Background

Anthony David Gonzalez, better known as Tony Gonzalez was born on February 27, 1976 in Torrance California. He has an American nationality but there is an interesting mix in the bloodline of his family. Judy, his mother, has African-American, Euro-American, Mexican-American and Native-American ancestry. On the other side, his father is a mix of Cape Verdean, Scottish and Jamaican descent.

Tony enrolled to Huntington Beach High School in California during his teenage years. There he stood out as an excellent athlete playing basketball, baseball and football. His remarkable performance in the sports domain earned him in his senior year along with Tiger Woods, the Orange County High School Athlete of the Year recognition. In this same year, he also received the MVP title of the Orange County and Sunset League of Basketball.

He continued playing basketball and football during his college days. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied communications. He had outstanding results for both sports he competed in, but he had to make a decision on going pro in only one of them. There were some other athletes in the past that were able to play both sports like Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson played pro football for the Oakland Raiders while also playing in Major League Baseball. No one has ever played in the NBA while also playing another professional sport. The long schedule of the NBA makes it impossible for an athlete to try the feat.

Even though he loved basketball, in the end he decided to choose the NFL. He entered the NFL Draft after college. There was speculation that his decision was influenced by his mentor, Steve Mariucci, who was about to become an NFL coach.

Professional Career as Pro in Football

The only thing Tony couldn’t achieve during his football career was having the Vince Lombardy Trophy in his hands. He was an excellent player that could have won the championship but the football gods never shined their light on him. If he was on a team that was contending the championship, his skills would have put them over the top.

He retired right after the 2012 season, playing his last NFL game with the Atlanta Falcons against the California Panthers. Most of his football career were played with the Kansas City Chiefs, starting with them in 1997 and ending his run with them in 2008. Right after that season, Atlanta welcomed him to play his last 5 seasons with the Falcons where he wore number 88.