After that, Matuszak was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, who traded him to the Washington Redskins, who cut him just two weeks later, at the end of the 1976 preseason. To his family, John Matuszak was known as a gentle kid with a heart that matched his size, but his past experiences with bullying contributed to his public persona mean, prone to angry outbursts, and larger-than-life. It was Jakes first football game. Like most children and people who don't ever really grow up, John Matuszak never took responsibility for any of the crazy, dangerous, and irresponsible things he did. John Matuszak was in a relationship with Stephanie Cozart Burton (1980 - 1989).. About. In 1987,Matuszak got in yet another car accident, but instead of exchanging insurance information which would have been perfectly cordial given that Matuszak was huge and anyone who was on the receiving end of a fender-bender with the guy would have almost certainly been really understanding Matuszak decided to punch the driver and leave the scene. Coach Devine left after that season, and the new coach didn't want Tooz around. He attended the University of Tampa and played for their football team. Matuszak never had any children. "I ordered a cake," said Cozart. LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Former Oakland Raider John Matuszak, the hard-hitting, hard-living football player who played in two Super Bowls before becoming an actor, died at age 38 of unknown causes, officials said Sunday. They give those out at the [AA and CA] meetings. Darvocet was eventually banned by the FDAin 2010 for having dangerous side effects. In it he writes: I abstain from cocaine, and any other foreign substance, entirely now. Sign in Thursday, June 2, 2022; WIKISPRO . John Matuszak Education. John Matuszaks income source is mostly from being a successful . Standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall, Matuszak cut a commanding figure on his own, and, in fact, before he was an actor, he was a champion athlete. Drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1st round (1st overall) of the 1973 NFL Draft. He helped them win two Super Bowls (XI and XV), before retiring after spending the entire 1982 season on injured reserve. His marriage to Patricia Ann Stetter ended in divorce. John Matuszak Net Worth, Height, Age, and More You sit out a game and your replacement could steal your job, so you play with the pain which sometimes leads to even more injuries. Matuszak was the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his second Super Bowl in 1981. And just in case there wasn't already enough tragedy in this story, here's an extra helping of it for you football injuries require pain medication, and Matuszak was one human being who should have stayed as far away from pain medication as possible. His one sister also had the disease. We're here to examine it, from his famous role in The Goonies to his time passing the pigskin. [3], Matuszak was the first pick of the 1973 NFL Draft, selected by the Houston Oilers. According to author Kevin Cook, Matuszak fled to a nearby cemetery and hid behind a gravestone. The One Tragedy That Forever Changed The Actor Who Played Sloth In The Barbara Bach & John Matuszak - Caveman (1981). Without any training in acting, youd probably expect him to be a bit of a novelty in one or two bad productions before people realized he had no talent. Everything in his life was large: The wins on the field at any cost, the painkillers needed to offset those costs, the meals needed to sustain his lifestyle. His lifestyle often overshadowed his productivity as a championship-caliber . A former girlfriend who talked to John Matuszak last Friday said the football player-turned-actor had tried hard in recent years to overcome widely publicized drug and alcohol problems . If you were an '80s kid and you didn't know about John "The Tooz" Matuszak who was just as famous for his hard-partying, loud, larger-than-life persona as he was for his football game you definitely knew about his alter-ego, the enormous, gentle, unconventionally-featured Sloth, who was the face of the 1985 classic Goonies. Death should have feared John Matuszak. Matuszak was then picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, only to be dropped after head coach Paul Wiggin found him unconscious and not breathing one day. To report about any issues in our articles, please feel free toContact Us. After the coroner's report was released, his parents admitted that their son used prescription and illegal drugs to try to cope with chronic back pain. On top of everything, the adhesives and prosthetics aggravated his skin. So, no lessons learned. He played for the University of Missouri during college, and was drafted into professional football for two teams at once, the Houston Oilers in the NFL and the Houston Texans . Once he retired, Matuszak tried