Tony Siragusa, the wisecracking wall of flesh referred to as “Goose” who anchored the center of a record-setting Ravens protection in the course of the workforce’s first Super Bowl run, died Wednesday, a workforce spokesman mentioned. He was 55.
The reason behind demise was not instantly recognized.
The New Jersey native was an undrafted free agent who started his 12-year NFL profession with the Indianapolis Colts earlier than he grew to become a fan favourite over 5 seasons with the Ravens from 1997 to 2001. He was a traditional nostril deal with, occupying a number of blockers and clearing area for Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis because the Ravens set a file by permitting simply 165 factors over a 16-game season in 2000.
But the 330-pound behemoth was referred to as a lot for his affable persona as his energy on the sector. He was a star of the primary season of HBO’s documentary sequence “Hard Knocks,” sporting shirts that mentioned “Big Daddy” throughout the chest and cracking jokes about how he would torture rookies. That paved the best way for an performing profession and a 13-year run as a pregame and sideline persona on Fox’s NFL protection.
“He was just a huge personality,” recalled his teammate, linebacker Peter Boulware. “When he came into the room, he owned it. He was life of the room, life of the party. He was just the life of everything.”
“This is a tough one,” Mr. Lewis mentioned in a press release offered by the Ravens. “I love ‘Goose’ like a brother. From the first day we met, I knew that life was different. I knew he was someone who would change my life forever. He was a one-of-a-kind person who made you feel important and special. You can never replace a man like that.”
Ravens proprietor Steve Bisciotti mentioned he was heartbroken, calling Mr. Siragusa “a special person and clearly one of the most popular players in Ravens history.”
Mr. Siragusa cherished to spin tales about his Italian roots, bolstered in his hometown of Kenilworth, New Jersey, the place there was a street, Via Vitale, named after his grandparents and a seemingly infinite provide of sausage, ravioli and cannoli. He had friends with nicknames akin to “Big Nose” and “Hacksaw” as he grew right into a defensive pressure at David Brearley High after which the University of Pittsburgh.
The father of three (Samantha, 25; Anthony Jr., 23; and Ava, 20) started relationship his spouse, Kathy, in highschool, and she or he later informed Baltimore buddies, “I knew the whole package from the start.”
Mr. Siragusa was a free spirit, who, when he wasn’t smashing operating backs, rode a Harley-Davidson, fished for marlin off his 30-foot boat and donned scuba gear for diving journeys within the Bahamas.
He got here to the Ravens in 1997, when the workforce was nonetheless struggling in its second season after transferring from Cleveland.
Kevin Byrne, the workforce’s longtime spokesman, had watched Mr. Siragusa carry out a sack dance throughout a Ravens loss to the Colts the earlier 12 months, so he assumed a prima donna was coming into his world.
Instead, he met “one of the great and most popular characters in Ravens history.”
Mr. Siragusa famously disdained coaching camp. One 12 months, he held out, solely to reach on the workforce’s coaching website in Westminster through helicopter. He had starved himself for days to make coach Brian Billick’s weight requirement and when Mr. Billick mentioned he didn’t truly should weigh in, Mr. Siragusa fumed.
Another summer time, he confirmed up with a paintball gun and used it to torment the workforce’s rookies and the cleansing workers of the Best Western the place the Ravens stayed. After coach Ted Marchibroda informed him to chop it out, he fired a final shot a number of toes from a custodian who was cleansing an higher flooring. “You missed one!” Mr. Siragusa bellowed.
When the person climbed all the way down to rant at him, Mr. Siragusa peeled off a roll of payments and handed them over, lastly inspiring a smile. “At least he paid for his mistakes,” Mr. Byrne mentioned.
Mr. Boulware was the workforce’s first-round choose in 1997. “If you were a rookie, he was going to let you know that you were a rookie. He would you let you have it,” he mentioned. “Once you graduated from that, he welcomed you in.”
Mr. Siragusa was a full-time starter and main voice because the Ravens’ protection progressively reworked into one of the vital fearsome in NFL historical past. He and defensive deal with Sam Adams had been the immovable forces up entrance.
“‘Goose’ was quite a character, but he was one of our leaders on the 2000 Super Bowl team,” former Ravens basic supervisor Ozzie Newsome mentioned. “He was probably one of the best run-stoppers to play for our defense over the years.”
His affect went past the inside fight through which he specialised on the sector.
“Some of us were immature and just didn’t really know how to be professionals, and having guys like ‘Goose’ kind of sit you down, having anchors like that all around the locker room, was huge to the success we had,” Mr. Boulware mentioned. “Siragusa, he was always lightening the atmosphere, making training camp, or just hard times, easier. He would laugh at himself, laugh at us.”
During the 2000 AFC championship recreation, he drove Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon to the bottom shoulder-first, a pivotal play because the Ravens held a high-flying offense to a few factors. Though Mr. Siragusa all the time maintained he had no intention of wounding Mr. Gannon, the hit went down as a main instance of the Ravens’ punishing fashion as they rampaged to the Super Bowl.
“We would not have won the Super Bowl without him,” Mr. Billick mentioned flatly.
Once he reached the most important stage in sports activities, Mr. Siragusa luxuriated within the highlight. A reporter requested what job he would hate to have. “I would hate to be a plumber if my sewer backed up,” he mentioned.
As he moved on to behave within the Spike Lee movie “25th Hour” or in “The Sopranos” and to look on Fox’s NFL broadcasts, teammates grinned on the character all of them remembered. “People saw him and they assumed, ‘That’s theater or he’s just trying to act,’ but that was just him,” Mr. Boulware mentioned. “Camera or no camera, that’s ‘Goose.’ That’s why we loved him so much.”
Mr. Siragusa’s antics obscured his tender facet, Mr. Byrne mentioned. When a hearth worn out a teammate’s residence a number of days earlier than Christmas, Mr. Siragusa confirmed up with a automotive stuffed with presents for the participant’s displaced household. Over the years, he would alert the Ravens when a former teammate was down on his luck and wanted help.
“Let’s just make sure he’s doing OK,” he would say.
When key gamers from the 2000 workforce gathered not too long ago on the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to movie scenes for an upcoming ESPN documentary, Mr. Siragusa informed the perfect jokes but additionally took time to test in with everybody, Mr. Byrne mentioned. He was by no means simply the category clown.
The Ravens didn’t launch particulars on companies and mentioned in a press release “the Siragusa family asks that everyone respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Mr. Siragusa mentioned he all the time tried to retain his humorousness and optimism, even within the face of tragedy. On a 2012 look with radio host Howard Stern, he recalled the evening when he held his father, Peter, who was gasping for air as he suffered a deadly coronary heart assault.
Mr. Stern requested Mr. Siragusa, who was 21 when his father died, if he anxious about struggling an analogous destiny. “If I die tomorrow,” he responded, “I told my wife, just put a smile on my face, put a little Sinatra on.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com