EAST LANSING — George Julius Perles, the polarizing and outspoken former Michigan State University football player, coach, athletic director and Board of Trustees member, died late Tuesday night, the Free Press has learned. He was 85.
Perles died peacefully in East Lansing with his family surrounding him, according to multiple sources close to family. He announced he was battling Parkinson's disease in 2017.
Perles was born July 16, 1934, in Detroit’s west side and was a football and baseball star at Detroit Western. He earned all-state football honors as a junior and senior and graduated in 1953, then briefly attended the University of Tennessee before returning to Detroit and joining the Army with a number of his friends.