to start a new chapter of his life, this time as an actor. But even with the success Matuszak found in this new chapter of his life, some aspects of his troubled past remained. That's right: As Cohen describes it, the "shock and horror" on Chunk's face in that moment is real. "I have a little velvet box at home," Cozart told the LA Times. His career was indeed an endless stream of injuries. His full name is John Daniel Matuszak and his nickname is Matuszak. His best known role was as the deformed Sloth in the 1985 movie "The Goonies". [1], After a freshman year playing football at Fort Dodge Junior College in Iowa, Matuszak was recruited to the University of Missouri by Dan Devine. His teammates tried to rouse him, but he was unresponsive. In his book, Matuszak recalls meeting people who served as examples of how he didn't want to live. Explore John Matuszak Wiki Age, Height, Biography as Wikipedia, Wife, Family relation. He regularly took the painkiller Darvocet to keep away severe back pains, which led to his heart failure. In the midst of all of this, it's worth remembering that John Matuszak had a big heart. Matuszak was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Audrey and Marvin Matuszak. Matuszak was the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft and played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders until he retired after winning his second Super Bowl in 1981. American Football (American) Player John Matuszak was born John Daniel Matuszak on 25th October, 1950 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and passed away on 17th Jun 1989 Burbank, California aged 38. Matuszak died at the age of 38 on 17 June 1989. This is when Matuszak believed his "bad guy" reputation began: The Tooz wanted out, but a trade was out of the question, so he knew he had to force the Oilers' hand. Shaddock in 1979 in North Dallas Forty followed by Tonda in the 1981 film Caveman. He regularly took the drugs to keep away severe back pains. An autopsy Sunday failed to determine the exact cause of death of Matuszak, a 6-foot-9, 280-pounder who played with the Raiders from 1976 to 1981. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 25 October. "At the proper time, we will have things to say about substance abuse and the scoundrels in the medical profession who recklessly dispense prescription drugs and the parasites of society who distribute illicit drugs from back alleys to fashionable condominiums," they said in a statement. According to author Kevin Cook, Matuszak fled to a nearby cemetery and hid behind a gravestone. Matuszak's family also struggled with a brutal history of cystic fibrosis. So even then, The Tooz had a reputation for drink and debauchery, though it would only get worse as the years passed. You could argue that portraying an emotionally complex killer biker gang member on Miami Vice and a cop who goes on a vengeful murderous spree in One Man Force somehow resulted in Matuszak backsliding into some of his old, reckless ways, even when he was finally being recognized as a talented, sensitive man, Nevertheless, it seemed as if Matuszak was finally getting his life under control. John Matuszak Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family His castmates on Goonies remembered him as a "sweetheart. John Matuszak - Pro-Football-Reference.com But the man who played Sloth led a troubled life. He sought help for both his drug and alcohol issues, and though he often relapsed, he got back on the horse multiple times. Matuszakdied at the age of 38on 17 June 1989. In the first four years of his professional career, Matuszak played for four different teams. Kent State's standouts included future Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert and Gary Pinkel, who coached Missouri from 2001-15. So it was off to the University of Tampa for Matuszak, an "outlaw school" where undesirables went to be desired. Matuszak also played for various NFL teams; his longest stint of six years having been spent with the Oakland/Los . Matuszak knew he had an obsessive personality, and tried to fight it when he could. His biography, Cruisin' with the Tooz, written with Steve Delsohn, was published in 1987. According to the team physician, a lot of his teammates joined him with the drugs the bagels and Cheez Whiz were just a Tooz thing. But there was more to Matuszak than just a boisterous wild man. In 1974, while he was still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, he upset his wife, so she tried to run him over with their Cadillac convertible. Seriously: The man used to order half a dozen eggs and half a pound of bacon for breakfast, in addition to his steady diet of Cheez Whiz smeared on bagels. Also, during his stint with the Raiders, Matuszak enjoyed a breakfast of bagels and Cheez Whiz, and also drugs. But along with his Herculean proportions came a similarly epic drug and alcohol problem.