1. John Matuszak participated in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition, placing ninth.
18 Facts About John Matuszak
1. 2.
John Daniel Matuszak was born on October 25,1950, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Audrey and Marvin Matuszak.
3.
John Matuszak had two brothers, but both died of cystic fibrosis at young ages.
4.
The family moved from downtown Milwaukee to Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where John Matuszak's classmates ridiculed him as a gawky beanpole.
5.
John Matuszak was always big for his age, which became an advantage as a defensive lineman in football.
6.
John Matuszak enrolled at Mizzou for his sophomore year of college, where he played one season of football for the Tigers as a tight end.
7.
John Matuszak did not see much playing time at Mizzou because the starting tight end was an excellent blocker.
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Sid Gillman 8.
John Matuszak subsequently transferred to the University of Tampa, where he moved back to his natural position on the defensive line and quickly became the defensive star of the Tampa Spartans football team.
9.
John Matuszak was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
10.
John Matuszak was selected by the Houston Oilers with the first pick of the 1973 NFL draft, but he soon ran into disagreements with head coach Sid Gillman.
11.
John 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.
12.
John Matuszak did not know what was happening at the time and wanted to avoid confrontation.
13.
Later that year, as a free agent, John Matuszak signed with the Oakland Raiders.
14.
John Matuszak helped them win two Super Bowls before retiring after spending the entire 1982 season on injured reserve.
15.
John Matuszak was the only one of the first six selections of the 1973 draft to never earn first-team All-Pro honors.
16.
John Matuszak became a professional actor in the 1980s, making appearances in feature films and on television, often portraying football players or gentle giants.
17.
John Matuszak appeared in the movies Caveman, The Ice Pirates, One Man Force, and One Crazy Summer, but is frequently remembered as deformed captive Sloth in The Goonies, the makeup for which took five hours to apply.
18.
John Matuszak died on June 17,1989, as a result of acute propoxyphene intoxication, an accidental overdose of the prescription drug Darvocet, according to the findings of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.