Patrick Lee Tilley (born February 15, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

(1976–1986). He was selected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

after the 1980 season. Tilley played football and graduated in 1971 from

Fair Park High School Fair Park Middle School is a former high school located at 3222 Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. The school was originally named Fair Park High School when it opened in 1928, and it was the second high school in the city. C.E. Byrd H ...

in Shreveport. Thereafter, he enrolled at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

Ruston Ruston may refer to: Place names ;United States * Ruston, Louisiana * Ruston, Washington ;United Kingdom * East Ruston, Norfolk, England * Ruston, North Yorkshire, England * Ruston Parva, East Riding of Yorkshire, England Companies * Ruston (engi ...

, where he played for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

in receiving from 1978-1982 and started every game but one from 1978-1985. His best season was in 1981 when he caught 66 passes for 1040 yards and three TDs. After his football career ended with the 1986 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, Tilley became the area director for the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

and gave motivational messages throughout northwest Louisiana. In his Christian testimony, Tilley said, "When I put God first in my life, my football career boomed." Tilley also coached the

Bossier City Battle Wings Bossier may refer to: * Bossier City, Louisiana * Bossier Parish, Louisiana Bossier Parish ( ; french: Paroisse de Bossier) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 11 ...

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

References

1953 births Living people Fair Park High School alumni American football wide receivers Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players National Conference Pro Bowl players Leaders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings coaches Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{widereceiver-1950s-stub