Phillip Donald Perlo (December 6, 1935 – December 11, 1993) was an American 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 ...

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 ...

who played one season with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL). 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 ...

at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

Early life and college

Phillip Donald Perlo was born on December 6, 1935, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, son of Abraham Perlo and Eva Orleans Perlo. In his senior year at Theodore Roosevelt High School (Washington, D.C.) Perlo, as quarterback and linebacker, led his team to the city championship. Perlo played

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

of the

. He was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in 1955 and 1957.

Professional career

Perlo signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

of 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) on April 14, 1958, after going undrafted in the

1958 NFL draft The 1958 NFL draft had its first four rounds held on December 2, 1957, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 28, 1958. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the 12th and final year in which the first over ...

. However, he was later released. Perlo signed with the

of the

(AFL) in 1960. He played in seven games, starting one, for the Oilers during the team's inaugural 1960 season and posted one sack. On November 13, 1960, against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Perlo suffered a career-ending neck injury after colliding with Howard Clark. On January 1, 1961, the Oilers beat the Chargers in the 1960 AFL Championship Game by a score of 24–16.

Personal life

Perlo married Sue Gwen Ginsberg Perlo. He was inducted into the Greater Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. He died on December 11, 1993 in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He was buried in Washington, DC.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perlo, Phil 1935 births 1993 deaths Players of American football from Washington, D.C. American football linebackers Maryland Terrapins football players Washington Redskins players Houston Oilers players American Football League players