Former Notre Dame football All-American Mike Kadish passes away at 72
Former Notre Dame All-American defensive tackle Mike Kadish passed away March 19 after a 28-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 72.
Kadish was a Bob Hope and Playboy All-American as a senior in 1971. He was one of four 1971 Irish players to earn that honor, joining wide receiver Thom Gatewood, defensive end Walt Patulski and safety Clarence Ellis. He played his entire Notre Dame career for head coach Ara Parseghian and appeared in two Cotton Bowls, both against Texas.
The Irish lost to the Longhorns 21-17 in the Cotton Bowl in Kadish’s sophomore year (1969) and beat them 24-11 in his junior season (1970). They went 8-2 and did not play in a bowl in 1971, Kadish’s final college season. Kadish, though, played in the Senior Bowl and the now-defunct College All-Star Football Classic after the 1971 campaign.
All told, Notre Dame went 26-5-1 in Kadish’s three seasons on the active roster (freshmen were not allowed to play college football until 1973).
Kadish is best known for his 10-year NFL career, spent mostly with the Buffalo Bills. The Miami Dolphins drafted him in the first round of the 1972 draft with the No. 25 overall pick. He was one of three Notre Dame players taken in the first round that year, following Patulski (No. 1 overall, Buffalo Bills) and Ellis (No. 15, Atlanta Falcons).
Kadish was a rookie on the taxi squad (now called the practice squad) for the 1972 Dolphins team that went undefeated and beat the now-Washington Commanders in Super Bowl VII. The 1972 Dolphins remain the only NFL team to go undefeated and win a Super Bowl.
The Dolphins traded Kadish to the Bills after the 1972 season. He played 172 games for the Bills from 1973-81, starting 70. He amassed 30.5 career sacks, 5 fumble recoveries and 1 touchdown. He was named team MVP in 1977. He and Patulski were teammates in Buffalo for three seasons (1973-75).
Notre Dame and Parseghian recruited Kadish out of Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is a member of the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.
Kadish was living in Longboat Key, Fla. at the time of his death. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in the late 1990s.
Kadish is survived by his wife of 50 years, Dianne, sons Zack, Zane and Zeke, grandsons Michael Judson, James Kenneth and John Michael Kadish, and sister Cindy Kadish.
