+- TMR Zoo Message Board (http://www.tmrzoo.com/boards)
+-- Forum: The Zoo Zones (http://www.tmrzoo.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=31)
+--- Forum: Sports: All Chatter for all leagues (http://www.tmrzoo.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+--- Thread: Former Patriots fan favorite Tatupu dead at 54 (/showthread.php?tid=3424)
Former Patriots fan favorite Tatupu dead at 54 - Gator - 02-24-2010
From ESPN Newswire:
ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- Mosi Tatupu, a fan favorite who played 13 seasons for the New England Patriots, died Tuesday at age 54.
Ashley O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Mass., said Tatupu was pronounced dead at the hospital. She did not give a cause. The Plainville Fire Department responded to Tatupu's home on Tuesday and took him to the hospital, Lt. Richard Ball said.
Mosi Tatupu spent 13 seasons with the Patriots as a special teams standout and a jack-of-all-trades running back.
"He was one of those fun guys in the locker room who also had fun on the field," said former Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan, who was one of Tatupu's teammates in New England. "When he went to practice, he had a smile on his face all the time because he was having fun. He enjoyed playing football. He could have played in any era, for anybody at any time. It's a shame that he's gone at such an early age."
Tatupu played with the Patriots from 1978 to 1990, starring as a special-teams player (making the Pro Bowl in 1986) and as a jack-of-all-trades running back. He was one of the most popular players of his era and even had his own cheering section at Schaefer/Sullivan Stadium called "Mosi's Mooses."
"I think football fans in this area appreciate a lunch pail attitude, someone who shows up for work every day and that's what Mosi did," Grogan said. "I think his personality, the spirit and fun he showed on the field, transferred to fans. That's why they loved him so much."
Read more at:
Former Patriots fan favorite Tatupu dead at 54
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/news/story?id=4940988
As a diehard Pats fan, season ticket holder during the years that Mosi was a player (at least the first four years), I can say that the guy gave everything he had on every play. He was a blast to watch. RIP