Bill Tuttle

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William Robert Tuttle (July 4, 1929 - July 27, 1998) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three teams during his baseball career. He played for the Detroit Tigers from 1952 to 1957, the Kansas City Athletics from 1958 to 1961 and the Minnesota Twins from 1961 to 1963. He batted and threw right-handed and also played third base for the Twins for a brief period in 1961.

On practically every baseball card of Tuttle, a large bulge is evident in his cheek.^{[citation needed]} This was the bulge from a wad of chewing tobacco.^{[citation needed]} Tuttle's chewing tobacco habit was what killed him.^{[citation needed]} Tuttle died in Anoka, Minnesota of oral cancer at the age of 69.

Tuttle, who was diagnosed with the disease five years before his death, put the half-decade to use, volunteering for Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program.^{[citation needed]}

During the last years of his life, Tuttle was facially disfigured from his long-term use of chewing tobacco. He traveled widely as a public speaker, warning major league players of the dangers of chewing tobacco.^{[citation needed]} "But it's going to be pretty hard to tell someone making $4 million a year not to chew," he admitted. "So what we're trying to do is get it off TV."^{[citation needed]} What Tuttle was trying to do was to stop baseball players from chewing tobacco, and setting bad examples for the young people who watched baseball telecasts.^{[citation needed]}

Tuttle was born in Elwood, Illinois. After attending Bradley University, Tuttle played in his major league game on September 10, 1952. In his 11-year career, he had a .259 batting average, with 67 home runs and 443 RBIs. He had 1105 career hits, before retiring from baseball on May 11, 1963.

During his career, Tuttle was considered one of the most reliable players in the game by many. Although he was widely admired for his fine fielding, he never won a Gold Glove Award.