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by John Berkovich

Every dayis Father'sDay for

Calvin Peete.The winner of 12PGA Tour eventsis now a stay athome dad for his

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daughters Aisha and Aleya and hewouldn't have it any other way. “Ilove being there for my kids now,”says Peete. “When I was on thePGA Tour I was away from homeso much that it was difficult to bethere.” Peete turns 63 in July ofthis year and although it has beentwenty years since he was arguablyAmerica's best, yet definitely itsmost unappreciated golfer, he ismuch happier now. Peete and hissecond wife Pepper live quietly inthe Jacksonville, Florida area.While Pepper manages the localFirst Tee facility, Calvin is thequintessential stay at home dad.His days consist of managing thehousehold, keeping in touch withhis children from his first mar-riage, and occasionally hitting ballsat Sawgrass where he has a life-time membership from winning the

1985 Players Championship. He ison disability and continues toreceive a pension from his days onthe PGA Tour. Peete also givesback to the community with theCalvin Peete Recreation Complexin St. Augustine, Florida. The cen-ter keeps kids off the streets afterschool and gives them an opportu-nity to hone their sports and lifeskills.

The inspirational Calvin Peete

story has been told before butgiven the mountains he has con-quered and the attitude he has dis-played, it bears repeating.

One of nine children born to aDetroit automobile factory worker,Peete's parents separated when hewas 11. He, along with twoyounger sisters, was dropped off athis maternal grandmother's homein rural Missouri along theMississippi. His mother headed toChicago to search for employmentbut never returned to pick up herbrood.

When he was 12, Peete fell outof a cherry tree and shattered hisleft elbow and although surgeonsrepaired the elbow, it remainedfused so that Peete could neverfully straighten his arm. His father

eventually came for Calvin and hissisters along with three childrenfrom his second marriage andmoved the kids to Pahokee, Floridaon the southeast corner of LakeOkeechobee.

Dropping out of school in theeighth grade, Peete spent his dayshustling pool and pulling variousscams to help support the family inaddition to the backbreaking workof pulling crops as a migrant

farmer. Years later, Peete said thathe didn't mind getting sweaty onthe golf course since it made himfeel like he was doing honestwork.

Desperate to move forward,Peete got his peddlers license andwent on the road. “I bought fromthe wholesalers and would hit themigrant worker camps during sug-arcane season,” recalls Peete. “Alot of the workers were fromBarbados and Jamaica. I sold jew-elry, clothing, and stereos, basical-ly whatever they wanted I got forthem. They liked me because I wasone of them and didn't over inflatemy prices.” Traversing the dustyfarm roads from Florida to NewYork, Peete put diamond chips ineach of his front teeth to makehimself memorable while continu-

ing to hustle any game he could.

Some fellow gamesters encour-aged Peete to join them for a roundof golf and he was hooked. Fromthat day forward his goal was thePGA Tour. He practiced and playedany chance he could, often stayingon the range until the lights wentout near midnight.

Three attempts and seven yearslater, Calvin Peete had his tour

His fellow pros used to kid him about constantly being in the middle of the fairway

with the nickname Mr. Accuracy.

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card. “The first time through q-school I wasn't disappointed tomiss out because it was all new forme,” explains Peete. “I was readythe second time but didn't playwell. I finally got it the third timeand never went back.” There wasno Nationwide Tour to fall back onbut there was Monday qualifying.The Top-60 and previous tourna-ment winners were exempt for theyear while the rest - includingPeete - were known as the rabbits.They earned the moniker fromhopping from city to city at theirown expense in search of a spot inthe field. Every Monday the rab-bits would battle it out for theremaining spots in the tournament.Peete earned his way in three timesin 1975 but didn't pick up his firstcheck until the 1976 Phoenix Open- a tournament he would win nine

years later. He averaged about$20,000 those first few seasons,most of which went straight intotour expenses.

“I had a few top-tens in theearly days and knew it was only amatter of time before I won sowinning Milwaukee in 1979 wasn'ta surprise,” says Peete of his maid-en victory.

Despite his many weeks on the

road, Calvin Peete's heart was athome. “Dad always had time forus,” observed daughter NicolePeete, an Atlanta third gradeteacher. “He still does even thoughwe're apart. Dad always loved totalk and some of my fondest mem-ories are of sitting around the din-ner table just being a family andtalking. I don't ever remember dadyelling at me-he's always been sosoft-spoken. I used to love watch-ing him fiddling with the grips onhis clubs when he was home andjust listen to him talk about life.”

Calvin Peete Junior, anElkridge, Maryland realtor, echoeshis kid sister. “Dad always had agreat rapport with me. I stillremember the time when I was 16and just him and I went to NewYork. I wanted to get a car so we

visited a dealership,” says the gre-garious 37-year-old. “Dad wasteaching me how to drive standardand instead of getting all impatientlike most people would as I strug-gled with the gears, he just calmlyexplained it to me and never raisedhis voice. At that moment I foundit hard to imagine my dad hustlingproduct on the road.”

