Charles Puleri

Comp. / Att.:	128 / 257
Passing yards:	1,604
TD–INT:	20–14
QB rating:	66.35
Rushing TD:	3

Charles Puleri
No. 7
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	March 1, 1969 (age 55); New York, New York, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:	New York (NY) Lehman
College:	New Mexico State
Undrafted:	1993
Career history
	Sacramento Gold Miners (1993); Shreveport Pirates (1994); Miami Hooters (1995); Texas Terror (1996); London Monarchs (1997); Iowa Barnstormers (1998); New Jersey Red Dogs (1999); Dallas Cowboys (2000)*; New York/New Jersey Hitmen (2001); Detroit Fury (2002); Buffalo Destroyers (2003);
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career Arena statistics
Comp. / Att.:
Comp. / Att.:	128 / 257
Passing yards:	1,604
TD–INT:	20–14
QB rating:	66.35
Rushing TD:	3
	Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Charles "Charley" Puleri (born March 1, 1969) is a former professional football quarterback.

Career[edit]

Puleri signed to the Sacramento Gold Miners in 1993. He spent the vast majority of his career in the minor leagues, playing at various points in his career with the Miami Hooters, Texas Terror, Iowa Barnstormers, Detroit Fury, Buffalo Destroyers, London Monarchs and, during the 2000 preseason, the Dallas Cowboys. Unusually for a quarterback, Puleri played ironman in arena football, seeing limited playing time on defense and special teams.^[1]^[2]

Puleri is best known for his time with the New York/New Jersey Hitmen of the XFL. In 2001, Puleri, a native of New York City, signed with his hometown team. Puleri would be the starting quarterback in the XFL's first game, leading the Hitmen against the Las Vegas Outlaws on national television. Puleri's tenure as the Hitmen's starting quarterback proved to be a disastrous embarrassment for both him and the league as a whole, as he was repeatedly sacked and turned the ball over numerous times, making the league's level of talent look bad and partially prompting the mass decline in viewers as the season progressed. After a short quarterback controversy, Puleri was benched in favor of Wally Richardson (a former NFL backup for the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons) during the second week of the season.^[3] Puleri's struggles were later attributed to the ball's slippery texture, which was later solved by using sandpaper and wirebrush to roughen the surface.^[4]

References[edit]

^ "Charles Puleri". Arenafan.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
^ Associated Press (2000-06-09). "Cowboys sign QB Cunningham". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock Online. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
^ "NY/NJ Hitmen Roster: Charles Puleri". All-xfl.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
^ "How the XFL solved the slippery ball problem with sandpaper". ESPN via Youtube. January 25, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2020. (excerpt from This Was The XFL)

This biographical article relating to an American football quarterback born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Charles Puleri". Arenafan.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.

[2] Associated Press (2000-06-09). "Cowboys sign QB Cunningham". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Lubbock Online. Retrieved 2012-08-02.

[3] "NY/NJ Hitmen Roster: Charles Puleri". All-xfl.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.

[4] "How the XFL solved the slippery ball problem with sandpaper". ESPN via Youtube. January 25, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2020. (excerpt from This Was The XFL)

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