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Tony Cella Dead

Knight Shift

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
85,821
83,362
113
letitrip2 said:
Just heard sad news that Tony Cella, OT for Rutgers from 1979 -1982, has passed away. He was a frequent visitor at our RU blue lot tailgates for many years. An all around great guy and true gentleman. He will be greatly missed.
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Any details on what happened?

Looked him up on LinkedIn, and he commented 3 days ago. His bio says:

" Varsity Football, 4 year starter & letter winner, elected Captain my senior year, Homer Hazel Award winner."

 
MADHAT1

MADHAT1

Heisman
Apr 1, 2003
30,664
15,630
113
R.IP.
my condolences go out to Tony's family and friends and all of the Rutgers community
 
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Letitrip

All-Conference
Sep 4, 2007
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Knight Shift said:
Any details on what happened?

Looked him up on LinkedIn, and he commented 3 days ago. His bio says:

" Varsity Football, 4 year starter & letter winner, elected Captain my senior year, Homer Hazel Award winner."

Click to expand...
One of his good friends and teammates called me on Friday when he passed. He told me it was very sudden and unexpected. Sad

Just read a recap of the famous Tennessee "What's a Rutgers Game". According to the recap Tony played as a freshman. He broke his leg during the game and gave a defiant fist pump to his teammates as he was taken off the field. The rest is history...
 
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Knight Shift

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
85,821
83,362
113
letitrip2 said:
One of his good friends and teammates called me on Friday when he passed. He told me it was very sudden and unexpected. Sad

Just read a recap of the famous Tennessee "What's a Rutgers Game". According to the recap Tony played as a freshman. He broke his leg during the game and gave a defiant fist pump to his teammates as he was taken off the field. The rest is history...
Click to expand...

That sounded like a heck of game. Rest in peace, Mr. Cella.
Shawn Seabrooks leaves his national championship ring at home. He said he never wears it and probably never will.
"I see no reason to," said the fifth-year senior. "I didn't play on the field at all and I see no reason to wear another team's ring."
Seabrooks received the ring as a member of the 1998 Tennessee team that defeated Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. Seabrooks was a freshman back then, arrived to Knoxville via Paterson and sitting out the season as a redshirt.
Seabrooks making up for lost time

As so many New Jersey high school football players choose to do, Paterson Eastside High School graduate Shawn Seabrooks opted not to play collegiate football in his home state and packed his bags for Tennessee.
That was 1998. Now, four years later, Seabrooks is in his third and final year as Rutgers free safety and is trying his best to treat this week's matchup with the Volunteers as just another game in his Scarlet Knight career.
No love lost for Seabrooks

Already facing the likelihood that he will be without his starting quarterback, tailback and right guard for Saturday's game at 11th-ranked Tennessee, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was hit with yet another personnel setback yesterday when strong safety Nate Colon went AWOL from the team.
"I have no idea where he is," Schiano said after practice. "We haven't been able to reach him."
Colon disappears without a trace

When asked what the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium scoreboard might show by the second quarter Saturday night, Rutgers University athletic director Bob Mulcahy cringed.
"Don't think I haven't thought about it that way," Mulcahy said Tuesday. "It's very frustrating. I've thought about it all season."
The Scarlet Knights have a good idea of what No. 11 Tennessee can do to them on the football field. The end result may not be worth the $750,000 appearance fee the school is receiving for making the trip to Knoxville.
Did they Volunteer to do this?

Rutgers starting quarterback Ted Trump is still hobbled by a sprained ankle, so it appears that Ryan Cubit will get the nod this Saturday when the Scarlet Knights play at Tennessee. Cubit started the season opener against Villanova but was replaced by Trump for the next three games against Buffalo, Army and Pittsburgh.
Trump was slated to start against the Volunteers, but his injury is not coming around.
Trump's injury might force Cubit back into starting quarterback role
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The Big Upset - 1979 Rutgers defeated Tennessee


Bill Marren had to rub his eyes. That couldn't be Rutgers defensive end Dino Mangiero in the middle of the field, in the middle of this game against Tennessee doing push-ups, waiting for Marren and the rest of the Volunteers to break the offensive huddle.
"He was so fired up I think he was part of our backfield," Marren said.
A carpe-diem feeling apparently had overcome Rutgers on this November day in 1979.
"We were a bunch of guys who didn't care who was supposed to win, who weren't afraid of a little history, and who were ready to get physical," said former Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Deron Cherry, then a Rutgers safety. "We just lined up to the play the game."
'79 upset of Volunteers still Rutgers' finest hour

Ben Byrd never played a down for or against Rutgers, but his name will always be linked to an upset that remains the biggest in the school's football history.
All Byrd did to earn his place in Rutgers lore was make a prediction the day of the Scarlet Knights' Nov. 3, 1979 game at Tennessee, just as he had done for every game the Vols played during his lengthy tenure as sports editor of the now-defunct Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal.
Looking back to Tennessee in 1979

