John Matuszak

Matuszak in 1987
No. 78, 79, 72
Position	Defensive end
Personal information
Born	(1950-10-25)October 25, 1950 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	June 17, 1989(1989-06-17) (aged 38) Burbank, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	272 lb (123 kg)
Career information
High school	Oak Creek (Oak Creek, Wisconsin)
College	Iowa Central (1969), Missouri (1970), Tampa (1971–1972)
NFL draft	1973: 1st round,1st overall pick
Career history
Houston Oilers (1973) Houston Texans (1974) Kansas City Chiefs (1974–1975) Washington Redskins (1976) Oakland /Los Angeles Raiders (1976–1982)
Awards and highlights
2×Super Bowl champion (XI,XV) Second-teamAll-American (1972)
Career NFL statistics
Games played 123 Games started 106 Sacks 48.5 Fumble recoveries 7 Touchdowns 1 Stats atPro Football Reference

John Daniel Matuszak (October 25, 1950 – June 17, 1989), nicknamed "Tooz", was an American professionalfootballdefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL) who later became an actor.

Matuszak was selected by theHouston Oilers with the first overall pick in the1973 NFL draft and played most of his career with theOakland /Los Angeles Raiders until retiring after winning his secondSuper Bowl in1981. Matuszak participated in the 1978World's Strongest Man competition, placing ninth. As an actor, he starred in both films and television, appearing first as O. W. Shaddock inNorth Dallas Forty (1979) followed by Tonda inCaveman (1981) and the deformed Sloth inThe Goonies (1985). Matuszak's autobiography,Cruisin' with the Tooz, written with Steve Delsohn, was published in 1987.

John Daniel Matuszak was born on October 25, 1950, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, to Audrey and Marvin Matuszak. He had two brothers, but both died ofcystic fibrosis at young ages. One of his sisters also had the disease. The family moved from downtown Milwaukee toOak Creek, Wisconsin, where Matuszak's classmates ridiculed him as a gawky beanpole. Their disrespect motivated Matuszak to develop into a muscular young man, and he became the Wisconsin Class A state champion in theshot put with a throw of 58 ft 11 in (17.96 m).^{[citation needed]} Matuszak was always big for his age, which became an advantage as adefensive lineman in football. He attendedOak Creek High School.^[1]

After a freshman year playing football atIowa Central Community College in Iowa, Matuszak was recruited to theUniversity of Missouri byDan Devine. Matuszak enrolled at Mizzou for his sophomore year of college, where he played one season of football for theTigers as atight end. Matuszak did not see much playing time at Mizzou because the starting tight end was an excellent blocker. With Dan Devine leaving Missouri for theGreen Bay Packers that same year, Matuszak no longer had a spot on the team, and his scholarship was revoked by new coachAl Onofrio.

Matuszak subsequently transferred to theUniversity of Tampa, where he moved back to his natural position on the defensive line and quickly became the defensive star of theTampa Spartans football team. Matuszak was selected to the All-American Team in 1972. He was also a member of theSigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.^[2]

In Matuszak's last college football game, Tampa defeatedKent State 21–18 in theTangerine Bowl. Kent State's standouts included future Hall of Fame linebackerJack Lambert andGary Pinkel, who coached Missouri from 2001 to 2015. Another Golden Flashes senior, future seven-time national championship coachNick Saban, suffered a season-ending injury in October. Kent State's coach wasDon James, who went on to win the 1991 national championship atWashington.

By the time he became a professional athlete, Matuszak stood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and weighed over 280 lb (130 kg).^[3]

Matuszak was selected by theHouston Oilers with the first pick of the1973 NFL draft, but he soon ran into disagreements with head coachSid Gillman.^[4] In addition to his contract with the Oilers, Matuszak joined theHouston Texans of theWorld Football League (WFL), playing a total of seven plays before arestraining order was served to him during a game, barring him from being under contract for two teams at the same time. Matuszak said that he had no plans to play in that game but requested to play after seeing 25 or so men looking for him on the sidelines. Matuszak did not know what was happening at the time and wanted to avoid confrontation. The displeased Oilers traded him to theKansas City Chiefs forCurley Culp, another player who had threatened to jump to the WFL, and a first-round draft choice in1975 on October 22, 1974. The trade was a steal for Houston, where Culp became aHall of Fame performer when coachBum Phillips moved Culp tonose tackle in the3-4 defense in 1975.^[5] In 1976, the Chiefs traded Matuszak to theWashington Redskins, but he was released by the Redskins soon after. Later that year, as a free agent, Matuszak signed with theOakland Raiders. He helped them win two Super Bowls (XI andXV) before retiring after spending the entire 1982 season on injured reserve.^[6][7]

Matuszak's football career was often overshadowed by his lifestyle.^[8] In his autobiography, Matuszak stated that he used drugs and abused alcohol while playing professional football. An article written forSports Illustrated's website in January 2005 named Matuszak one of the top five all-time "bad boys" of the NFL.^[9]

Matuszak was the only one of the first six selections of the 1973 draft to never earn first-team All-Pro honors. Offensive guardJohn Hannah, selected fourth by theNew England Patriots, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, his first year of eligibility, following a 13-year career, while quarterbackBert Jones (Baltimore Colts), offensive tackleJerry Sisemore (Philadelphia Eagles), tight endCharle Young (Philadelphia Eagles), and defensive tackleDave Butz (St. Louis Cardinals) were all prominent throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s.

Matuszak became a professional actor in the 1980s, making appearances in feature films and on television, often portraying football players or gentle giants. His first major role was in the 1979 filmNorth Dallas Forty as a football player. Matuszak appeared in the moviesCaveman,The Ice Pirates,One Man Force, andOne Crazy Summer, but is frequently remembered as deformed captive Sloth inThe Goonies, the makeup for which took five hours to apply.^[10] Sloth wears a Raiders shirt in some scenes. Matuszak had numerous guest appearances in TV shows such asPerfect Strangers,M*A*S*H,The Dukes of Hazzard,Hunter,Silver Spoons,The A-Team,1st & Ten,Hollywood Beat andMiami Vice.

Matuszak died on June 17, 1989, as a result of acutepropoxyphene intoxication, an accidental overdose of the prescription drugDarvocet, according to the findings of theLos Angeles County Coroner's Office.^[11] He was 38 years old. The report also said thathypertrophic cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) andbronchopneumonia had been contributing factors in Matuszak's death. There were also traces ofcocaine found in his bloodstream.^[12]

• John Matuszak and Steve Delsohn.Cruisin' with the Tooz. 1987.ISBN 0-531-15055-0.

• John Matuszak atIMDb
• John Matuszak atFind a Grave

• 1950 births
• 1989 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• Accidental deaths in California
• American football defensive ends
• American football defensive tackles
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American people of Polish descent
• American strength athletes
• Drug-related deaths in California
• Houston Oilers players
• Houston Texans (WFL) players
• Iowa Central Tritons football players
• Kansas City Chiefs players
• Los Angeles Raiders players
• Missouri Tigers football players
• First overall NFL draft picks
• Oakland Raiders players
• People from Oak Creek, Wisconsin
• Players of American football from Milwaukee
• Tampa Spartans football players
• Washington Redskins players

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2019
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2024