Growing up in Fort William during the 1920s Mike exhibited the attributes of an outstanding all-round athlete. For three seasons he was a standout with the Westfort Wanderers soccer team and also competed in rowing, track and football. Graduating from Fort William Collegiate in 1926 Mike went on to the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph where he made his way onto almost every college team.

In the sport of wrestling Mike truly shone, claiming the Ontario Open junior and senior heavyweight and the Canadian middleweight wrestling titles in 1930. At the inaugural British Empire Games in Hamilton in 1930 (forerunner to the Commonwealth Games), Mike earned a gold medal in wrestling in the middleweight class, the first of its kind for an athlete from northwestern Ontario. Losing by a close and controversial decision in the finals at the Canadian Olympic Trials he narrowly missed the opportunity to compete at the 1932 Olympic Games.

Upon graduation from Guelph, Mike became a member of the Toronto Argonaut Football Team. Serving with the team at the guard position from 1930-34 he claimed a Grey Cup in 1933 and was named All-Canadian inside Guard in 1934, the same season he retired.

Sadly, Mike passed away in March of 1993, just one month shy of his 85th birthday. His outstanding athletic achievements will be remembered forever as he was among the first group of inductees to earn entry into both the University of Guelph Hall of Fame (1984) and the Canadian Ukrainian Sports Hall of Fame (1992).

Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 25th, 1993