David Lee Cloutier (November 22, 1938 – November 6, 2017) was an

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

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in 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, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the

Boston Patriots Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

Early years

Cloutier attended Gardiner High School in Maine, where he practiced football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. In football he was a two-way player, running back on offense and safety on defense. As a senior, he scored a then school-record 114 points and received All-state honors. He contributed to a 22–1–1 record in his three seasons and two Class B state championships (1954 and 1955). Coultier was named to the All-State basketball team as a senior. In track, he set the state high school javelin record as a senior. He was second in the state in four events:

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

high hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, broad jump and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

College career

Cloutier accepted a football scholarship from the University of South Carolina. He transferred to the

after his freshman year, where he was a two-way player for the team. In 1959, he tied a school record with 159 rushing yards against Bates College, while also leading the team in rushing and scoring. In 1960, although he was limited by injuries, he finished second on the team in rushing. In 1961 as a senior, he led the team in scoring and finished second on the team in receiving, while contributing to an undefeated season. He finished his career with 174 carries for 1,025 yards and 92 points (seventh in school history). In 1993, he was inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was inducted into the

Maine Sports Hall of Fame The Maine Sports Hall of Fame is sports hall of fame in the U.S. state of Maine. According to the hall, it was founded in 1972 to serve two main purposes: # "Appointing and bestowing recognition awards and scholarships to outstanding Maine high scho ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Cloutier was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the eighteenth round (242nd overall) of the

1962 NFL draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

, but after failing to come to terms with the Cowboys, he chose to sign as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

of the

on January 4,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. He was tried at

offensive end An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage and ...

to take advantage of his speed, before suffering an ankle injury and being later waived.

Portland Sea Hawks

In 1962, after being released from the Buffalo Bills, Cloutier signed with the Portland Sea Hawks of the Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL). He resigned with the team for the 1963 season.

Boston Patriots

On March 3,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, Cloutier signed with the

of the

(AFL). He became the first Maine native to play for the franchise. Cloutier was converted into a

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

. He was cut on September 8, but was later re-signed. He was mostly used as a punt returner 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 ...

. He started in the

American Football Conference Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

game against the Buffalo Bills. He was released on August 31,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Personal life

In 1962, while Cloutier was playing for the Portland Sea Hawks, he was the head football coach for

Kennebunk High School Kennebunk High School is a public high school located in Kennebunk, Maine, United States. It is part of Maine Regional School Unit 21 for the towns Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. The school currently has 692 students enrolled. In 1982� ...

. In his first season he led the team to a 4–2–2 record. In his last season, in 1963, he led the team to a 2–4–1 record. He resigned after he signed with the Patriots. He was an assistant coach for the basketball team and was the head baseball coach for one season. After football, Cloutier returned to Maine to work in real estate, which he continued after he moved to Florida. He died on November 6, 2017.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

Maine Sports Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloutier, Dave 1938 births 2017 deaths People from Gardiner, Maine Sportspeople from Kennebec County, Maine Players of American football from Maine American football cornerbacks South Carolina Gamecocks football players Maine Black Bears football players Boston Patriots players High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Maine High school football coaches in Maine