Who is Dale Mooney, Patriots fan killed in Gillette Stadium fight

Publish date: 2024-05-05

Dale Mooney had “the patience of a saint,” according to his wife.

The 53-year-old Newmarket, New Hampshire, resident died after an altercation in the stands of Gillette Stadium on Sunday, where he and friends were in attendance to see the Patriots take on the Dolphins.

“It takes a lot to get him mad. He has the patience of a saint. I don’t know what happened,” his wife, Lisa Mooney, told WCVB.

According to witnesses, Mooney and his friends were taunted by Dolphins fans in the 300-level of the stadium before a violent confrontation broke out in the fourth quarter.

The incident saw Mooney end up being rushed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, where he was pronounced dead just before midnight, per the district attorney’s office.

Lisa told Boston 25 News she is confident the video will show Dale did not throw a single punch.

A Patriots season-ticket holder for 30 years, Mooney was also the father to two adult sons with Lisa, who described him to Boston 25 News as a “good dad.”

Dale Mooney, 53, who died after an incident at Gillette Stadium during the New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game, had reportedly been punched by another fan. Lisa Mooney via FOX 25
Video of the fight was captured by witness Joseph Kilmartin. Brian Looney via WJAR
Dale Mooney, 53, who died after an incident at Gillette Stadium during the New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game, had reportedly been punched by another fan. Lisa Mooney via FOX 25

His sons got a firsthand look at their father’s character in 2009, when Mooney gained a level of local notoriety for rescuing a girl caught in the rocks at Hampton Beach at high tide.

“The waves were slamming over her and she couldn’t even stay on her feet,” Mooney told the Hampton Union. “She kept falling in between the rocks, trying to keep her head above water.”

The daring rescue saw Mooney, then 39, carry the trapped youngster out of danger on his shoulders.

“Once I made eye contact with her, I couldn’t turn back,” he said. “As the two or three big waves came up, I told her, ‘hold your breath, hold your breath.’ And then boom, the wave would hit us. Then we’d fight to stand up and she tried to stand up. She was slipping and sliding.

“I had a few people come up to me as I came out to tell me, ‘that the one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen,’ and what not. So I felt pretty good about it.”

The incident prompted him to share a life lesson with a son who was with him: “Don’t be a hero like your dad because you could get in dangerous situations.”

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