Pete Tillotson

Peter Tillotson
Born	(1936-03-23) 23 March 1936 Shelby, Michigan, U.S.
Died	7 February 2018(2018-02-07) (aged 81)
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	1951–1962
Known for	Basketball player for University of Michigan, Milan Simmenthal, and Syracuse Nationals draft pick

Peter Sage Tillotson (March 23, 1936 – February 7, 2018) was a professional basketball player from the United States. Raised in Ludington, Michigan, he competed athletically for Ludington High School between 1951 and 1954 before advancing to the University of Michigan team from 1955 through 1958.

Career

Born in Shelby, Michigan, to parents Ivan and Marguerite Tillotson, he excelled in multiple sports during his time at Ludington High School, including football, basketball, and tennis. Throughout three seasons on the varsity basketball team, he accumulated a total of 1,176 points and averaged 25.6 points per game during the 1953–54 season. His outstanding performance earned him All-State recognition in both 1952 and 1953, while guiding Ludington to appearances in state championship finals and semi-finals.

Tillotson played the center position for the University of Michigan from 1955 to 1958. During the 1957–58 season, he was named team captain, Most Valuable Player, and led the team in scoring with a total of 415 points—marking the second-highest single-season point total in the school's history at that time.

Selected in the seventh round as the 54th overall pick by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1958 NBA draft, Tillotson sustained an injury before the season commenced. Consequently, he spent the 1958–59 season competing for Milan Simmenthal in Italy’s premier basketball league. There, he averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds per game and helped lead Milan to a runner-up finish in the European championship. After a brief stint with Syracuse in 1960 and playing for the Holland Oilers of the Midwest Professional Basketball League during the 1961–62 season, his playing career concluded due to a knee injury.

Honors

In recognition of his high school achievements, Tillotson was awarded the title of Mr. Michigan in Basketball in 1954. Additionally, he received the Chicago Tribune Big Ten Michigan Most Valuable Player Award in 1958. His contributions to sports were further honored with induction into the inaugural Mason County Sports Hall of Fame class in 2005.

Personal

Following his retirement from professional basketball, Tillotson embarked on a nearly four-decade-long career spanning companies such as Ford Motor Company, Paine Webber, Goldman Sachs, and General Electric before retiring in 2001.

He married Yvette Perkins in 1965; their marriage ended around 1971. Tillotson passed away on February 7, 2018, at age 81. He is survived by his second wife, Cleta, as well as his sons Geoffrey and Jonathan from his first marriage.