Mosiula Faasuka Tatupu (April 26, 1955 – February 23, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for 14 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC). He played in the NFL as a running back and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

with New England Patriots from 1978 to 1990 and the Los Angeles Rams in 1991. He was elected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in 1986. He became a football coach after his playing career.

High school career

Tatupu was a standout player at Punahou School in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, where he set many

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

state rushing records. He graduated in 1974.

College career

Tatupu attended the

, playing in the 1978 Hula Bowl and finished his career with 223 rushing attempts for 1277 yards (5.73 yards per attempt avg.). The , given annually to the College Football Special Teams Player of the Year by the Maui Quarterback Club and the Hula Bowl, bears his name.

NFL career

Drafted in eighth round with the 215th overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, Tatupu played fullback and became an ace on special teams. He rushed the ball 612 times for 2,415 yards and 18 touchdowns; in the 1983 season he led the league with 5.5 rushing yards per attempt. He caught 96 passes for 843 yards and two touchdowns for his career. His season high for rushing yards came in 1983 with 578 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while in 1984 he set a personal best with 16 catches for 159 yards. In 1987 against the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

, Tatupu threw a 15-yard touchdown to Tony Collins. However, the Patriots were terrible late in his career (they went 1–15 in his final season) and his playing time was sharply reduced in his final three years with the team; in one instance,

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Count ...

mined humor from a blowout New England loss by showing all 13 receptions by Tatupu in the game, because none of the catches produced a touchdown or even a first down. Tatupu was used mostly on special teams kick coverage. He had seven kick returns for 56 yards in his career.

Coaching career and death

Tatupu was the head coach at

King Philip Regional High School King Philip Regional High School (KPRHS) is a regional high school in Wrentham, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the King Philip Regional School District, drawing students from three towns: Wrentham, Norfolk, and Plainville. Mar ...

Wrentham, Massachusetts Wrentham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,178 at the 2020 census. History In 1660, five men from Dedham were sent to explore the lakes near George Indian's wigwam and to report back to the ...

from 1995 to 2001, compiled a record of 29–43 in seven seasons. Former New England Patriots center,

Pete Brock Peter Brock (born November 1936) is an American automotive and trailer designer, author and photojournalist, who is best known for his work on the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and Corvette Sting Ray. Early life and education Peter Elbert Bro ...

, was one of his assistant coaches. Tatupu was the running backs coach at

Curry College Curry College is a private college in Milton, Massachusetts. It was founded as the School of Elocution and Expression by Anna Baright in 1879. In 1885, it was taken over and renamed by Samuel Silas Curry. History Curry College was founded in ...

, an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

school in

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

, from 2002 to 2007, serving under head coach Steve Nelson, a former teammate of Tatupu on the Patriots. Tatupu died in

Plainville, Massachusetts Plainville is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,945 at the time of the 2020 census. Plainville is part of the Boston metropolitan area, Boston and Providence metropolitan a ...

on February 23, 2010. The cause of death was a heart attack. In 2014, using brain tissue preserved from his 2010 autopsy, he was posthumously diagnosed with

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ...

by the CTE Center at Boston University School of Medicine.Kay Lazar
Years of battering took toll on 1980s Patriots star Mosi Tatupu
''Boston Globe'', January 27, 2015, accessed October 6, 2015.

Family

Tatupu's son,

Lofa Tatupu Mosiula Mea'alofa "Lofa" Tatupu (born November 15, 1982) is a former American football linebacker who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was an assistant linebackers coach with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college ...

, played linebacker at USC and for the Seattle Seahawks.Super Bowl Dream Passes From the Father to the Son
from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Accessed January 26, 2006. Lofa was a teammate of

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth ro ...

, the son of Mosi's teammate with the Patriots,

Don Hasselbeck Donald William Hasselbeck (born April 1, 1955) is a former professional football player, a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, and the New York Giants. Early life ...

. His nephew, Joe Tuipala, was also an NFL linebacker from 1999 to 2005.

In pop culture

In the Halloween 1992 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' entitled "

Treehouse of Horror III "Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1992. The third annual ''Treehouse of Horro ...

", Tatupu's name is used during the "King Homer" segment, which parodies the 1933 film ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''. During the segment, the chief of Ape Island is shown to say "Mosi Tatupu, Mosi Tatupu", which in their language means "the blue-haired woman will make a fine sacrifice"—the "blue-haired woman" being

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...

, who is playing

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...

's Ann Darrow to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. One of the most popular players to play for the New England Patriots, Tatupu had his own section of fans at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

, "Mosi's Mooses," who all adorned

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

heads and chanted his name throughout the game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tatupu, Mosi 1955 births 2010 deaths American football running backs Curry Colonels football coaches Los Angeles Rams players New England Patriots players USC Trojans football players High school football coaches in Massachusetts American Conference Pro Bowl players Punahou School alumni People from Pago Pago Players of American football from Honolulu Players of American football from American Samoa American sportspeople of Samoan descent Players of American football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy