Michael David Adamle was born on October 4,1949 and is a former American football player and sports broadcaster.
25 Facts About Mike Adamle
2.
Mike Adamle was a sports anchor at other Chicago television stations, including WLS-TV from 1982 to 1989 before hosting American Gladiators, a first stint at WMAQ-TV from 1998 to 2001, and then at WBBM-TV from 2001 to 2004 before returning to Channel 5 until 2017, when he was diagnosed with CTE-induced dementia which eventually forced his retirement.
3.
For much of 2008, Mike Adamle worked for World Wrestling Entertainment in a variety of roles, including interviewer, play-by-play commentator, and General Manager of Raw.
4.
Mike Adamle played college football at Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference.
5.
Mike Adamle was a team captain, an All-American fullback, and the Big Ten MVP in 1970.
6.
Mike Adamle's 316 rushing yards against Wisconsin in 1969 set the school record which still stands.
7.
Mike Adamle set the record for kick return yards in a year, and graduated in 1971.
8.
Mike Adamle played six years in the National Football League, two seasons each with three teams.
9.
Mike Adamle was a fifth round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1971 NFL Draft and later played for the New York Jets and Chicago Bears.
10.
Mike Adamle's playing career ended when the Bears waived him prior to the 1977 season to make room on the roster for wide receiver John Gilliam.
11.
Mike Adamle spent six years with NBC Sports, hosting SportsWorld and pre-game shows.
12.
Mike Adamle was the host of GrandStand, which was both a pregame show for the National Football League and a sports anthology series during the NFL's off-season.
13.
In 2001, Mike Adamle returned to sideline reporting when he joined KNBC's Fred Roggin on NBC's primary XFL broadcast team.
14.
Mike Adamle was the co-host of American Gladiators from 1989 to 1996.
15.
Mike Adamle co-hosted International Gladiators with the UK and Australian Hosts and commentated in one series alongside UK commentator John Sachs.
16.
Mike Adamle appeared on the fourth-season premiere of Family Matters playing himself in a fictional episode of American Gladiators.
17.
Mike Adamle has covered the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.
18.
On January 27,2008, at the Royal Rumble, Mike Adamle began working as an interviewer for World Wrestling Entertainment.
19.
Mike Adamle then worked on WWE Raw as an interviewer, often making mistakes with each onscreen appearance.
20.
Mike Adamle continued to make frequent mistakes during his commentary duties on ECW, with former ECW owner and booker Paul Heyman and former talent Lance Storm criticizing Mike Adamle for them.
21.
Mike Adamle was the play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League and broadcast Rush games for Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN.
22.
Mike Adamle has completed other Ironman races like Ironman USA 2003.
23.
On February 7,2017, Mike Adamle said he was diagnosed with dementia, and that his doctor saw signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
24.
Mike Adamle believes this and the past 19 years of epileptic seizures resulted from his concussions in football.
25.
Mike Adamle officially retired from WMAQ-TV on March 24,2017, at a send-off party with colleagues.