John Matuszak
| No. 78, 79, 72 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | October 25, 1950 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Oak Creek, Wisconsin | ||||||||
| Date of death: | June 17, 1989 (aged 38) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Los Angeles, California | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Tampa | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Games played–started: | 123–78 |
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| Fumble recoveries: | 7 |
| Touchdowns: | 1 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
John Daniel "Tooz" Matuszak (October 25, 1950 – June 17, 1989) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League who later became an actor. He was the first draft pick of 1973 and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his second Super Bowl in 1981. Matuszak participated in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition, where he placed ninth. As an actor, he played in both films and television, appearing first as O.W. Shaddock in 1979 in "North Dallas Forty" followed by Tonda in the 1981 film Caveman. His best known role was as the deformed Sloth in the 1985 movie The Goonies. His biography, Cruisin' with the Tooz, written with Steve Delsohn, was published in 1987. He died of an accidental propoxyphene overdose. There were also traces of cocaine found in the blood stream.
Matuszak was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1950 to Audrey and Marvin Matuszak. John had two brothers, but both died of cystic fibrosis at young ages. His one sister also has the disease. The family moved from downtown Milwaukee to Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where Matuszak's classmates ridiculed him as a gawky beanpole. The ridicule pushed John to develop into a muscular young man, and he became the Wisconsin Class A state champion in the shot put with a throw of 58 feet 11 inches. He was always big for his age, which became an advantage as a defensive lineman in football. When he eventually turned pro, he stood 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and weighed over 280 pounds (127 kilograms).
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