Former NFL running back Chuck Muncie has died of a heart attack at the age of 60.

"Sadly, we have learned of the untimely passing of Chuck Muncie," Saints owner Tom Benson said in a statement on the team's website. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and other loved ones at this difficult time."

Muncie, who also played for the San Diego Chargers, was a three-time Pro Bowler who rushed for 6,702 yards and 71 rushing touchdowns in 110 career games.

"Everyone at the Chargers is deeply saddened by the passing of Chuck Muncie, one of the greatest running backs in Chargers history," the team said in a statement. "We will remember him as a tremendous athlete with a larger-than-life personality. It's a sad day for all of us and all Chargers fans."

Muncie was suspended after Week 1 in 1984 after testing positive for cocaine. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1985 after being reinstated from his suspension but never played another NFL game.

In 1989, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling cocaine. He turned things around later in his life, however, and worked with at-risk children and counseled people battling drug addiction.

He created the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation, the mission of which was to offer children mentoring, educational assistance and counseling.

"His work with at-risk youth, the Boys and Girls Clubs and his foundation were the things that really made him shine," Muncie's daughter, Danielle Ward, said in a written statement provided by Muncie family spokesman Vintage Foster of AMF Media Group in San Ramon, Calif.

"He was star on the football field but his most impressive work was done in the second chapter of his life where he lived his life with great transparency," added Muncie's former wife, Robyn Hood.

"He simply wanted others to learn from his mistakes. He carried that message with him everywhere he went. And as a result, he changed the lives of hundreds of kids. He made a difference."