Thomas Joseph Tupa Jr. (born February 6, 1966) is a former
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 wi ...
punter and
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
.
Personal life and high school career
As a child, Tupa participated in the NFL's
Punt, Pass, and Kick 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
Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to de ...
in
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 ...
(where he averaged 20.8 points per game) and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...
(where he was a
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 dr ...
and
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
). While in high school, Tupa played on the same basketball team as former NBA head coach
Eric Musselman and former NBA forward
Scott Roth.
After sitting three seasons behind
Mike Tomczak
Michael John Tomczak (born October 23, 1962) is a former American football player. Tomczak played quarterback for several NFL teams from 1985 through 1999, including the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsbu ...
and Jim Karsatos, Tupa took over the starting quarterback job at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publi ...
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.
Tupa is currently the offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater,
Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, where he called the plays for both his sons. He is also Brecksville's Recreation Director.
His son Tom Tupa III (high school class of 2013) was a quarterback for
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest o ...
. His son Tim Tupa (high school class of 2014) played wide receiver for the
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...
.
His son Tyler Tupa (high school class of 2016) formerly played wide receiver for
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequ ...
.
He is a first cousin of former Colorado Democratic State Senator and Majority Caucus Leader
Ron Tupa.
Professional career
Tupa was drafted in the third round (68th overall) of the
1988 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, at the Marriot Ma ...
by the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
. His second season with the team saw an expanded role after. 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
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 200 ...
in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, 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; after that he almost exclusively punted, with only emergency occasions or trick plays making use of his throwing skills. Tupa did not play in the
1993 NFL season, having been cut by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ...
right before the season and later re-signed as a backup in November following an injury to starting quarterback
Vinny Testaverde and the release of backup
Bernie Kosar. He was retained by the Browns the following year and stayed with them for two seasons as their starting punter. With the Browns, Tupa scored the first
two-point conversion in NFL history, running in a faked extra point kick attempt for the Browns in a game against the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
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."
Tupa joined the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The P ...
in
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...
and played for them for three years. During his Patriots tenure, he played in
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) cham ...
, in which the Patriots lost to 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
. He would be named the Patriots' All-1990s Team.
In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, Tupa signed with the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
. It was during this season that Tupa received his first invitation to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thr ...
. He also made his first pass attempt since 1996, and went 6-of-11 for 165 yards and two touchdowns during the Jets' week one matchup against his former team, the
Patriots. Tupa was put in at quarterback in the first quarter after
Vinny Testaverde tore his
achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...
. Despite his success, the Jets lost the game to the Patriots. He remained with the Jets through the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...
season.
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia a ...
saw Tupa sign with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The clu ...
, where he was their punter on their road to
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...
, where they defeated the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Rai ...
. Before the start of the
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.
With New England as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced the rescheduli ...
, Tupa signed with 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
. 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.
The final pass of Tupa's career was thrown in an overtime loss in the 2002 season-opener against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
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
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron 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. In Ameri ...
, ending the game.
Tupa announced his retirement from football in the spring of 2006. In February 2006, he was appointed as the recreation director of
Brecksville, Ohio
Brecksville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb in the Greater Cleveland area. The city's population was 13,635 at the United States 2020 Census.
History
Brecksville was founded in 1811, four years after several men ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupa, Tom
1966 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football punters
American football quarterbacks
Cleveland Browns players
Indianapolis Colts players
New England Patriots players
New York Jets players
Ohio State Buckeyes football players
Phoenix Cardinals players
Players of American football from Cleveland
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Washington Redskins players
People from Brecksville, Ohio