Mitch Frerotte

Mitch Frerotte
No. 59
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born:(1965-03-30)March 30, 1965
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died:June 11, 2008(2008-06-11) (aged 43)
Kittanning, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:281 lb (127 kg)
Career information
College:Penn St.
Undrafted:1987
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:58
Games started:3
Touchdowns:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Paul Mitchael Frerotte (March 30, 1965 – June 11, 2008) was an American professional football player who played as a guard for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the Buffalo Bills.

Biography

Frerotte is perhaps best known for scoring three touchdowns during the 1992 NFL season,[1] a record for an offensive lineman.[2]

Frerotte played in three Super Bowls: XXV, XXVI, and XXVII. He attended Kittanning High School and Penn State University.[3]

Personal life

Known as "Pit Bull" by his Bills teammates, Frerotte often wore an elaborate mask of eye black during games.[2] He was a well-known Harley-Davidson enthusiast, who once threatened ESPN's Joe Theismann with bodily harm after he mounted Frerotte's motorcycle without permission.[4]

Frerotte is the cousin of NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte. Mitch died from a massive heart attack at his mother's home on June 11, 2008. The coroner's report attributed his death to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition which the American Heart Association calls the most common cause of sudden death in young athletes.[5]

References

  1. ^ Hewitt, Brian (January 31, 1993). "Unlikely Hero Hunt: Frerotte Fits the Bill". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Dave (January 10, 1993). "Sports of The Times; The Pit Bull Who Catches TD Passes". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  3. ^ "Mitch Frerotte". Pro-Football-Reference.Com. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Tasker, Steve; Pitoniak, Scott (2006). Steve Tasker's Tales from the Buffalo Bills. Sports Publishing. pp. 115–116. ISBN 1-59670-092-0.
  5. ^ "Coroner: former Buffalo Bills lineman Frerotte died of thick heart muscle". Associated Press. June 13, 2008. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008.