Christopher Eddie Mims (September 29, 1970 – October 15, 2008) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. Mims was selected by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the first round of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

with the 23rd overall pick. He also spent one season with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He retired in 2000 after being released by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in training camp that same year.

Early life

Mims father Lorenzo died at 38 in a apparent homicide when Chris was 11. Mims attended

Susan Miller Dorsey High School Susan Miller Dorsey High School, commonly referred to as Dorsey High School, is a Secondary school, secondary State school#United States, public school located in the Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, California. It is ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he set the school single season records for sacks and

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

. However, he failed to meet the academic qualifications to attended an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

university. Therefore, he chose to attend

Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College, shortened to Pierce College or simply Pierce, is a public community college in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College Distri ...

, then Los Angeles Southwest Junior College. After earning better grades, he was recruited by assistant coach A. J. Christoff to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

where he spent two seasons. While at Tennessee, he recorded 90 tackles and 9.5 sacks. In the October 18, 2010, issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', former NFL agent Josh Luchs alleged that he paid Mims 'about $500 a month' during his last year at the University of Tennessee.

Professional career

Mims was selected in the first round (23rd overall) of the

. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

, he appeared in 16 games with four starts. During his rookie season, he recorded 53 tackles, 10 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery as well as recording a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. In

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he appeared in 16 games with seven starts. He recorded 32 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles. For the 1994 season, he started all 16 games. He recorded 35 tackles (28 solo.), 11 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, he started all 15 games he appeared in. He recorded 28 tackles (24 solo.), two sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. For

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, he start all 15 games he appeared in. He recorded 20 tackles (12 solo.), six sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. After spending five seasons with the Chargers, Mims signed as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

on June 10, 1997. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, his lone season with the Redskins, he appeared in 11 games with seven starts. For the season, he recorded 16 tackles (10 solo.), four sacks and one forced fumble. One year, to the day after signing with the Redskins, Mims re-signed with the Chargers to a one-year contract. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, after returning to the Chargers, he appeared in six games. For the season, he recorded three tackles, and two sacks. On February 8, 1999, he re-signed with the Chargers on a two-year contract. For

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, he appeared in nine games. For the season, he recorded five tackles (four solo.). He was released on October 9, and re-signed on October 16. He was released again, for the final time by the Chargers on December 3, 1999. On February 15, 2000, Mims was signed by the

. He was released on August 22, 2000, after missing a practice because he overslept.

Career statistics

Later years and death

Mims was the sixth member of the 1994 San Diego Chargers

AFC championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...

team to die young, the others being David Griggs,

Rodney Culver Rodney Dwayne Culver (December 23, 1969May 11, 1996) was an American professional football player who was a running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Culv ...

, Doug Miller,

Junior Seau Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969 – May 2, 2012) was an American professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, mostly with the San Diego Chargers. Known for his passionate ...

, and Curtis Whitley. During his final years, Mims was unable to take care of himself and he lived on disability payments and avoided bill collectors. On October 15, 2008, Mims was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment by police officers conducting a welfare check. The cause of death was determined to be an enlarged heart. He weighed at the time of his death. A few years prior to his death, he had suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Mims like his father Lorenzo passed away tragically at 38 .

Personal life

Mims had one son, Christopher Eddie Mims Jr.

Legal troubles

During his playing career, Mims had numerous legal troubles. Among them were charges of

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The t ...

, and

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

. He was taken to court more than 20 times for unpaid bills in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

. He is reported to have defaulted on a $243,750 house loan during the Chargers'

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

season. He neglected bills for his

Mercedes-Benz 600 The Mercedes-Benz 600 (factory code "W100") is a single-generation line of full-size ultra-luxury limousines and Pullman limousines, made by Daimler-Benz from 1963 through 1981. Nicknamed ''Der Grosser (Grand/Large Mercedes)'', succeeded t ...

SEL, attorneys' fees, carpet bills,

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

bills and, at times,

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

. In 1995, he was cited by a

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

judge for not making monthly payments of $5,000 to a man whose windshield he smashed in a traffic dispute. Mr. Mims got out of his vehicle in standstill traffic on Interstate 163 near Scripps Ranch, Ca. and attempted to fight a man in another vehicle. Mr. Mims broke the drivers side window in an attempt to harm the driver. The driver was a retired LAPD officer, Captain Robert Michael. Mims once realizing, fled the scene but San Diego Police caught and cited him with the San Diego Chargers ultimately paying the court ordered restitution. In 1998, he was convicted of refusing to take a blood-alcohol test after being pulled over on suspicion of

driving drunk Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge after he hit a man with a belt outside a

Del Taco Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain focused on a variety of tacos, burritos, French fries, and burgers. Del Taco is led by Brand President Tom Rose, and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. On December 6 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mims, Chris 1970 births 2008 deaths American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Los Angeles San Diego Chargers players Tennessee Volunteers football players Washington Redskins players Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) American people convicted of assault Los Angeles Southwest Cougars football players