performers in their championship run.
His overall coaching record was 57 wins and 49 losses.
Parting thoughts
It is unfortunate there really is not a lot of information available online on Mike Lashuk’s career as head coach of he University of Calgary Dinosaurs.
It is unfortunate there really is not a lot of information available online on Mike Lashuk’s career as head coach of he University of Calgary Dinosaurs.
It is interesting that I cannot find one reference to “Catch 22” either, yet I have vivid memories of that show.
Some of those memories were about Mike Lashuk and the University of Calgary Dinosaurs. Initially, I was intrigued that their uniforms were the same as the Stampeders, or very similar.
From there, I learned more about the Dinosaurs as a team, and tried to keep up with them as much as I could.
I was thrilled when the Dinosaurs won their first Vanier Cup in 1983, and even then I had the thought that Mike Lashuk had his fingerprints all over that team.
He had laid the foundation for that championship team.
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