rbhindepmo t1_j29f0v1 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 4:37 PM

Reply to comment by PlethoPappus in TIL John Matuszak, best known for playing Sloth in The Goonies, was a state champion in the shot put, was the #1 overall draft pick in the NFL, was served a restraining order during a game, had a head coach perform life-saving CPR, won 2 Super Bowls, and acted with Ringo Starr before ODing at 38 by PasghettiSquash

It’s possible he could have taken the Mickey Mantle approach to life of thinking he was gonna die young of something.

Mickey Mantle’s father and various male relatives died young from Hodgkin’s, and Mickey thought that’d happen to him too. Those family members worked in lead/zinc mining which could have a tie to Hodgkin’s and Mickey made it to 63 before dying from liver cancer after a lifetime of drinking a lot.

Pluto_Rising t1_j29m92g wrote on December 30, 2022 at 5:23 PM

Fwiw, Mickey's dad, Mutt, worked in the Picher, Ok. lead mines, which produced something like 40% of all the lead the U.S. used in WWII....the entire town has since been evacuated and is a superfund site. Was on 60 Minutes.