Andre Tippett
Encyclopedia
Andre Bernard Tippett is a former American
football
linebacker
who played for the New England Patriots
of the NFL
. Currently, he is the Patriots' Executive Director of Community Affairs. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2008.
, Alabama
. Tippett attended Barringer High School
in Newark
, New Jersey
. He first attended college and played football at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls in 1978. In 1979 began to attend the University of Iowa, where he was an All-American
.
He is married to Rhonda Tippett (née Kenney) with three daughters, Jenea, Asia Barnes and Madison, and one son, Coby. Asia has been a Patriots Cheerleader since 2008. Andre Tippett is a former Baptist, and a convert to Judaism. He currently lives in Sharon, Massachusetts
, and is a Pop Warner football coach.
defensive end and a three-year letterman at the University of Iowa
. 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. All told, the 1981 Iowa defense is arguably the best over-all defense in school history in terms of yards and points allowed competing with the 1956 and 1957 Hawkeye defenses that featured Alex Karras
.
Andre 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."
.
Tippett is a member of the NFL’s 1980s all-decade team and was selected to five Pro Bowl
s in his career, earning the nod in five straight seasons from 1984–88.
From 1984–85, Tippett recorded the highest two-season sack 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 1985–87. He was voted to the Associated Press
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
All-Pro team in 1984.
He was voted the Newspaper Enterprise Association (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 10–18–87. 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.
Tippett spent his entire 12-year career with the Patriots and was a member of three playoff teams, including the 1985 AFC Champions.
In January, 2008, he was voted by a panel of former NFL players and coaches to Pro Football Weekly's All-Time 3–4 defensive team along with Harry Carson
, Lawrence Taylor
, Randy Gradishar
, Howie Long, Lee Roy Selmon
, 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 now 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
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 for the class of 2008. Tippett was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in April 2009.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who played for the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Currently, he is the Patriots' Executive Director of Community Affairs. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2008.
Personal life
Tippett was born in BirminghamBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Tippett attended Barringer High School
Barringer High School
Barringer High School, formerly Newark High School, is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. Some consider it to be the third oldest public high school in the United States...
in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He first attended college and played football at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls in 1978. In 1979 began to attend the University of Iowa, where he was an All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
.
He is married to Rhonda Tippett (née Kenney) with three daughters, Jenea, Asia Barnes and Madison, and one son, Coby. Asia has been a Patriots Cheerleader since 2008. Andre Tippett is a former Baptist, and a convert to Judaism. He currently lives in Sharon, Massachusetts
Sharon, Massachusetts
Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston....
, and is a Pop Warner football coach.
College football
Tippett was an All-American1981 College Football All-America Team
The 1981 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
defensive end and a three-year letterman at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. 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
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...
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
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
on October 3, 1981, the Hawkeye defense allowed 78 total yards which stands as 6th best in defensive performances in team history. All told, the 1981 Iowa defense is arguably the best over-all defense in school history in terms of yards and points allowed competing with the 1956 and 1957 Hawkeye defenses that featured Alex Karras
Alex Karras
Alexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
.
Andre 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
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
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 football
Tippett was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2nd round of the 1982 NFL Draft1982 NFL Draft
The 1982 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982...
.
Tippett is a member of the NFL’s 1980s all-decade team and was selected to five Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s in his career, earning the nod in five straight seasons from 1984–88.
From 1984–85, Tippett recorded the highest two-season sack 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 1985–87. He was voted to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
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 Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
All-Pro team in 1984.
He was voted the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) co-Defensive Player of the Year (with Raider Howie Long
Howie Long
Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...
) in 1985. Additionally, he was voted the 1985 UPI AFL-AFC Defensive Player of the Year
UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
From 1960 to 1969, the United Press International gave the annual AFL Player of the Year award in the American Football League, whose teams in 1970 became the American Football Conference of the new National Football League ....
.
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 10–18–87. 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.
Tippett spent his entire 12-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's All-Time 3–4 defensive team along with Harry Carson
Harry Carson
Harold Donald Carson is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire professional career for the NFL's New York Giants...
, Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
, Randy Gradishar
Randy Gradishar
Randy Charles Gradishar is a former college and professional American football linebacker who played in the 1970s and 1980s. Randy Gradishar is currently the Director of Corporate Communications for the Phil Long Dealerships in Colorado...
, Howie Long, Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon was a Hall of Fame NFL football defensive lineman.-Early life:Selmon was the youngest of nine children of Lucious and Jessie Selmon, raised on a farm near Eufaula, Oklahoma...
, and Curley Culp
Curley Culp
Curley Culp is a former professional American football player. An offensive and defensive lineman, he played college football at Arizona State University, was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion while at ASU, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs...
.
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 now 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 Dickerson
Eric Demetric Dickerson is a former professional running back in the National Football League who in his career played for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.-College career:...
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 for the class of 2008. Tippett was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in April 2009.