Steve Mattson is pictured in a Michigan Tech uniform in 1995. The Ontonagon native played basketball and football for the Huskies. (Courtesy Photo/Michigan Tech University)

Steve Mattson had the athletic talent to play many sports during his career.

The Ontonagon High product was an all-conference and All-U.P. selection in basketball and football during his prep days.

But he also lettered four years in basketball and one season in football at Michigan Tech.

Former Ontonagon coach and U.P. Hall of Famer Dick Franti remembered Mattson as “a smart player.”

“Steve Mattson was one of those players who could make his teammates better,” Franti said. “He was a difference-maker on the floor.”

The late Gladiator football mentor Bob Carlson saw the same attributes on the gridiron.

“He (Mattson) was a leader,” Carlson said in a 1992 interview. “He was the kind of player who led by example.”

He led Ontonagon to the Class D state semifinals as a senior, the Gladiators barely nipped by state champion McBain.

As a senior, he completed 60 percent of his pass attempts. He also rushed for better than 800 yards.

“He was the difference for us,” Carlson

Despite being just 6-foot, 170 pounds, Mattson had the knack of playing bigger.

“Steve was a physical player,” Franti said. “He played mostly in the backcourt, but he could go inside, too.”

At Michigan Tech, where he had been recruited by Kevin Luke, Mattson served in a role designed to use his defensive skills.

“The thing about Steve was that he could play against taller players,” recalled Luke. “He played a key role in our scheme of things.”

Mattson accounted for 445 points and 249 rebounds in 102 games in Houghton.

Tech football coach Bernie Anderson, who coached him in his freshman season, was impressed by Mattson’s mobility.

“One of the things we like about Steve was his mobility,” Anderson said. “He can get out there and scramble if he has to.”

But Mattson decided to concentrate on basketball after one year.

Mattson graduated from MTU. He now lives in Houghton with his wife and four children.