Mike French

 Mike French

Field Lacrosse Superstar

Inducted into 5 Halls of Fame

Written by Rad Joseph

Growing up in St. Davids, Ontario, Mike French played box lacrosse in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake. However, his greater reputation derived from his success as a field lacrosse player, particularly during his career at Cornell University. Mike French was a three-time All-American player from 1974-1976. He led the Cornell Big Red to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 1976. He went onto be a co-owner of the National Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Wings.

Playing for the Canadian National Field Lacrosse team in 1974, 1978 and 1982, Mike French was the captain of the Canadian National team who won the 1978 World Lacrosse Championship. The United States team was heavily favoured to win as they had clobbered Canada 28-4 in the round robin portion of the tournament. In the title game, Canada defeated the U.S. 17-16 in overtime to win the World title.

Cornell Big Red

At the end of his college career, Mike French ranked in the top 20 all-time in College Lacrosse scoring with 296 career points, 4th in career points-per-game and 7th in career goals. Mike French's top season was 1976 when he scored 65 goals along with 40 assists for 105 total points in 16 games. French was a key player helping to lead Cornell to one of the great seasons in college lacrosse history in 1976, with an unbeaten record and a 16-13 overtime victory over the University of Maryland in the NCAA Championship game.

During his career at Cornell, the team went to three straight NCAA tournaments, winning 43 games while losing only 4. Mike French was named the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association player of the year in 1976.

Mike French holds Division 1 Championship trophy - 1976

Mike French - Cornell University – Scoring Statistics

Season			GP	G	A	Pts	PPG
1976			16	65	40	105	6.56
1975			17	63	34	97	5.71
1974			14	63	31	94	6.71
Totals			47	191[a]	105	296	6.30[b]

^[a] 11th in Division I career goals

^[b] 4th in Division I career points-per-game

Mike French was recipient of the Lt. Raymond Enners Award, given to the outstanding lacrosse player in Division I, and the Jack Turnbull Award, presented to the outstanding attackman in Division I, in 1976. He was a three-time All-American, earning first-team honors in 1975 and 1976 and third-team honors in 1974. He is Cornell’s all-time leading scorer with 296 points and scored more goals (191) than any player in Cornell history. His 105 points and 65 goals in 1976 are also Cornell records. He also set Cornell records for goals and points in consecutive games (47) from 1974-76. Mike French was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 1976 and earned first-team All-Ivy honors in 1974 and 1976 and was a second-team All-Ivy pick in 1975. He was named the athlete of the year by The Ithaca Journal and The Cornell Daily Sun in 1976. He was inducted into the Lacrosse Foundation Hall of Fame in 1992 and was named to the NCAA Silver Anniversary lacrosse team in 1995.

National Lacrosse League

Mike French played for the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (an earlier version of the National Lacrosse League), Philadelphia Wings in 1987. He led 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 Major Indoor Lacrosse League title.

Mike French was inducted into the Niagara-on-the-Lake Wall of Fame, the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1991, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in 2007. A Superstar, indeed!

Mike French

OLA/WLA/MSL Scoring 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 North Stars	MSL		14	43	35	78	4		6	14	18	32	2
1976	Brampton Excelsiors	MSL		--	--	--	--	--		7	9	13	22	10
1977	Owen Sound North Stars	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 in Career O.L.A. Junior B Regular Season Points