Peter Sage Tillotson (March 23, 1936 – February 7, 2018) was an American

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 ...

player. He grew up in

Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076. Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette Rive ...

, and played basketball for

Ludington High School Ludington High School (LHS) is a public secondary school in Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076. Ludingto ...

from 1951 to 1954 and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1955 to 1958.

Career

Tillotson was born on March 23, 1936, in Shelby, Michigan, to Ivan and Marguerite Tillotson and attended Ludington High School, playing football, basketball and tennis. In three years of Ludington High School varsity basketball, Tillotson scored 1,176 points—179 points as a sophomore, 433 points as a junior and 564 points as a senior. During the 1953–54 season, he averaged 25.6 points per game. In 1952, Tillotson was named to the All-State team and led Ludington to a 21–2 record and a berth in the state finals. The following season, Tillotson was again named to the All-State team as he led Ludington to an 18–4 record and an appearance in the state semi-finals. As a student at the

, he played center for the

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nation ...

team from 1955 to 1958. He was the captain, most valuable player, and leading scorer on the 1957–58 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. He scored 415 points during the 1957–58 season (an average of 18.8 points per game), the second highest point total in Michigan's history to that point. Tillotson was drafted by the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

in the seventh round (54th overall pick) of the

1958 NBA draft The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

. He was injured during the pre-season training camp for Syracuse and spent the 1958–59 season playing for the Milan Simmenthal in the Italian Amateur League. He led Milan to a second-place finish for the European championship while averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds. He played for Syracuse in 1960 and the Holland Oilers of the

Midwest Professional Basketball League The Midwest Professional Basketball League was a professional American basketball league. The six–team league existed for three seasons, playing from 1961–1962 through 1963–1964 until the league folded after the 1964 season. History ...

in 1961–1962, but his playing career ended after he sustained a knee injury.

Honors

Tillotson was named 1954 Mr. Michigan in Basketball. Tillotson received the 1958

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

Big Ten Michigan Most Valuable Player Award. In 2005, Tillotson was in the inaugural class of seven athletes inducted into the Mason County Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal

After retiring from basketball, Tillotson worked for nearly 40 years for Ford Motor Company, Paine Webber, Goldman Sachs and General Electric. He retired in 2001. Tillotson married Yvette Perkins in 1965 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. They were divorced around 1971. Tillotson died on February 7, 2018, at the age of 81 and was survived by his second wife, Cleta; He is also survived by his first wife Yvette Perkins who is the mother of his sons, Geoffrey and Jonathan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillotson, Pete 1936 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Michigan Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Olimpia Milano players People from Ludington, Michigan Syracuse Nationals draft picks