Tom Tupa
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joseph Tupa, Jr. (born February 6, 1966) is a former American football
punter and quarterback
in the National Football League
.
contest, and was a semi-finalist three times, winning once. Tupa played mostly quarterback at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School
; he led his team to the state championship while also lettering in basketball
(where he averaged 20.8 points per game) and baseball
(where he was a pitcher
and shortstop
).
After sitting three seasons behind Mike Tomczak
and Jim Karsatos, Tupa took over the starting quarterback job at Ohio State University in 1987, throwing for 2,252 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was selected as an All-American punter in the same season, as well as All-Big 10. Tupa was a four-time football letterman and was also selected to play in the 1988 Hula Bowl all-star game.
While in high school, Tupa played on the same basketball team as former NBA head coach Eric Musselman
and former NBA forward Scott Roth
. He is currently the offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater, where he calls the plays for both his sons.
by the Phoenix Cardinals
. During his rookie year, he was used exclusively as a quarterback, playing in two games and completing 4-of-5 passes for 49 yards. His second season with the team saw an expanded role. He started two games at quarterback, while registering six punts for 46.7 yards per punt. After spending the entire 1990 season
as strictly a holder on kicks, he was the primary quarterback for the Cardinals the following year, playing in 11 games and throwing six touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He then joined the Indianapolis Colts
in 1992
, playing as a backup quarterback to Jack Trudeau
and Jeff George
.
That season also marked the last time Tupa was used regularly as a quarterback; since then he almost exclusively punted, with only emergency occasions or trick plays making use of his throwing skills. Tupa sat out the 1993 NFL season
, having been cut by the Cleveland Browns
right before the season. However, he was re-signed by the Browns the following year and stayed with them for two seasons as their starting punter. He joined the New England Patriots
in 1996
and played for them for three years. In 1999
, Tupa signed with the New York Jets
. It was during this season that Tupa received his first invitation to the Pro Bowl
. He also made his first pass attempt since 1996, and went 6-of-11 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. 2002
saw Tupa sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, where he was their punter on their road to Super Bowl XXXVII
, where they defeated the Oakland Raiders
. Before the start of the 2004 NFL season
, Tupa signed with the Washington Redskins
. In 2004, he was named as a Pro Bowl second alternate. He spent 2005 on the injured reserve list, and did not appear in a game.
Tupa announced his retirement from pro-football in the spring of 2006. In February 2006, he was appointed as the recreation director of Brecksville, Ohio
.
Tupa scored the first two-point conversion
in NFL history, running in a faked extra point attempt for the Browns in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals
in the first week of the 1994 season. He scored a total of three such conversions that season, earning him the nickname "Two Point Tupa."
The final pass of Tupa's career was thrown in overtime of the 2002 season-opener against the New Orleans Saints
during a punt attempt from the Buccaneers' five yard line. Pressure from a Saints defender forced Tupa to abort the punt attempt and throw a desperation pass with his non-throwing arm which was intercepted by a Saints defender and returned for a touchdown
, ending the game.
He is a first cousin of Colorado Democratic State Senator and Majority Caucus Leader Ron Tupa
.
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...
punter and quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
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...
.
Personal life and high school career
Perhaps in a sign of things to come, Tupa participated in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and KickPunt, Pass, and Kick
Punt, pass and kick is a skills competition offered by the National Football League and designed for youths aged 6 to 15.- Overview :PP&K began in 1961 and at one time, event highlights were shown by CBS Sports as part of its NFL coverage...
contest, and was a semi-finalist three times, winning once. Tupa played mostly quarterback at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School
Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School
Brecksville–Broadview Heights High School is a comprehensive high school with approximately 1,650 students in grades 9-12. Students come from the communities of Brecksville, Broadview Heights, and a very small segment of North Royalton...
; he led his team to the state championship while also lettering in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(where he averaged 20.8 points per game) and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(where he was a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
and shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
).
After sitting three seasons behind Mike Tomczak
Mike Tomczak
Michael John "Mike" Tomczak is a former American football player. Tomczak played quarterback for several NFL teams including the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers....
and Jim Karsatos, Tupa took over the starting quarterback job at Ohio State University in 1987, throwing for 2,252 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was selected as an All-American punter in the same season, as well as All-Big 10. Tupa was a four-time football letterman and was also selected to play in the 1988 Hula Bowl all-star game.
While in high school, Tupa played on the same basketball team as former NBA head coach Eric Musselman
Eric Musselman
Eric P. Musselman is an American basketball coach and the former head coach of the NBA's Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors...
and former NBA forward Scott Roth
Scott roth
Scott Edward Roth is a retired American professional basketball player and an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors....
. He is currently the offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater, where he calls the plays for both his sons.
Professional career
Tupa was drafted in the third round (68th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft1988 NFL Draft
The 1988 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 24–25, 1988. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and...
by the Phoenix Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. During his rookie year, he was used exclusively as a quarterback, playing in two games and completing 4-of-5 passes for 49 yards. His second season with the team saw an expanded role. He started two games at quarterback, while registering six punts for 46.7 yards per punt. After spending the entire 1990 season
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
as strictly a holder on kicks, he was the primary quarterback for the Cardinals the following year, playing in 11 games and throwing six touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He then joined the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in 1992
1992 NFL season
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...
, playing as a backup quarterback to Jack Trudeau
Jack Trudeau
Jack Francis Trudeau is a former professional American football player and current morning show co-host on Fox Sports Radio. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2nd round of the 1986 NFL Draft. A 6'3",...
and Jeff George
Jeff George
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" George is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick of the 1990 NFL Draft...
.
That season also marked the last time Tupa was used regularly as a quarterback; since then he almost exclusively punted, with only emergency occasions or trick plays making use of his throwing skills. Tupa sat out the 1993 NFL season
1993 NFL season
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
, having been cut by the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
right before the season. However, he was re-signed by the Browns the following year and stayed with them for two seasons as their starting punter. He joined 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...
in 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
and played for them for three years. In 1999
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...
, Tupa signed with the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. It was during this season that Tupa received his first invitation to the 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...
. He also made his first pass attempt since 1996, and went 6-of-11 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. 2002
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
saw Tupa sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, where he was their punter on their road to Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
, where they defeated the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Before the start of the 2004 NFL season
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, Tupa signed with the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. In 2004, he was named as a Pro Bowl second alternate. He spent 2005 on the injured reserve list, and did not appear in a game.
Tupa announced his retirement from pro-football in the spring of 2006. In February 2006, he was appointed as the recreation director of Brecksville, Ohio
Brecksville, Ohio
-External links:* * *...
.
Tupa scored the first two-point conversion
Two-point conversion
In American and Canadian football, a two-point conversion is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point convert immediately after it scores a touchdown...
in NFL history, running in a faked extra point attempt for the Browns in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
in the first week of the 1994 season. He scored a total of three such conversions that season, earning him the nickname "Two Point Tupa."
The final pass of Tupa's career was thrown in overtime of the 2002 season-opener against the New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
during a punt attempt from the Buccaneers' five yard line. Pressure from a Saints defender forced Tupa to abort the punt attempt and throw a desperation pass with his non-throwing arm which was intercepted by a Saints defender and returned for a touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
, ending the game.
He is a first cousin of Colorado Democratic State Senator and Majority Caucus Leader Ron Tupa
Ron Tupa
Ron Tupa is a staff member of Democrats for Education Reform , a political action committee whose stated purpose is to support Democratic Party policies to reform American public education. His title is Director of State Legislatures...
.