Andre Tippett
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Andre Bernard Tippett Sr. (born December 27, 1959) is an American former 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
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
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) for 11 seasons with the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
. 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 Iowa Hawkeyes, where he was recognized as a consensus
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
in 1981. A second-round pick in the 1982 NFL draft, Tippett was selected to five
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
s and was named first-team
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...
twice in his career. Since 2007, he has been the Patriots' executive director of community affairs. He was enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
in 2008. He is a member of
Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...
fraternity.


Early life

Tippett was born in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
. He attended
Barringer High School Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, in the U.S. sta ...
in Newark,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. He first attended college and played football at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls in 1978.


College career

Tippett was an
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
defensive end and a three-year letterman at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
. He was also a two-time All-Big Ten selection (1980 and 1981). In 1981, he helped lead the Hawkeyes to their first winning season, their first Big Ten title, and first Rose Bowl in two decades. He was part of a defense that allowed only 129 points, the lowest total since 1965 and 9th-best in school history and allowed only 86.9 rushing yards a game, which still stands as the school record. The 1981 Iowa defense allowed 253 total yards a game, the fewest since 1959, making it the 4th-best defense in school history in terms of total yards. Against Northwestern on October 3, 1981, the Hawkeye defense allowed 78 total yards which stands as 6th-best in defensive performances in team history. Tippett was a two-time first-team all-Big Ten, and a team captain in 1981. He holds the Iowa record for tackles for lost yardage in a season (20 tackles for 153 yards in 1980). He played in the Hula Bowl and the Japan Bowl in 1982, after his senior year at Iowa. He was voted a DE on Iowa's all-time football team in 1989 as is a member of the University of Iowa's Varsity Hall of Fame. Upon induction to the Varsity Hall of Fame, Tippett remarked, "For me, this is a 'Wow' . . . It is really, really special to be voted by your peers and the people who saw you play. I'm going in with some of the greatest people to ever play sports at the University of Iowa. This is one of the greatest honors I have ever had. This is a special feeling because during the three years I was there, I developed a great bond with the players and coaches."


Professional career

Tippett was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2nd round of the 1982 NFL draft. Tippett is a member of the NFL's 1980s all-decade team and was selected to five
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
s in his career, earning the nod in five straight seasons from 1984 to 1988. From 1984 to 1985, Tippett recorded the highest two-season
sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...
total by a linebacker in NFL history, totaling 35.0 sacks during the two seasons. His 18.5 sacks in 1984 are the third most by any linebacker in a single season, while his 16.5 sacks in 1985 are tied for the sixth most by any linebacker in NFL history. Tippett holds the Patriots' franchise record with 100.0 career sacks. He also owns the top three single-season sack performances in Patriots history (18.5 in 1984, 16.5 in 1985 and 12.5 in 1987). He ranked seventh on the all-time sacks list, and third among linebackers, at the time of his retirement following the 1993 season. Over his career, Tippett recorded 100 sacks in 151 games, an average of 0.662 sacks per game. The mark currently ranks fourth in NFL history among linebackers. After not recording a sack as a rookie in 1982, Tippett finished either first or second on the team in sacks in each of his final 10 seasons. He led the team in sacks six times and finished second on the team four times. Tippett recorded 30 multiple-sack games in his career and sacked a total of 41 different quarterbacks. Tippett recovered 18 opponents' fumbles during his career, tying him for first on the Patriots' all-time list (Steve Nelson). He also forced 17 fumbles in his career. Tippett was named the AFC's Linebacker of the Year by the NFL Players Association for three straight seasons from 1985 to 1987. He was voted to the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
All-NFL First-team on two occasions (1985 and 1987) and Second-team on two other occasions (1986 and 1988). He was also named to the
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...
All-Pro team in 1984. He was voted the
Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...
(NEA) co-Defensive Player of the Year (with Raider Howie Long) in 1985. Additionally, he was voted the 1985 UPI AFL-AFC Defensive Player of the Year. Tippett twice earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week awards. The first in the Patriots 20–13 win over the New York Jets as he stopped the Jets 3 times within the 10 yard line on 10–20–85. Next, he was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in the Patriots 21–7 win over the Houston Oilers on October 18, 1987. In this victory over Houston at the Astrodome, Andre had 3 sacks, defended on a pass play and blocked a field goal attempt that was returned for a touchdown by Raymond Clayborn. He had 1.5 sacks in his final game on January 2, 1994, against the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. Tippett spent his entire 11-year career with the Patriots and was a member of three playoff teams, including the 1985 AFC Champions.


Honors

Tippett was selected to the Patriots' 35th Anniversary Team in 1994 and was selected to the Patriots Team of the Century in 2000. He was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 1999. Tippett was inducted into the University of Iowa Hall of Fame on September 7, 2007. In January 2008, he was voted by a panel of former NFL players and coaches to ''Pro Football Weekly'' All-Time 3–4 defensive team along with Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, Randy Gradishar, Howie Long,
Lee Roy Selmon Lee Roy Selmon (October 20, 1954 – September 4, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive tackle ...
, and Curley Culp. He was named as one of 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2007 and 2008. As a finalist, he joined other modern-era players and two players selected by the Hall of Fame's Senior Committee in the pool from which the Hall of Fame class was selected. The Hall of Fame's 40-member Selection Committee met in Miami on February 3, 2007, to select the Class of 2007. Tippett was not selected for enshrinement, but he was among the top 10 finalists. The 44-member Selection Committee met in Arizona, the day prior to Super Bowl XLII, to vote on the Class of 2008. Just prior, Hall of Fame running back
Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous ...
said, "I think it is about time Andre Tippett is in the Hall of Fame." He was selected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
for the class of 2008. Tippett was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in April 2009. In May 2012, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. On November 13, 2021, Andre Tippett was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
.


Personal life

He is married to Rhonda Tippett (née Kenney) with three daughters, Janea Tippett, Asia Barnes, and Madison, and one son, Coby. A former Baptist, Tippett
converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...
. He currently lives in
Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by the Prov ...
, and is a Pop Warner football coach. Tippett has also studied
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
for over three decades. He holds a seventh degree blackbelt in Uechi-ryu karate, and is certified under the Okinawa Karate-do Association based in Okinawa, Japan. He currently serves as the executive director of Community Affairs for the New England Patriots. His son Coby played football for the
University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...
as a kick returner and defensive back, He was invited to Rookie Mini Camp with the New England Patriots, and recently played for the Arlington Renegades and Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.


See also

* List of select Jewish football players


References


External links


New England Patriots bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tippett, Andre 1959 births Living people All-American college football players African-American Jews African-American former Christians American Conference Pro Bowl players American football linebackers Barringer High School alumni Converts to Judaism from Baptist denominations Ellsworth Panthers football players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Jewish American players of American football New England Patriots executives New England Patriots players New England Patriots scouts Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey People from Sharon, Massachusetts Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American sportsmen Jews from Alabama Jews from Massachusetts Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama College Football Hall of Fame inductees