Toussaint Tyler
No. 42 | |||||||
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Position: | El Camino (Oceanside, California) | ||||||
College: | Washington | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1981 / Round: 9 / Pick: 222 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Toussaint L'Ouverture Tyler (first name pronounced "Too-San",[1] born March 19, 1959) is a former running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played with New Orleans Saints in 1981 and 1982.
Born in
Early in Tyler's senior season in
Tyler was selected 222nd overall (first in the ninth round) in the
Early life
Born on March 19, 1959, Tyler was named after the 18th-century Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture.[3] His mother was a seamstress and his father, Walter, was a boxing trainer who handled, among others, heavyweight champion Mike Weaver. The running back later said "My father tried to interest me in boxing but I wasn't into getting smacked in the face."[1] Tyler, along with two brothers and four sisters, lived in Barstow, California until he was in seventh grade. His parents then divorced and he went to live with his mother in Oceanside, California.[1]
In Oceanside, he played at
College career
At Washington, Tyler was converted from halfback to
The following season, Tyler started at fullback for the first time in a game against Oregon State, winless at the time, and rushed for 151 yards, including a 55-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, to lead the Huskies to a 20–14 victory.[11] In the team's next game, the back scored twice as Washington beat twelfth-ranked Arizona State.[12] The Huskies finished with seven wins and four losses, missing a bowl game.[13] Tyler averaged 5.5 yards a carry in the 1978 season.[14]
To begin 1979, Washington won 38–2 and 41–7 against non-conference opponents, with Tyler scoring once in both games and averaging 8.2 yards per carry.
Going into his senior season, Tyler, wearing a jersey number of 45,[24] was the school's seventh leading rusher.[25] Tyler was moved to halfback early in the season after the Huskies' third-string halfback was injured.[26] Washington won 50–7 and 45–7 in games against Air Force and Northwestern; in the second game, Tyler scored from one, three, and six yards in the first quarter.[27] After splitting their next two games, the back scored twice from nine yards to help the Huskies beat Oregon State 41–6.[28] At this point, Tyler was third in the conference with 49 points scored and fourth with 446 yards rushing.[29][30] Washington then beat Stanford 27–24;[31] during the game, Tyler injured a tendon in his right knee, leading to him being used sparsely in the final four regular season games.[1] After a 24–10 loss to Navy in which head coach Don James said Washington was "embarrassed", the Huskies were 5–2 (2–1 in the Pacific-10 Conference) and still top contenders for a Rose Bowl appearance.[31][32]
The Huskies proceeded to win 25–0 over Arizona State and 45–22 against the
Tyler, nicknamed "Tudy" in college, was a muscular 6⅓ feet and 215 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds, on the low end for a halfback, but Mal Florence of the Los Angeles Times said he was "much faster in game situations".[1]
Professional career and later life
On the second day (April 29) of the
After a short stint with the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League,[42] Tyler attempted to earn a spot on the Minnesota Vikings but was waived during training camp.[43] Tyler now lives in Covington, Washington, working as a juvenile detention officer for King County.[44] When Marsh, Tyler's former Huskies teammate and co-CIF player of the year honoree, had his ankle amputated, Tyler spent two days at his bedside.[45]
He retired in Pullman Washington and is raising his two young daughters at the age of 62
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Florence, Mal (December 30, 1980). "Husky Star: For El Camino's Tyler, the Name is One of a Kind". Los Angeles Times: p. B1.
- ^ "Toussaint Tyler". linkedin. LinkedIn Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
- ^ "Rose Bowl won't decide national title this year". Lodi News-Sentinel: p. 13. December 30, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ McKibben, Dave (December 11, 1992). "Defending Champ El Camino Has Westbrook in Its Corner Football". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.A.
- ^ Schwartz, Fred (February 3, 1977). "Prep Notebook". The Modesto Bee. p. A-10. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ a b Hancock, Hec (March 6, 1977). "Blue chip bonanza". Tri-City Herald. p. 31. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ Brown, Bruce (September 3, 1977). "Another View: Cougar Stars Boosted". Spokane Daily Chronicle: p. 11. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ "Huskies Thrash San Jose State". Spokane Daily Chronicle: p. 29. September 19, 1977. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- Eugene Register-Guard. November 6, 1977. p. 4C. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ "Michigan's Bowl Game History: 1978 Rose Bowl". Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ "Washington Survives Oregon". The Pittsburgh Press. October 22, 1978. p. D-10. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ "Maryland, Navy continue winning; Surprises may be over". The Tuscaloosa News. October 30, 1978. p. 16. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-60239-331-8.
- Ellensburg Daily Record. p. 15. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ "Red-hot Huskies wallop Utah 41–7". The Spokesman-Review. September 16, 1979. p. C1. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ Missildine, Harry (September 22, 1979). "Huskies hope to stay out of Duck soup". The Spokesman-Review. p. 21. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ "West: Army defense blitzes Stanford". Chicago Tribune. September 23, 1979. p. C8.
- ^ "Huskies Call Up Their Reserves in 49–14 Victory". Los Angeles Times: p. C3. September 30, 1979.
- ^ "Steele-led Huskies trample Beavers". The Spokesman-Review: p. C1. October 7, 1979. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ Van Sickel, Charlie (October 18, 1979). "The Numbers Game". Spokane Daily Chronicle: p. 50. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ "Huskies Lose the Ball Six Times, Then Lose, 26–14". Los Angeles Times: p. C7. October 21, 1979
- ^ "Washington tops Texas, 14–7, in Sun Bowl". The New York Times: p. S6. December 23, 1979.
- ^ "1979 Sun Bowl: Washington 14, Texas 7 Archived 2010-05-21 at the Wayback Machine". Texas Longhorns. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ^ a b "Huskies tip 'Devils, move toward bowl". The Spokesman-Review: p. B3. November 2, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- Ellensburg Daily Record: p. 11. August 28, 1980. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ a b White, Gordon S. Jr. (November 24, 1980). "Huskies Worthy Entry for Pac-10; Stanford, California Early Picks Flick Throws for Three Scores Four Receivers Most of Time". The New York Times: p. C10.
- ^ "Huskies pop Northwestern". The Tuscaloosa News: p. 10B. September 21, 1980. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- Tri City Herald: p. 35. October 12, 1980. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ "Bruin's big day falls short". The Spokesman-Review: p. C3. October 15, 1980. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ "Stanford, Washington in key battle". Spokane Daily Chronicle: p. 20. October 17, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60239-677-7. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- The Prescott Courier: p. 15A. October 31, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- Kingman Daily Miner: p. 11. November 9, 1980. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Florence, Mal (November 16, 1980). "USC Surrenders the Ball and Everything Else": Los Angeles Times: p. D1.
- ^ Damer, Roy (January 3, 1981). "Michigan almost haunted again by 'phantom' TD". Chicago Tribune: p. A2.
- ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- The Sumter Daily Item: p. 1B. May 21, 1981. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
- Ellensburg Daily Record: p. 17. June 23, 1981. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
- ^ "1981 New Orleans Saints Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- ^ "1982 New Orleans Saints Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- ^ "Transactions". Reading Eagle: p. 22. August 30, 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- Philadelphia Inquirer. March 2, 1984.
- Ellensburg Daily Record: p. 11. August 14, 1984. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- ^ Boyle, John (March 10, 2006). "Names the same". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Peoples, John (October 1, 1994). "Amputation: 'Toll To Be Paid'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 5, 2010
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference