Michael French (lacrosse)
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" G. French was a three time All-American
lacrosse
player at Cornell University
from 1974 to 1976, teaming with fellow lacrosse Hall of Fame members Eamon McEneaney
, Dan Mackesey
, Bill Marino, Tom Marino, Bob Hendrickson, Chris Kane, and Richie Moran
to lead the Cornell Big Red
to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
in 1976. French is also currently the co-owner, along with Russ Cline
and Chris Fritz
, as well as Executive Vice-President of the NLL
's Philadelphia Wings
.
, and 5th in career goals. French's top season was 1976 when he scored 65 goals and handed out 40 assists for 105 total points in 16 games, good for 4th all-time in a single season. French and McEneaney led Cornell to one of the great seasons in college lacrosse history in 1976, with an unbeaten record and a 16-13 overtime victory over Frank Urso
and the University of Maryland
in the NCAA Championship game. This was the first NCAA lacrosse championship to receive national exposure. With the game being decided in overtime and French scoring seven goals, Frank Gifford
doing the play-by-play called the finals the most exciting sporting event he had ever seen. During French's career at Cornell, the Big Red went to three straight NCAA tournaments, shutting out Washington and Lee 14-0 in one tournament game, and won 43 games while losing only 4. He was named the USILA player of the year
in 1976.
in 1987, leading the league in goals during its inaugural season. He was named the team's general manager in 1988, guiding the Wings to a 33-17 regular season mark and a 7-2 record in the postseason, with three championships over seven seasons. French also coached the Wings for one season in 1994, guiding them to a 6 and 2 record as well as the MILL title. He has been with the Wings since their inception in 1987 and joined the team's ownership group prior to the start of the 1998 season.
and St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, and did not play field lacrosse until his freshman season at Cornell. French captained the Canadian National Team
to the 1978 World Lacrosse Championships upset over a heavily favored U.S. National Team. The World championships have been dominated by the American team every year except 1978 and 1998. In the 1978 title game, the Canadian team rebounded from a 28-4 loss to the Americans in an early round game to beat them 17-16 in overtime for the World title.
in 2007. French is currently the only member of both the Canadian and US Lacrosse Halls of Fame.
Additionally, French is currently one of three Partners for PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP Hospitality & Leisure Advisory practice. French was also a member of the Sphinx Head
society while at Cornell.
French is also an investor in Baggataway Tavern, located in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
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USILA All-American Team
The USILA All-American Team is an honor given annually to the best American men's college lacrosse players at their respective positions by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The term All-American is derived from the same practice in American college football, in which the...
lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
player at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1974 to 1976, teaming with fellow lacrosse Hall of Fame members Eamon McEneaney
Eamon McEneaney
Eamon McEneaney was an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University from 1975 to 1977 who was killed during the September 11 attacks.-Cornell Big Red:...
, Dan Mackesey
Daniel R. Mackesey
Daniel R. Mackesey was born July 14, 1954 in Ithaca, New York and attended Cornell University where he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society and graduated cum laude in 1977....
, Bill Marino, Tom Marino, Bob Hendrickson, Chris Kane, and Richie Moran
Richard M. Moran
Richard M. "Richie" Moran is a Hall of Fame lacrosse player and coach.His playing career began as an All-County midfielder at Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York from 1951–1955 and helped his team to four consecutive undefeated seasons before heading to the University of Maryland where...
to lead the Cornell Big Red
Cornell Big Red
The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports teams, and other competitive teams, at Cornell University. The university sponsors 36 varsity sports, as well as numerous intramural and club teams. Cornell participates in NCAA Division I as part of the Ivy League.The men's and women's hockey...
to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
1976 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1976 NCAA Division I tournament championship game was played at Brown University in front of 7,504 fans. The undefeated Cornell Big Red, led by lacrosse Hall of Famers Richard M. Moran, Mike French and Eamon McEneaney, defeated Maryland with hall-of-famer Frank Urso, 16 to 13 in overtime...
in 1976. French is also currently the co-owner, along with Russ Cline
Russ Cline
Russ Cline was a co-founder of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League on March 13, 1986. Russ is President/Owner of the Philadelphia Wings organization. They actually Operated as The Major Indoor Lacrosse League on all their Programs and Advertising.Cline served as Executive Vice President for the...
and Chris Fritz
Chris Fritz
Chris Fritz was a co-founder of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League on May 13, 1987.Fritz was the league's first President. In June 2005, it was announced that Chris would be inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame along with Russ Cline, Paul Gait, Gary Gait and Les Bartley...
, as well as Executive Vice-President of the NLL
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...
's Philadelphia Wings
Philadelphia Wings
The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
.
Cornell Big Red
French is ranked 9th all-time in NCAA Division I scoring with 296 career points, 3rd in career points-per-game behind fellow Canadian Stan CockertonStan Cockerton
Stan Cockerton was an All-American lacrosse player for the NC State Wolfpack men's lacrosse team from 1977 to 1980, leading the Wolfpack to its only NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament appearance in 1979. He is ranked third all-time in NCAA career goals with 193. He led the Wolfpack to 30...
