{{Short description|American football player (1913–1974)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox gridiron football person | name = | image = Dick Tuckey (1939).jpg | alt = | caption = Dick Tucky in 1939 | birth_date = {{birth date|1913|9|29}} | birth_place = Naugatuck, Connecticut, U.S. | death_date = December 25, 1974 (age 61) | death_place = West Haven, Connecticut | team = | number = 42 | status = | position1 = Fullback, halfback | height_ft = | height_in = | weight_lb = | college = Manhattan | playing_years1 = 1938 | playing_team1 = Cleveland Rams | playing_years2 = 1938 | playing_team2 = Washington Redskins | career_highlights = }} '''Richard James Kenneth Tuckey, Jr.''' (September 29, 1913 – December 1974) was an American football player. He played on both offense and defense, mostly at the fullback and halfback positions.
Tuckey was born in 1913 in Naugatuck, Connecticut. He attended Naugatuck High School and the Dean Academy in Franklin, Massachusetts. He then enrolled at Manhattan College where he played college football at the fullback position for the Manhattan Jaspers from 1934 to 1936.<ref name=PFA>{{cite web|title=Dick Tuckey|publisher=Pro Football Archives|accessdate=August 3, 2023|url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/playert/tuck01600.html}}</ref>
He began his professional football career in the National Football League (NFL) with the 1938 Washington Redskins. Prior to the start of the 1938 season, Bill Dismer Jr. of ''The Sunday Star'' wrote:<blockquote>Although Karamatic stil holds the edge in open-field running, he has yet to show that he can match Tuckey's ability at breaking through the line a la Cliff Battles. Because he can also pass -- and is improving daily under the tutelage of Baugh -- Tuckey's presence would give the Skins as versatile and deceptive a backfield as they had last season. Tuckey, Baugh and Riley Smith give the Skins three expert passers; all three can kick and Baugh and Tuckey are valuable ball carriers."<ref>{{cite news|title=Tuckey Now Tops Karamatic For Pro Grid Backfield Job; Rookies Amazed by Send-Off|newspaper=The Sunday Star|author=Bill Dismer Jr.|date=August 28, 1938|page=B5|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-tuckey-now-tops-karamatic-f/129411029/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref></blockquote>
Tuckey appeared in three games for the Redskins.<ref name=PFA/><ref>{{cite news|title=Tuckey Gets Chance|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=September 18, 1938|page=2C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-salt-lake-tribune-tuckey-gets-chance/129411099/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Tuckey Might Toss For Pro|newspaper=The Waco Times-Herald|date=September 4, 138|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-waco-times-herald-tuckey-might-toss/129411136/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Tuckey was sold by the Redskins to the Cleveland Rams on October 5, 1938.<ref>{{cite news|title=Redskins Eye Goddard: Significance Seen in Tuckey's Going to Cleveland Rams|newspaper=The Evening Star|date=October 5, 1938|page=C3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-redskins-eye-goddard-signi/129411207/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He appeared in four games with the Rams.<ref name=PFA/> He was a triple-threat player who could pass, run, and kick, and was the last of the dropkickers in the NFL.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tuckey To Play With Cleveland Against Giants: Naugatuck Native Last of Dropkickers in National Football league|newspaper=The Hartford Daily Courant|date=November 11, 1938|page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-tuckey-to-play-with-cle/129411304/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was placed on waivers by the Rams on November 15, 1938.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rams Place 3 On Waiver List|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=November 16, 1938|page=70|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-rams-place-3-on-waiver-list/129411338/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
After his release by the Rams, Tuckey signed in December 1938 with the Danbury Trojans of the American Association. He played for Danbury in 1938 and 1939. He also played for the Long Island Indians of the American Association in 1940 and 1941.<ref name=PFA/> During World War II, he served in the United States Navy. After the war, he played Canadian football in the Ontario Rugby Football Union for the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers (1947).<ref name=PFA/>
Tuckey died in 1974 in West Haven, Connecticut.<ref name=PFA/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuckey, Dick}} Category:1913 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut Category:American football fullbacks Category:American football halfbacks Category:Manhattan Jaspers football players Category:Cleveland Rams players Category:Washington Redskins players Category:People from Naugatuck, Connecticut Category:Players of American football from New Haven County, Connecticut Category:American Association (American football) players Category:20th-century American sportsmen