Some Rutgers football players shed tears of joy in the locker room after the game. Scarlet Knights wide receiver Tim Odell was knocked unconscious making a catch, swallowed his tongue and still managed to hold onto the ball. Freshman teammate Tony Cella, an offensive lineman, was carried from the field with a broken leg and pumped his fists defiantly into the air, exhorting anyone on his side to keep the faith. And when defensive back Mark Pineiro tipped away a last-ditch pass by 17th-ranked Tennessee as the final seconds ticked off the clock, 84,265 fans were never so silent at Neyland Stadium.
Their beloved Volunteers had lost to Rutgers 13-7 on Nov. 3, 1979. It was arguably the greatest victory in the history of Rutgers football, one of only three against an opponent ranked in the Top 20.
Playing Tennessee brings back memories of 1979 upset for Rutgers
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RUKen

All-Conference
Sep 3, 2003
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great guy. Mike Rustemeyer called me Friday with the sad news. Reminisced a bit. Another great, Andy Carino passed away not too long ago
 
Knight Shift

Knight Shift

Heisman
May 19, 2011
85,821
83,362
113
RUKen said:
Heart failure.
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I hate to see this. Heart attacks and cardiovascular disease are still the #1 cause of death in the US. Many times, heart attacks are silent killers. Too many people die in their 60s, 50s and 40s from heart attacks. Some younger.

Many will remember DJ Yoshi, who is still alive, but he is younger than Tony, and me, and he recently had a heart attack, as he detailed here in the video below.

As someone who has been on top of my cholesterol numbers, namely LDL and particularly apoB, it is absolutely mind blowing how little family doctors know about the nuances of heart disease and cholesterol. Many don't even measure or know about apoB.

It's important to read up, and to be your own advocate. Find a family doctor or a cardiologist who measures apoB (link below). If your apoB is elevated, do something to lower it. That can include taking a prescription drug (a statin, a PCSK9 inhibitor, bempedoic acid, and/or ezetimibe), losing weight and/or adjusting your diet.

If you are in your 50s, or if if your apoB is high, get a coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan. Find a doctor/cardiologist who tracks CAC scores and knows how to interpret them. Also, if apoB is high, get a Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) test. Discuss your treatment options with a cardiologist and a plan to track progression of plaque in your arteries (if you have any) and how to address.

Sorry for the public service address, but seeing young people die from heart attacks is sad.



 
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RUKen

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Knight Shift said:
I hate to see this. Heart attacks and cardiovascular disease are still the #1 cause of death in the US. Many times, heart attacks are silent killers. Too many people die in their 60s, 50s and 40s from heart attacks. Some younger.

Many will remember DJ Yoshi, who is still alive, but he is younger than Tony, and me, and he recently had a heart attack, as he detailed here in the video below.

As someone who has been on top of my cholesterol numbers, namely LDL and particularly apoB, it is absolutely mind blowing how little family doctors know about the nuances of heart disease and cholesterol. Many don't even measure or know about apoB.

It's important to read up, and to be your own advocate. Find a family doctor or a cardiologist who measures apoB (link below). If your apoB is elevated, do something to lower it. That can include taking a prescription drug (a statin, a PCSK9 inhibitor, bempedoic acid, and/or ezetimibe), losing weight and/or adjusting your diet.

If you are in your 50s, or if if your apoB is high, get a coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan. Find a doctor/cardiologist who tracks CAC scores and knows how to interpret them. Also, if apoB is high, get a Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) test. Discuss your treatment options with a cardiologist and a plan to track progression of plaque in your arteries (if you have any) and how to address.

Sorry for the public service address, but seeing young people die from heart attacks is sad.



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He apparently went in for a procedure per Rusty and had issues and either left the hospital or remained in the hospital and passed away. He got this information through Tony’s daughter, Rusty’s God daughter.
 
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Knight Shift

Knight Shift

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May 19, 2011
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RUKen said:
He apparently went in for a procedure per Rusty and had issues and either left the hospital or remained in the hospital and passed away. He got this information through Tony’s daughter, Rusty’s God daughter.
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Something similar to this happened to a good friend of mine and a business part immediately prior to covid. He passed away at 56 on the operating table during a bypass operation. It was heart wrenching, as he had two adopted daughters, one who had just started college, and one in high school. One of the sweetest people I ever met in business. It made me double down on doing all of my due diligence on heart disease at the end of 2019 and in early 2019. When covid hit, everything got derailed, but I am back on track.

I am sorry for your loss and to anyone else who knew Tony.
 
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RUPete

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
26,846
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letitrip2 said:
One of his good friends and teammates called me on Friday when he passed. He told me it was very sudden and unexpected. Sad

Just read a recap of the famous Tennessee "What's a Rutgers Game". According to the recap Tony played as a freshman. He broke his leg during the game and gave a defiant fist pump to his teammates as he was taken off the field. The rest is history...
Click to expand...
RIP Tony. Very sad news. I'd give anything to see a broadcast of that game. We only heard these games on the radio back then.
 
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