Although he wouldn't win againfor three years, Peete continued his

solid play and earned over$100,000 in 1980 and 1981 - a tidysum in those days. “People knewwhat dad was earning because ofwhat he did and everyone thoughtwe were so rich,” laughs Junior. “Ireally didn't grasp the impact ofwhat dad was doing until yearslater.”

Over the next four seasonsCalvin Peete's golf game was inthe stratosphere. He won 11 times -including the 1985 PlayersChampionship - and the undyingrespect of his peers as possibly thebest American golfer during thattime and certainly the most accu-rate. His fellow pros used to kidhim about constantly being in themiddle of the fairway with thenickname Mr. Accuracy. He playedon two Ryder Cup teams and cap-

tured the Vardon Trophy in 1984for low scoring average. The onlyknock against him was his failureto win a major, yet he collected ahandful of top-five finishes. “I wasat the top of my game at ThePlayers and I consider it mymajor,” explained Peete of thosegolden years. “I always felt com-fortable with my fellow pros andwinning brings you the respect ofothers. When I first came out Ideveloped a good rapport with Lee

“The press wasn't ready for a black man to dominate the PGA Tour and

some of them expected me to self-destruct.”

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Elder, Charley Sifford and JackNicklaus. Tom Kite, LannyWadkins and I became goodfriends. We all got along but let'sface it, we wanted win.”

Inexplicably, some golf instruc-tors have credited Peete's leg-endary accuracy off the tee to hisbent arm while at the same timeignoring golf's cardinal rule: keepyour left arm straight. “Dad wasone of the best ball strikers thatever lived and certainly the mostaccurate, yet some people refuse togive him the credit he deserves,”chimes in Calvin's son Rick, an ITconsultant and actor. “I think dadwas very underrated as a playerand I wonder if some of the reasonis that he's African American. Idon't think people were ready forhim when he started winning tour-naments.” His father agrees. “Itwas different when Tiger Woodscame along because everyone waswaiting for him. They had beenhearing about him since he was achild. The press wasn't ready for ablack man to dominate the PGATour and some of them expectedme to self-destruct.”

Even with his success, darkclouds were looming on the hori-zon. “Even though I continued toplay well and win after 1982, Istarted finding it tougher to focus,”explains Peete of what would yearslater be diagnosed as TouretteSyndrome. “I was constantlychanging my grip and what wasleft became right on the golfcourse. I literally had to think inreverse when hitting a shot. Hepicked up a pair of victories in1983 but wouldn't win again untilthe tail end of 1984. “I think I triedtoo hard for a while there and the

Tourette's made it worse although Ididn't know what was happening atthe time. Naturally since I hadn'twon in a while I was accused oftaking drugs. You know, everytime a black athlete has a slump it'salways drugs,” stated Peete sarcas-tically. “Those comments reallyhurt.”

He won twice in 1985 and1986 - his last victory at what isnow the Zurich Classic of NewOrleans - before it all started tounravel in 1987. His marriage toChristine collapsed, sending himinto a depression. Feeling as if hefailed, his game plummeted -exacerbating his neurological dis-order.

After a brief stint in Phoenix,Calvin Peete remarried and movedback to Florida, playing theChampions Tour for eight yearswith moderate success while fight-ing the disease that eventuallyforced him to retire. “I thank Godfor Pepper and my family,” saysPeete. “She's been a real blessingas have my kids.” He stays in con-stant touch with his grown childrenand is supportive of their variedcareers.

“Dad and I are very close. Ialways remember sitting on thecouch with him and watchingcartoons. He used to take me forice cream and we would just talkabout things. He tried to teach megolf but all I ever wanted to dowas drive the golf cart,” remi-nisced daughter Calvinetta, aWashington D.C. law schoolgraduate. “I remember at schoolonce I turned in a paper and thelaw professor saw my name andasked if I was related to CalvinPeete. When I told him who I

was he wanted to know every-thing about dad rather than me.”

Over the years Calvin Peeteemphasized the importance of agood education and the kids havetaken dad's advice. “I grew up in achurch and consider myself a spiri-tual man,” says Dad. “My wife andkids attend church every Sunday. Iknow about love and have passedthat on to my children. I haveseven children from my two mar-riages and I have always wantedwhat's best for them. When I wasplaying I used to think that witheach dollar I earned I could sendmy kids to college.”

“What's interesting about dad isthat although he never got the typeof education we did, he has a lifeeducation,” explains son Calvin.“What he has accomplished andlearned and passed on to us is tentimes greater than anything thatcan be written about him. He wason medication for a while withTourette's but he came off it and isdoing great. His mind is extraordi-nary and his advice to us is alwaysright on. He once said to me 'Justremember, you are your wife andchildren.' It really made me realizethe importance of marriage andfamily.”

Nicole Peete concurs with hersiblings. “I talk with dad everyweek. He's a very smart man andI'm extremely proud of him. Dadgrew up poor and how he has risenabove all the obstacles in his life isamazing. It shows what you canachieve despite what life throws atyou. Not only is he a wonderfulfather, he is the greatest and wisestman I have ever known. I love himso much.” MG