Former Super Bowl champion Max Runager was found dead in his car at age 61 on Friday. The autopsy revealed no foul play and the cause of death was from a previous injury he suffered in May. Details from when he was found come from The Times & Democrat:
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The 61-year-old was found in his vehicle at the parking area near the Lady Fountain at Edisto Memorial Gardens at about 3:30 p.m., his father Geb Runager said Saturday.
"He had a very slight pulse rate," Runager said. Efforts to revive him were not successful.
Max was found by Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers with the motor running and his vehicle in reverse as if he were preparing to drive away, Geb Runager said.
Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle told The Times and Democrat that a previous injury resulted in blood clots that ultimately led to Runager's passing. The injury was a fractured fibula that occurred at the Runager family home in May when Max tried to get up from a chair using a walker, according to his father. He also fell from his parents' roof in December and suffered a cracked vertebrae, which he apparently refused to have treated.
Runager was a standout at South Carolina and was possibly the school's greatest punter when he played there in the late 1970s and was a good enough punter to make it to the NFL via draft in 1979. He played 11 seasons in the league, starting with the Eagles and helping them get to the Super Bowl in 1980. He joined the San Francisco 49ers for the 1984 season and won the Super Bowl that season and was also back in a 49ers uniform for a game in 1988 when they won again.
Runager finished his career with 661 career punts and a 40.2 yards-per-punt average. His brain has also been donated to the Boston University lab that studies chronic traumatic encephalopathy in former NFL players, according to Philly.com.
[h/t ESPN]
