Canisius Mourns the Passing of Hall of Famer Mike Macaluso

The Canisius athletic department and the College's men's basketball program are saddened to learn of the recent passing of former Golden Griffin men's basketball player, Mike Macaluso '73.

One of 39 players in Canisius history to score 1,000-career points, Macaluso was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. The announcement of his passing was made public in a release posted on Nov. 16 by Aytu BioPharma, Inc., a Denver-based pharmaceutical company that he was co-founder and founding board member of.

Macaluso played for Canisius from 1970-73, where he scored 1,063 career points in 67 career games. His 15.9 points per game scoring average ranks 11th in program history, and he is one of just six former Griffs to lead the team in scoring in three consecutive seasons. The Buffalo native grabbed 585 career rebounds as well, and his 8.7 rebounds per game average ranks ninth best in school history.

"Mike Macaluso worked extremely hard to become the outstanding player he was at Canisius College," Canisius Sports Hall of Famer and former City of Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello '69, HON '96 said. "He was an automatic double-double in every game he played. His teammates loved him for his passion, his work ethic and his leadership skills.

"The Canisius community lost a great basketball player and an even greater person."

After he completed his career on Main Street, Macaluso was selected in the sixth round (88th overall) by the Buffalo Braves in the 1973 NBA Draft. He went on to play 30 career games for the Braves during the 1973-74 season. He was also drafted in the 10th round of the 1973 ABA Draft by the Kentucky Colonels, making him one of five players in school history to be drafted by both an NBA and an ABA franchise.

Print Friendly Version