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Angelo Mosca: Meanest man in the game

Broadcast Date: Nov. 22, 1964

What Hamilton Tiger Cat Angelo Mosca calls his "overabundance of exuberance" makes him the man millions of Canadian football fans love to hate. Mosca hits harder than anyone in the league and that, combined with his devilish grin, means he's that rare linebacker who grabs the spotlight usually reserved for quarterbacks. In this 1965 feature profile, Seven Days follows the meanest man in football as he prepares for a playoff match against the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Angelo Mosca: Meanest man in the game

• Angelo Mosca played 15 seasons in the CFL, suiting up for nine Grey Cup games and winning five. The powerhouse defensive tackle played most of his career for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but spent two seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders and one with the Montreal Alouettes. Named a CFL All-Star in 1963 and 1970, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

• Mosca retired from football in 1972 and turned his attention to professional wrestling. Known as King Kong Mosca, he wrestled across North America, including a few appearances with his son Angelo Mosca Jr. He retired from the pro circuit in the mid-1980s.

• To listen to a preview of the 1964 Grey Cup, which features the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defending their title against the B.C. Lions, please visit the CBC Digital Archives Grey Cup Special 1964.

• The spaceship-type sound that occurs occasionally during this clip obscures obscenities. It is an early version of bleeping out dirty words.

Angelo Mosca: Meanest man in the game

Medium: Television

Program: This Hour has Seven Days

Broadcast Date: Nov. 22, 1964

Guest(s): Billy Joe Booth, Don Estes, Ken Lehman, Angelo Mosca, Bob O'Billovich, Ralph Sazio

Host: John Drainie, Laurier LaPierre

Duration: 11:56

Last updated:
April 1, 2008