Walter Henry Tullis (born April 12, 1953) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

who played two seasons 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) and one in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). 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

Delaware State Hornets The Delaware State Hornets are the eighteen sports teams representing Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country running, tennis, and track and field; women's- ...

and was selected in the 12th round of the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

by 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 ...

. He later was a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

and Pittsburgh Maulers.

Early life and education

Tullis was born on April 12, 1953, in

Americus, Georgia Americus is the county seat of Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,230. It is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley ...

. He attended Weaver High School in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and was their third alumni to play in the NFL. He was an all-city and all-state selection at Weaver while playing

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, but was recruited as a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. Tullis accepted a half-scholarship to play track and field for the

, declining a full offer from the

Southern Connecticut Owls The Southern Connecticut Owls (also Southern Connecticut State Owls, Southern Connecticut State University Owls, and SCSU Owls) are the athletic teams that represent Southern Connecticut State University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, in NCA ...

. He tried out for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

and was told if he made the team he could get the other half of his scholarship. He became a starter at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

his first year and went on to play for the Hornets from 1971 to 1975. He was named All-

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

three times and played on defense until being shifted to offense as a

partway through his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year in 1975. Tullis had a five-

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

game with the Hornets and also set the team record with 12 total

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s. He had scored seven touchdowns through the first three games of the 1975 season when his collegiate career came to an end with a broken leg, suffered when running into the goal post while trying to make a catch. In addition to his football talents, Tullis was described as "one of the finest athletes ever to run track at DelState" by '' The Morning News''. His best in the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

was 20.7 seconds while he was timed at 45.9 running

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

Professional playing and coaching career

Tullis was selected in the 12th round (342nd overall) of the

by the

. He signed with them after the draft but was released at the start of August. He then joined the

for the 1977 season but was again unable to make the final roster. In 1978, Tullis signed with the

and was the fastest wide receiver on the team with a

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

timed at 4.3 seconds. He impressed and made the final roster on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, being one of their top players in the unit while appearing in all 16 games. He returned in 1979 and was a backup receiver, totaling 10 receptions for 173 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown catch from

Lynn Dickey Clifford Lynn Dickey (born October 19, 1949) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildc ...

. However, he was unable to make the team in 1980, being released at the final roster cuts. Tullis then opted to enter coaching rather than continue attempting to play football, being hired in 1981 as wide receivers coach in football and head women's track and field coach at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, Delaware State. He coached the women's team to two conference championships in two seasons, and then decided to attempt a return to football by joining the

of the

(USFL) in 1983. He played nine games for the Generals as a reserve, running 17 times for 123 yards (an average of 7.2 yards-per-carry) with a touchdown along with two receptions for 52 yards. Tullis moved to the Pittsburgh Maulers in 1984 after having been selected by them in the USFL

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

but was unable to make the squad. Later that year, he was hired as wide receivers coach and track coach for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. He continued coaching Alabama A&M through at least 1994, had moved to Savannah State by 1997, and around 1999 returned to Weaver High School as a track coach.

Personal life

In 1983, Tullis rescued a family from a fire. He was inducted into the Weaver High School Hall of Fame in 1997 and into the Delaware State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tullis, Walter Sportspeople from Americus, Georgia Green Bay Packers players New Jersey Generals players American football wide receivers Delaware State Hornets football players 1953 births Living people Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Delaware State Hornets men's track and field athletes Alabama A&M Bulldogs track and field athletes