Tuufuli Uperesa, who played briefly for the Eagles in 1971, passed away on June 21, 2021 at age 73. He was born in American Samoa in 1948, and died there as well.
Uperesa, an offensive lineman, was the Eagles' 16th-round pick in 1970. After a season on the taxi squad, he played 2 games as a backup tackle in 1971. He also played for 4 teams in the CFL from 1973-77.
I remember seeing Uperesa listed in the Eagles' 1971 yearbook. It was a small, TV Guide-sized booklet that I bought (or got for free) at the Merit gas station on City Line Avenue in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia just before the 1971 season.
Unfortunately, I can't find it now. I last saw it in November 2011 when I scanned a few pages for this Eagles' blog post, but I've moved a few times since then and I don't know where it is. I have the 1972 and 1973 yearbooks, full-sized magazines titled "Eagle One" and "Eagle Two", but the 1971 yearbook is not with them.
