Tony Siragusa, a former NFL player and fan favorite,has passed away at the age of 55.
The Associated Press received confirmation of Siragusa’s passing on Wednesday from the broadcast agency, Jim Ornstein. Siragusa allegedly passed away on Monday while sleeping, although the exact cause of death remains unknown.
‘This is a really sad day,’ Ornstein said. ‘Tony was way more than my client, he was family. My heart goes out to Tony’s loved ones.’
The massive 6-foot-4, 360-pound defensive tackle and New Jersey native was a beloved member of a Baltimore Ravens team that beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV at the end of the 2000 NFL season. Siragusa went on to act in several episodes of HBO‘s Sopranos and became a sideline reporter for Fox’s NFL broadcasts.
‘He was the leader, he was our captain,’ Siragusa’s former Ravens teammate Brad Jackson told NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. ‘He meant everything to everyone. It’s a sad day. I just talked to him on Sunday. It’s terrible.’
For the Ravens, Siragusa’s passing added tragedy to a sorrowful day that also saw the loss of linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, 26, on Tuesday.
Although the cause of his death has not yet been made public, Baltimore police stated on Wednesday that they discovered him at a local residence at 11:26 PM on Tuesday after receiving a report of a “questionable death.”
The potential of an overdose fatality in Ferguson’s case is still being considered by police.
The outgoing former University of Pittsburgh star Siragusa revealed to Howard Stern in 2012 that heart disease runs in his family and that his father passed away at the age of 48 from a heart attack.
‘If I die tomorrow, I told my wife, just put a smile on my face,’ Siragusa told Stern. ‘Put a little [Frank] Sinatra on.’
It is “a sad day to be a Raven,” Jamal Lewis, Siragusa’s former teammate, told TMZ.
Siragusa joined the Indianapolis Colts in 1990 after being undrafted out of college. He rapidly established a reputation for eating up blockers to free up other defenders to go after ball carriers.
Later, in 1997, the man known as “Goose” joined with the Ravens, becoming a part of what would grow to be one of the league’s most feared defensive units.
Siragusa’s wife Kathy and three daughters, Samantha, Ava, and Anthony Jr., survive him.