View source for Mike Wagner

{{Short description|American football player (born 1949)}}
{{Other people|Mike Wagner|Michael Wagner (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Mike Wagner
| image         =
| position      = [[Safety (American football position)|Safety]]
| number        = 23
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1949|6|22}}
| birth_place   = [[Waukegan, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date    = <!--{{death date and age|20YY|MM|DD|1949|6|22}}-->
| death_place   = 
| draftyear     = 1971
| draftround    = 11
| draftpick     = 268
| undraftedyear = 
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 1
| weight_lbs    = 210
| high_school   = [[Carmel High School (Mundelein, Illinois)|Carmel]] ([[Mundelein, Illinois]])
| college       = [[Western Illinois Leathernecks football|Western Illinois]]
| teams         =
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] ([[1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season|1971]]–[[1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season|1980]])
| highlights    =
* 4× [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl IX|IX]], [[Super Bowl X|X]], [[Super Bowl XIII|XIII]], [[Super Bowl XIV|XIV]])
* First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1973 All-Pro Team|1973]])
* Second-team All-Pro ([[1976 All-Pro Team|1976]])
* 2× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1976 Pro Bowl|1975]], [[1977 Pro Bowl|1976]])
* [[List of National Football League season interception leaders|NFL interceptions co-leader]] (1973)
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team|Pittsburgh Steelers 50th Anniversary Team]]
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers#Hall of Honor|Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor]]
* [[Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame]]
| statlabel1    = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue1    = 36
| statlabel2    = [[Fumble]] recoveries
| statvalue2    = 12
| statlabel3    = Forced [[fumble]]s
| statvalue3    = 5
| pfr           = WagnMi00 
}}

'''Michael Robert Wagner''' (born June 22, 1949) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[Safety (American football position)|safety]] for 10 seasons with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Western Illinois Leathernecks football|Western Illinois Leathernecks]]. He won four [[Super Bowls]] with the Steelers as a member of their famed [[Steel Curtain]] defense.

==Playing career==
Born in [[Waukegan, Illinois]], Wagner graduated in 1967 from [[Carmel High School (Mundelein, Illinois)|Carmel High School]] in [[Mundelein, Illinois|Mundelein]]. He played [[college football]] at [[Western Illinois Leathernecks|Western Illinois University]] in [[Macomb, Illinois|Macomb]], earning [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] [[All-American]] status in 1969. He was added to the Western Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12000&ATCLID=619177 |publisher=Western Illinois Athletic Department |title=Western Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame |access-date=January 8, 2014 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202110/https://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12000&ATCLID=619177 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wagner was selected by the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] in the 11th round of the [[1971 NFL draft]], the 268th overall selection. First looked at as a wide receiver on offense, he was soon switched to defense as a safety.<ref name=lookmwr>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i7ciAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H7UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3505%2C4179863|newspaper=Beaver County (PA) Times |last=Barrickman |first=Bob |title=Looking at Mike Wagner |date=December 16, 2004 |page=D4 }}</ref> Wagner tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions in [[1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season|1973]], appeared in the [[1976 Pro Bowl|1975]] and [[1977 Pro Bowl|1976]] Pro Bowls and recorded 36 career interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries. He won four [[Super Bowls]], recording interceptions in [[Super Bowl IX]] and [[Super Bowl X]]. After ten seasons with the Steelers, he retired in January [[1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season|1981]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1981/01/09&EntityId=Ar01100|title=Steelers' Wagner retires; Is Bradshaw next to go?|publisher=Daily Collegian|date=1981-01-09|access-date=2009-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083309/http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG%2F1981%2F01%2F09&EntityId=Ar01100|archive-date=2016-03-04|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==After retirement==
Wagner is currently a [[defensive back]]s [[Coach (sport)|coach]] at [[Pine-Richland High School]] in [[Gibsonia, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pinerichlandfootball.com/index.cfm?id=5&bio=coach&rid=179&indplr=yes|publisher=Pine-Richland Rams Football|access-date=2009-03-16 |title=潍坊谷现装修公司 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> He was interviewed for the [[NFL Films]] [[Documentary film|documentary]] [[Television program|series]] ''[[America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions]]'' on the [[1975 Pittsburgh Steelers season|1975 Pittsburgh Steelers]].

For a short time, Mike Wagner also served as an assistant coach on the [[Pine-Richland High School]] (Gibsonia, PA) coaching staff, mainly working with the defensive backs and special teams.

Mike Wagner was the guest speaker at the 3rd annual Steel City Mafia Banquet in [[Latrobe, Pennsylvania]], on August 15, 2009.

After pro football, Wagner applied his bachelor's degree in accounting and worked in the financial industry. He earned an [[Master of Business Administration|M.B.A.]] from the [[University of Pittsburgh]]<ref name=lookmwr/> and, as of 2012, is a bank vice president in Pittsburgh.<ref name=pbtmw >{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/print-edition/2012/09/14/former-steeler-mike-wagner-financial.html?page=all|publisher=Pittsburgh Business Times |title=Former Steeler safety Mike Wagner tackling clients' financial needs |last=O'Brien |first=Jim |date=September 13, 2012 |access-date=January 8, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Footballstats |nfl=mike-wagner |cfl= |afl= |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |si= |pfr=WagnMi00  |rotoworld=}}

{{Steelers1971DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl IX}}
{{Super Bowl X}}
{{Super Bowl XIII}}
{{Super Bowl XIV}}
{{Pittsburgh Steelers 50th season All-Time team}}
{{Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor}}
{{NFL season interception leaders}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Mike}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football safeties]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:Western Illinois Leathernecks football players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:People from Mundelein, Illinois]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Waukegan, Illinois]]