Billy Joe DuPree
West Monroe (LA) Richardson | |||||
| College: | Michigan State | ||||
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| NFL draft: | 1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||
Billy Joe DuPree (born March 7, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Michigan State University.
Early years
DuPree was born and raised in
He contributed to the team reaching the Class 2A State Championship in the 3 years he played, helping the school winn two of them (1966-67 and 1967-68).[1] He also played basketball.
College career
DuPree played collegiately at Michigan State University. He is recognized as the greatest tight end in Michigan State history, even though he had few opportunities to prove his true worth in the Spartans run-oriented offense.[2]
As a sophomore, he was named the starter at tight end. He ranked second on the team with 21 receptions for 402 receiving yards, a 19.1-yard average and 3 receiving touchdowns.
As a junior,
As a senior, he was one of the team's co-captains and started all 11 games. Although the Spartans ran the
DuPree was the last tight end to lead Michigan State University in receiving, doing it in each of his last 2 seasons.[2] He finished his collegiate career with 69 receptions (third in school history, 1,222 receiving yards, a 17.7-yard average and 6 receiving touchdowns.[4] He also played basketball for a season, before deciding to focus on football.
Professional career
DuPree was selected by the
In 1974, he posted 29 receptions (third on the team), 466 yards (third on the team) and 4 receiving touchdowns (second on the team). He improved in the second half of the season, when he made 20 catches for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last 7 contests.
In 1975, he was hampered by injuries (including a broken finger) and although he played in all 14 games he only had 6 starts. He was passed on the depth chart by Jean Fugett and tallied only 9 receptions for 138 yards and one touchdown.
In
In 1977, the Cowboys increased his blocking responsibilities and his stats suffered. He made 28 receptions (fourth on the team) for 347 yards (third on the team) and 3 receiving touchdowns (tied for second on the team). He still was voted the starter at tight end for the NFC squad in the Pro Bowl.
He assisted his team to a 27–10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII as the game's top receiver (four catches for 66 yards). He also played in Super Bowl X and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XIII; in both games the Cowboys lost against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Even though tight ends during his era were expected to block more than feature their receiving skills, his 41 career touchdown receptions was the Cowboys record for tight ends until it was broken in 2012 by Jason Witten.
In the 1982 season, he helped block on Tony Dorsett's record 99-yard touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings. He announced his retirement on March 16, 1984.[6]
Known as a superb blocker and pass receiver, DuPree was one of the top tight ends of his era. He caught 267 passes for 3,565 yards and 42 touchdowns while also rushing for 178 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
The durable DuPree never missed a game in his 11 seasons in the league and was part of the franchise's legacy of
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1973 | DAL | 14 | 14 | 29 | 392 | 13.5 | 40 | 5 |
| 1974 | DAL | 14 | 13 | 29 | 466 | 16.1 | 42 | 4 |
| 1975 | DAL | 14 | 6 | 9 | 138 | 15.3 | 28 | 1 |
| 1976 | DAL | 14 | 14 | 42 | 680 | 16.2 | 38 | 2 |
| 1977 | DAL | 14 | 14 | 28 | 347 | 12.4 | 23 | 3 |
| 1978 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 34 | 509 | 15.0 | 38 | 9 |
| 1979 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 29 | 324 | 11.2 | 33 | 5 |
| 1980 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 29 | 312 | 10.8 | 39 | 7 |
| 1981 | DAL | 16 | 15 | 19 | 214 | 11.3 | 33 | 2 |
| 1982 | DAL | 9 | 1 | 7 | 41 | 5.9 | 12 | 2 |
| 1983 | DAL | 16 | 6 | 12 | 142 | 11.8 | 28 | 1 |
| 159 | 131 | 267 | 3,565 | 13.4 | 42 | 41 | ||
Playoffs
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1973 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 20 | 0 |
| 1975 | DAL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 |
| 1976 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 16 | 0 |
| 1977 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 6 | 110 | 18.3 | 28 | 1 |
| 1978 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 10 | 124 | 12.4 | 24 | 2 |
| 1979 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 17 | 0 |
| 1980 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 9.0 | 19 | 1 |
| 1981 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 13 | 0 |
| 1982 | DAL | 3 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 8.0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1983 | DAL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| 22 | 15 | 39 | 447 | 11.5 | 28 | 4 | ||
Personal life
More recently, he has become involved in many charities, including the Shriner's, as well as other inner city youth groups. He is an active participant in most
He was elected into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame, the Blue–Gray Football Classic Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Texas State African-American Sports Hall of Fame. He is an active member of the Board of Trustees of Meals on Wheels of Collin County.
DuPree is great uncle to English rugby league footballer Tyler Dupree who plays for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame". The News-Star. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ a b c "College Football's Triple Name Terrors". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "Billy Joe DuPree College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "MSU top 50 football players: No. 42 Billy Joe DuPree". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "New Record Set By Raw Rookie". The Childress Index. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Tyler Dupree Leeds Rhinos profile