Super Bowl winner, blues great inspire Dupree's US dream

Wigan star Tyler Dupree has revealed how his mother Jackie wanted him to play American football like her brother, Billy Joe Dupree, who won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.

Dupree took up rugby league instead, but Jackie will get the chance to see him play in the NFL stadium which hosted last year’s Super Bowl when the Warriors take on Super League rivals Warrington in Vegas on March 1.

The historic match, which is the first time Super League and NRL fixtures have been played together, will open a quadruple header at Allegiant Stadium, which also features a women’s international between Australia and England, and the NRL's two season opening games – Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers v Cronulla Sharks.

Despite being born and raised in England, the match is a homecoming of sorts for Dupree as his grandfather was a famous blues singer from New Orleans, while his uncle was an NFL star.

“As a family we are very proud of our American heritage,” said Dupree, who draped himself in the stars and stripes of the United States flag after Wigan’s defeat of Warrington in last year’s Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

The 24-year-old prop, whose middle name is Washington, represented England against France in 2023, but said: “I think there will be a point where I want to play for the USA, with the proud heritage that my family has got”.

The Dupree family story is one of struggle, survival and success, with Tyler’s grandfather, whose real name was William, being orphaned at a young age after his parents were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan.

He was also a boxer, whose pugilistic ability in 107 bouts earned him the nickname "Champion Jack", and a chef in the US Navy, who was detained by the Japanese in a prisoner of war camp for two years.

After World War II, "Champion Jack" resumed his career as a Blues singer and boogie-woogie pianist, touring North American, Europe and England before eventually settling in Halifax.

“My grandpa was African-American, and he came over to England where he met my nana,” Dupree said.

“He was a famous blues player, he was in the navy as a chef, he was a prisoner of war, and a boxer as well.

“His family was targeted by the Ku Klux Klan, which is pretty hard for us to hear that story, so he has been through a fair bit, and me and my mum are very proud of our heritage.”

"Champion Jack" died before Dupree was born and he is yet to meet Billy Joe, who won a Super Bowl in 1977 and played in two others during 11 seasons when the Dallas Cowboys were dubbed "America's team".

However, Jackie ensured that Dupree knew of Billy Joe’s NFL achievements, which earned him selection as a tight end in the Dallas Cowboys All-Time Team, and she encouraged him to play American football.

“He is my mum’s brother through my grandpa’s side, and we have always heard about who he is and what he had done. My mum bought us with that story of him,” Dupree said.

“Even though we don’t have any ties to him we are still proud of him. That might be where I get my sporting genes from.

My mum always planned for me to play American football and not rugby.

"My mum has always known about it and because I was a big kid she would say ‘I think you are going to an American football player’, but American football wasn’t too big over here, so rugby [league] was the closest thing.

“Mum is coming over to Vegas as well and we are aware of the magnitude of playing in such a famous stadium, where the Super Bowl was played last year, so it will be under different circumstances, but it will still be a proud family moment.”

With Wigan kicking off their Super League defence against Leigh on February 13, Dupree and his team-mates are trying not to look too far ahead.

However, he admitted the Warriors were looking forward to continuing their 130- year rivalry with Warrington in the US, where the two clubs previously staged the American Challenge in Milwaukee in 1989.

“We have had some great battles and obviously Warrington will be trying to go after us after falling short last year in the Challenge Cup final, so it will be a great game," Dupree said.

"I feel that is one of the games that need to be over there. It will be a great spectacle and hopefully that will amplify how good the game is in Britain."