Mike Pawlawski

Mike Pawlawski (born July 18, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and XFL. He played college football for the California Golden Bears.

Early life and college Born in Los Angeles, Pawlawski attended the University of California, Berkeley. Pawlawski was the backup quarterback to Troy Taylor his freshman and sophomore seasons. In 1990, he became the starting quarterback and led the Golden Bears to a bowl game victory. As a senior, he led the Golden Bears to a 10–2 record and a 8 national ranking in 1991. For his play, he was named first-team all-conference and Pac-10 conference offensive player of the year.

Professional career Tampa Bay Buccaneers He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the eighth round of the 1992 NFL draft, playing one season for the team while mostly on injured reserve.

Baltimore Stallions On March 13, 1994, Pawlawski signed with the Baltimore Stallions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was later released and did not appear in a regular season game.

Miami Hooters In 1995, Pawlawski signed with the Miami Hooters of the Arena Football League (AFL) for its inaugural season. He began the year as the team’s starting quarterback but was later benched in favor of Matt Vogler. Pawlawski completed 66 of 133 passes for six touchdowns and five interceptions over five games. He was released following the team’s fifth game on June 15, 1995.

San Jose SaberCats Pawlawski finished the 1995 season with the San Jose SaberCats. He was signed to be the backup to Tony Kimbrough and recorded one rushing touchdown during the regular season. In the playoffs against the Orlando Predators, Pawlawski replaced Kimbrough in the second half where he completed 12-of-23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

Shreveport Pirates Following the completion of the SaberCats season, Pawlawski signed with the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He dressed for ten games, completing one of four passes for 12 yards and rushing five times for 24 yards. His only passing statistics came in Week 12 against the Baltimore Stallions, when he entered the game in relief of Billy Joe Tolliver, who had suffered a broken pinky.

Albany Firebirds In 1996, Pawlawski signed with the Albany Firebirds. He was the backup quarterback to Mike Perez during his first season. In 1996, Pawlawski completed a career high 69% of his passes for 4,272 yards and 69 touchdowns. In 1997, Pawlawski led the Firebirds to a playoff appearance and threw 74 touchdowns. In 1999, Pawlawski led the Firebirds to a ArenaBowl XIII victory over the Orlando Predators. During that season he threw a career high 79 touchdowns and was named first team All-Arena team. In his final season with Albany, Pawlawski threw 70 touchdowns and led the Firebirds to their third consecutive playoff appearance. Over five seasons he established several league records.

San Francisco Demons On October 28, 2000, Pawlawski signed with the San Francisco Demons of the XFL. He won the starting quarterback competition against fellow California alumnus Pat Barnes. In the season debut against the Los Angeles Xtreme he completed 31-of-47 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He led the Demons on a game winning field goal drive to defeat the Xtreme 15−13. In week four, Pawlawski sustained an injury against the Las Vegas Outlaws that forced him to miss the Birmingham, and NY/NJ games. Pawlawski returned in week seven against Chicago. In the season finale against Los Angeles, Pawlawski would injury his shoulder, which forced him to miss the playoff game against Orlando. He returned the following week in the league championship, but the Demons fell to the Xtreme. It was later revealed, however, that Pawlawski had played the season with a fractured vertebra in his neck. It ended his football career. On the season, Pawlawski appeared in eight regular season games (eight starts) and completed 186-of-297 passes for 1,659 yards and 12 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Career statistics Legend Bold Career high Led the league

AFL Regular season Year Team Games Passing Rushing 1995 MIA 5 4 0–4 66 133 49.6 674 5.1 6 5 60.2 19 19 1.0 2 SJ 4 0 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 2 2.0 1 1996 ALB 7 0 — 23 35 65.7 296 8.5 5 0 127.8 2 6 3.0 0 1997 ALB 14 14 6–8 351 509 69.0 4,272 8.4 69 14 117.0 36 77 2.1 8 1998 ALB 14 14 10–4 293 447 65.5 3,795 8.5 74 11 121.4 18 31 1.7 5 1999 ALB 13 13 10–3 294 442 66.5 3,864 8.7 79 7 126.9 7 31 4.4 2 2000 ALB 14 14 9–5 324 479 67.6 3,772 7.9 70 8 120.8 10 15 1.5 1 Career 71 59 35–24 1,351 2,045 66.1 16,673 8.2 303 45 119.0 93 181 1.9 19 Sources:

XFL Regular season Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2001 SF 8 8 4–4 186 297 62.6 1,659 5.6 35 12 6 82.6 24 42 1.8 18 0 Career 8 8 4–4 186 297 62.6 1,659 5.6 35 12 6 82.6 24 42 1.8 18 0 Source:

Postseason Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2001 SF 1 1 0–1 8 20 40.0 74 3.7 19 0 2 11.3 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0 Career 1 1 0–1 8 20 40.0 74 3.7 19 0 2 11.3 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0 Source:

College Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002 1990 Copper Bowl − 15/26 for 172 yards with 1 touchdown, 1 interception. Named MVP. 1992 Florida Citrus Bowl − 21/32 for 230 yards with 1 touchdown. Named MVP. Season Team Games Passing Rushing GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD 1988 California 11 0 — 6 13 46.2 124 9.5 0 0 126.3 2 7 3.5 0 1989 California 11 0 — 7 17 41.2 69 4.1 0 2 51.7 3 -1 -0.1 0 1990 California 12 12 7−4−1 179 299 59.9 2,069 6.9 17 13 128.1 54 -68 -1.3 3 1991 California 12 12 10−2 191 316 60.4 2,517 8.0 21 13 141.1 37 -66 -1.8 1 Career 46 24 17−6−1 383 645 59.4 4,779 7.4 38 28 132.4 96 -128 -1.3 4

Personal life Pawlawski has been the host of color Gridiron Outdoors on Outdoor Channel and is a radio color commentator for Cal football on KGO 810 and the Cal radio network. He also announced San Jose SaberCats and Bay Area Panthers games.