, and 5th in career goals. French's top season was 1976 when he scored 65 goals and handed out 40 assists for 105 total points in 16 games, good for 4th all-time in a single season. French and McEneaney led Cornell to one of the great seasons in college lacrosse history in 1976, with an unbeaten record and a 16-13 overtime victory over Frank Urso
Frank Urso
Frank Urso is a former American lacrosse player and current high school lacrosse coach, best known for his collegiate career at the University of Maryland from 1973 to 1976...
and the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in the NCAA Championship game. This was the first NCAA lacrosse championship to receive national exposure. With the game being decided in overtime and French scoring seven goals, Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
doing the play-by-play called the finals the most exciting sporting event he had ever seen. During French's career at Cornell, the Big Red went to three straight NCAA tournaments, shutting out Washington and Lee 14-0 in one tournament game, and won 43 games while losing only 4. He was named the USILA player of the year
Lt. Raymond Enners Award
The Lt. Raymond Enners Award is an award given annually to the NCAA's most outstanding player in men's college lacrosse. The award is presented by the USILA and is named after Raymond Enners, who attended the United States Military Academy, class of 1967, and served in the U.S. Army during the...
in 1976.
National Lacrosse League
French played for the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League Philadelphia WingsPhiladelphia Wings
The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in 1987, leading the league in goals during its inaugural season. He was named the team's general manager in 1988, guiding the Wings to a 33-17 regular season mark and a 7-2 record in the postseason, with three championships over seven seasons. French also coached the Wings for one season in 1994, guiding them to a 6 and 2 record as well as the MILL title. He has been with the Wings since their inception in 1987 and joined the team's ownership group prior to the start of the 1998 season.
Canadian Lacrosse
Mike began playing box lacrosse in Niagara-on-the-LakeNiagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
and St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, and did not play field lacrosse until his freshman season at Cornell. French captained the Canadian National Team
Canada men's national lacrosse team
Canada men's national lacrosse team is one of the best national lacrosse teams in the world. Although that Team USA is much more successful and won the gold medal almost on almost every championship, Canada gained a historical result on two competitions, last time in 2006, finishing on the first...
to the 1978 World Lacrosse Championships upset over a heavily favored U.S. National Team. The World championships have been dominated by the American team every year except 1978 and 1998. In the 1978 title game, the Canadian team rebounded from a 28-4 loss to the Americans in an early round game to beat them 17-16 in overtime for the World title.
Post Playing Career
French was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1991, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001, and the NLL Hall of FameNational Lacrosse League Hall of Fame
The National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame was established on June 16, 2005. The National Lacrosse League has 7 teams in the United States and 3 in Canada...
in 2007. French is currently the only member of both the Canadian and US Lacrosse Halls of Fame.
Additionally, French is currently one of three Partners for PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
LLP Hospitality & Leisure Advisory practice. French was also a member of the Sphinx Head
Sphinx Head
The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University...
society while at Cornell.
French is also an investor in Baggataway Tavern, located in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
Cornell University
| Season | GP | G | A | Pts | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 14 | 63 | 31 | 94 | 6.71 | |
| 1975 | 17 | 63 | 34 | 97 | 5.71 | |
| 1976 | 16 | 65 | 40 | 105 (a) | 6.56 | |
| Totals | 47 | 191 (b) | 105 | 296 (c) | 6.30 (d) |
- (a) 4th in single season points
- (b) 5th in career goals
- (b) 9th in career points
- (b) 3rd in career points-per-game
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Philadelphia Wings
| ----- | GP | G | A | Pts | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 23 | --- |
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OLA/WLA/MSL Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1970 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 24 | 70 | 40 | 110 | 29 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 7 | ||
| 1971 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 24 | 98 | 67 | 165(a) | 24 | 16 | 47 | 34 | 81 | 20 | ||
| 1972 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 30 | 112 | 87 | 199(b) | 70 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 7 | ||
| 1973 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 24 | 59 | 72 | 131 | ||||||||
| 13 | 29 | 42 | 71 | |||||||||||
| 1974 | Niagara Warriors | OLA Jr B | 10 | 32 | 33 | 65 | ||||||||
| 9 | 16 | 19 | 35 | |||||||||||
| 1975 | Brantford Warriors | MSL | 10 | 26 | 17 | 43 | 24 | |||||||
| 1976 | Owen Sound Crescents | MSL | 14 | 43 | 35 | 78 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 2 | ||
| 1976 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | ||||||||||||
| 7 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1977 | Owen Sound Crescents | MSL | 8 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 37 | 58 | 12 | ||
| 1977 | Brampton Excelsiors | MSL | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 | ||||||||||
| PRO/MAJOR/SENIOR TOTALS | 32 | 456 | 376 | 832 | 39 | 34 | 49 | 79 | 128 | 26 | ||||
- (a) Top Scorer In O.L.A. Junior B Western Division - 1971, 1972
- (b) Second All-Time Career O.L.A. Junior B Regular Season Pointgetter
See also
- NCAA Men's Division I Lacrosse Records
- National Lacrosse Hall of Fame
- Lacrosse in PennsylvaniaLacrosse in PennsylvaniaLacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. Today, there are many respected amateur programs at the club, college and high school level, as well as several respected past and present professional teams at the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse ...