bubba9497 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=3477130&type=story Click link for entire article Chiefs' Gonzalez saves man from choking to death Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A California man says Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs kept him from choking to death. "Tony saved my life. There's no doubt," Ken Hunter, a shipping company manager, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Huntington Beach, Calif. "Tony came up behind me and gave me the Heimlich maneuver. Thank God he was there." Gonzalez, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who has set numerous NFL records, was having dinner with his wife, brother and 5-week-old daughter at Capone's restaurant in Huntington Beach Thursday night. Hunter, 45, was dining with his girlfriend at the next table when suddenly a piece of meat stuck in his throat. "I tried to take a drink of water, but I couldn't swallow," Hunter told The AP. "Then I couldn't breathe. That's a terrible feeling. I couldn't breathe. Then I guess I started to panic." Gonzalez, sitting with his back to Hunter's table, looked around when he heard Hunter's companion yelling. "She was screaming, 'He can't breathe, he can't breathe,'" Gonzalez said by phone from California, where he lives in the offseason. "The whole restaurant was quiet. Nobody was doing anything. "Then I saw he was turning blue. Everybody in the restaurant was just kind of sitting there wide-eyed." The 6-foot-5 Gonzalez, about a foot taller than Hunter, jumped out of his chair and came up behind the stricken man and began to perform the Heimlich maneuver. "After just a few seconds, the piece of meat popped out," Hunter said. "I could breathe again. It's a good thing Tony is so tall because I had stood up -- I think." Diana Martin, a restaurant employee, said no one else seemed to know what to do. "He was so lucky Tony was there," Martin said. "In a situation like that, every second counts. It helped a lot that Tony's a big, strong guy because you have to be able to apply some pretty good pressure. I don't think I would have been strong enough to help him." Hunter went into the restroom to clean up and didn't realize he'd been saved by a famous athlete until he came out. "I'm a big NFL fan and I recognized him right away. I was still kind of dazed when I went over and thanked him and said, 'What can I do for you?' I guess I said it about 1,000 times." Gonzalez, who has been active in charity and community activities during a brilliant career with the Chiefs, said he had no intention of having the incident become public. "The next night I had a dinner for my grandmother's 90th birthday, and people were saying, `Why didn't you tell me about that?' I honestly don't want to make a big deal out of it. But of course it does give me a lot of satisfaction to know that I was able to help somebody." One of the most productive receivers in pro football history, Gonzalez holds the NFL record for tight ends with 820 career receptions and 102 catches in a season. He needs only 79 more yards receiving to become the career leader among tight ends. He has never received any formal instruction in the Heimlich maneuver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrellsMyHero28 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Damn you bubba! Beat me by 10 minutes! But a good story nonetheless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RammsteinSkins Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Twice he saved someone's life.He bumped into someone working on the sideline a few years ago and when they got him x-rayed,it shown he had a brain tumor.If it wasn't for Tony the guy would have died without knowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins:Victory_or_Death Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 That's really cool! Finally a good story from the NFL ranks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Nice story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MumboSauce Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Tony is the man. good story, good thing he was there. I'd like to think many more folks would act or be calm and rational in a crisis instead of standing there shocked by the situation or do nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvkeeper19 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Cool story. T-Gon is one of the NFL's real good guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinklein Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Very very cool. Choking sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PC84 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Great story and good to hear a local guy do something like this. I've actually eaten at Capone's as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkabong82 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" Nothing can save them from that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs":laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanboyOf91 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I love how he doesn't want the attention from it. True class from a good guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Campbell17 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 :applause: Bravo Gonzalez, Bravo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs :dallasuck:dallasuck:dallasuck:dallasuck:dallasuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" Romo sits to pee should hang out with him instead of Witten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsLover Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 If any Dallass, Philly or Giant player ever saved me from choking, I'd be grateful, but there is no way in hell I'd be a fan of theirs. This guy would rather Gonzalez score a TD on his team. Not me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rskins91 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I'm waiting for "Maybe the Cowboys should trade for him to save them from choking in the playoffs" Man, why didn't I think of that. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinPryde Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 That really is an amazing story! Tonys such a great guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#98QBKiller Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Awesome story, I've always liked Tony G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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