Tinsley was bornin Texas, and played his college football at Baylor. After one year with the Los Angelas Dons of the All American Football Conference (AAFC), Tinsley had a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers and came North to Canada.  While American, Tinsley was one of those players who was classified as a non-import later in his career under the rules at the time for long time players and naturalized citizens. Even after retiring from football, tinsley was one of the Americans who stayed in Canada to live.  Tinsley played eleven years in the CFL, all with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, from 1950 to 1960.  Playing on both sides of the ball, Tinsley was an All-Star on both offense and defense.  Tinsley won West All-Star honours five times at offensive tackle (1950, 1951, 1952, 1955 and 1956) and two West All-Stars at defensive tackle (1957 and 1958).  There were no CFL All-Stars until 1962.  Tinsley played in five Grey Cup games, winning two (1958 and 1959) and losing three 1950, 1953 and 1957).  The 1950 game was the infamous Mud Bowl.  The story (highly exaggerated according to Tinsley) was that he was laying face down in the mud and water and almost drowned until an alert official pulled him out.   Buddy Tinsley was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.  Buddy Tinsley passed away on September 14, 2011 at age 87.

AAFC Stats for Buddy Tinsley

Buddy Tinsley on Wikipedia

Buddy Tinsley on fanbase.com

Buddy Tinsley in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

Buddy Tinsley in the Canadian Footall Hall of Fame

Tinsley Prevents Stampeders From Winning - September 21, 1953

Tinsley Says He Is Retiring - November 30, 1959

Bombers Hold Buddy Tinsley Night - October 13, 1960

Tinsley was Humble, Genuine

Buddy Tinsley Passes Away at Age 87

Former Bomber Buddy Tinsley Dies

No official games played stats were kept in the West until 1964.  The values listed for 1953 and 1954 are unofficial values based on newspaper accounts.