Kelly Tripucka

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Kelly Tripucka: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.

The son of NFL quarterback Frank Tripucka, Kelly scored 2,278 points at Bloomfield High in New Jersey and led Notre Dame to its only Final Four in 1978. An All-Star as a Pistons rookie, he averaged 26.5 points in 1982-83, then arrived in Utah in the 1986 trade that sent Adrian Dantley to Detroit. He and coach Frank Layden never clicked — his scoring fell to 9.1 a game over two frustrating seasons before expansion Charlotte revived him at 22.6 points.

Broadcasting became his second act: eight years on Pistons television, then Nets radio and the YES Network, then four seasons on Knicks telecasts alongside Walt Frazier and Mike Breen. His son Travis played professional football.

HOW HE CAME & WENTDetroit sent him and Kent Benson to Utah for Adrian Dantley on August 21, 1986. Two frustrating seasons later the Jazz traded him to the expansion Charlotte Hornets for Mike Brown — and he was immediately himself again.

Full name

Peter Kelly Tripucka

Utah Jazz tenure

1986–88

Position

Forward

Born

1959, Glen Ridge, New Jersey

Height

6′6″ (198 cm)

Weight

220 lb (100 kg)

College

Notre Dame

Drafted

1981, 1st round (No. 12), Detroit