Perry Tuttle (born August 2, 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 was a national champion and

Clemson football The Clemson Tigers football program are the American football team at Clemson University. The Tigers compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of the Atlantic Coast Conf ...

standout in the early 1980s. His career continued into the NFL (

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) (

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

). Now, he is known for his inspirational speaking, sports marketing, and

sports ministry Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

Early life

Perry Warren Tuttle was born on August 2, 1959, in

Lexington, North Carolina Lexington is the county seat of Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a population of 19,632. It is located in central North Carolina, south of Winston-Salem, North Caroli ...

, to Russell Samuel and Betty Mae Tuttle. He attended

North Davidson High School North Davidson High School (commonly referred to as "NDHS," or simply "North") is a public high school in Welcome, North Carolina (near Lexington). It was established in 1952 and is located along Old US Highway 52 in northern Davidson County. ...

and was a standout player throughout his high school career. His successes in high school led to his recruitment by

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

College career

The prime of Tuttle's football career was during his three seasons (1978–1981) at Clemson University. As of the 2018 season, Tuttle ranks ninth all-time in school history for touchdown receptions with 17, sixth all-time for receiving yards with 2,534, and tenth all-time for receptions with 150. Tuttle caught the winning touchdown pass in the

1982 Orange Bowl The 1982 Orange Bowl was the 48th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, it matched the top-ranked and undefeated Clemson Tigers ...

, which secured the national championship for the Tigers. His celebration after the touchdown catch in the third quarter, arms outstretched above his head with ball in hand, made the cover of the January 11, 1982, edition 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 ...

with the caption, “Orange Bowl Hero Perry Tuttle of Clemson.” In 1991, Clemson added Tuttle to their Hall of Fame, and in 1996, he was named as a member of Clemson's Centennial team. Later, in 1999, he was ranked by a panel of historians as the fourteenth-best player in Clemson football history.

Professional career

On April 27, 1982, Tuttle was selected in the first round (19th overall) of the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

by the Buffalo Bills. Tuttle spent two seasons with the Bills, producing 24 receptions for 368 yards and three touchdowns. After his two seasons in with the Bills, his career in the NFL took a major decline; while in Atlanta, he only played in five games which led to only minimal stat production, one reception for seven yards. In 1986, Tuttle began his six-season career in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Throughout his time with the Bombers, he caught 321 passes for 5,817 yards and 41 touchdowns. On November 25, 1990, at

BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently t ...

in Vancouver, the Bombers defeated the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

50–11 to win the Grey Cup. In the third quarter of the game, Tuttle caught a 60-yard pass that later led to a five-yard touchdown catch. Two seasons after the Blue Bombers' championship win, Tuttle ended his football career and moved back to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(Charlotte). A few years after his retirement, Tuttle was once again recognized for his outstanding football talent with an induction into the Winnipeg Blue Bomber Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Tuttle's nephew

Shy Tuttle Shyheim Devonte Tuttle (born October 20, 1995) is an American professional football nose tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. Early life Tuttle grew up ...

plays in the NFL for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

as a Defensive Tackle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Perry 1959 births Living people American football wide receivers Clemson Tigers football players Buffalo Bills players Atlanta Falcons players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Sportspeople from Lexington, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina