- FORMER ALL-PRO RB CHUCK MUNCIE DIES AT 60 - Former San Diego Chargers running back Chuck Muncie has died of a heart attack, ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports. Muncie was 60-years-old.
Muncie was the third overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints, and he was later traded to the San Diego Chargers.
In nine seasons, Muncie finished with 6,702 rushing yards and 74 total touchdowns while appearing in three Pro Bowls.
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Muncie’s career was cut short after he was suspended for the entire 1984 season after testing positive for cocaine. Muncie attempted a comeback in 1985 with the Vikings, but abruptly retired to get his life back on track and battle is cocaine addiction.
In 1989, Muncie was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling cocaine, but he turned his life around after his release, working with children and adult addicts, while also counseling gang members to get out of the life.
The Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation, a nonprofit established in 1997, counseled youths and offered alternatives to gangs. It also paid for a tattoo-removal program for gang members. Muncie also mentored athletes at the University of California, his alma mater.
Muncie eventually did get back on track, and he credited his life change to a renewed focus on community service and selflessness.
“I’m a very selfish person,” Muncie told the Los Angeles Times in 2008, “and I like to feel good. One way I could make myself feel good was by helping other people. I learned, over a period of time, that was something that worked for me.” (Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)
