Joe Onosai
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| Born | December 10, 1965 Pro football | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Joseph F. Onosai (born December 10, 1965) is a former
strongman competitor and American football player. Onosai was drafted by the National Football League (NFL)'s Dallas Cowboys. He reached the finals of the World's Strongest Man
competition twice (1994 and 1995).
Early years
Onosai attended
fullback
. As a junior, he averaged 13.8 yards per carry. In 1982 as a senior, he helped the Pac-Five football team win its first Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Prep Bowl championship (predecessor to the state tournament) and was named The Advertiser's ILH Offensive Player of the Year.
He received a scholarship to play for the
Long Beach State University
where he played all three position. Sometimes he was used as a fullback in short-yardage situations.
As a senior, he was moved to
All-American honors.[2] He was a second-team All-Western Athletic Conference
performer in 1985 and 1986.
Professional career
Onosai was selected by the
1987 NFL Draft to play center.[3][4] During a practice in training camp, he suffered a serious neck injury and was subsequently diagnosed with a narrow spinal column condition (cervical spinal stenosis), which forced him to announce his early retirement on August 1, 1987.[5]
It would eventually take four days for the strength in his legs to return and two years to get his upper-body strength back to normal.
World's Strongest Man competition
He participated in the World's Strongest Man competition for many years. At 6-feet-4 and 400 pounds, he developed a 65-inch chest, 22-inch biceps and the power lift was his specialty. He made it to the finals twice, in 1994 and 1995.[6]
Personal life
Onosai has been a pastor at Destiny Christian Church since 2011.
References
- ^ "Hawaii". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ "Honorable mention offense". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ "1987 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ "Word of Life's Onosai makes her own mark". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ "Bears' McMahon hopes to give arm a test". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
- ^ "Joe Onosai". Strongestman.billhenderson.org. December 10, 1965. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
External links
- Joe Onosai on Twitter
- Destined to make a difference