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Catching Up With...
Perry Tuttle, Clemson Wide Receiver
Posted: Tuesday December 15, 1998 11:45 AM
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Heinz Kluetmeier |
A few days before the 1982 Hula Bowl, Clemson wide receiver Perry Tuttle was
basking in the Hawaiian sun and the glow of the Tigers' recent
national-championship-clinching win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl when USC
running back Marcus Allen threw a magazine on Tuttle's lap and said, "I
can't believe a country boy from Clemson would be on the cover of Sports
Illustrated."
Tuttle, a senior All-America from Lexington, N.C., had made the cover by
catching the game-winning touchdown pass in the Tigers' 22-15 victory over the
Cornhuskers. That win completed a 12-0 season for Clemson and established Tuttle
as a hero forever to the Tigers faithful, hundreds of whom sent him copies of
the issue to
autograph.
In September, Tuttle returned to the spotlight at his alma mater by joining
The Tailgate Show, a radio broadcast during which he and cohost Whitney
Walters patrol the parking lots surrounding Clemson's stadium in a bright orange
golf cart for two hours before every home game. Says Walters, "Everybody
recognizes Perry, even the youngest kids." Tuttle found himself in
something of an awkward position, however, as Clemson stumbled to a 3-8 record,
its worst in 23 years. "Broadcasting was a little difficult, because people
thought I knew the answers," he says. "As a former player it really
breaks my heart how far we've
fallen."
Jim Gund | |
After leading Clemson to its only national title, Tuttle spent three seasons in
the NFL, with the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. In
1986 he caught on with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football
League, and in six seasons with Winnipeg he caught 321 passes for 5,817 yards
and 41 touchdowns, earning a place in the Blue Bombers' Hall of Fame. After
retiring from the CFL in 1992, Tuttle returned to North Carolina and started a
sports marketing firm. He and his wife, Loretta, live in Charlotte with their
sons Korde, 8, and Kanyon Maxwell, 18 months, and daughters Karsynn, 6, and
Karigan Rose, 3. A fifth Tuttle, due in May, will be named Kallaway—boy or
girl.
To preserve the memories of his college career for his children, Perry maintains
a treasure chest of items from the 1982 Orange Bowl. The contents of the box
include his jersey, cleats and mouthpiece; a videotape of the game; a program;
and, of course, a fading copy of a magazine with a country boy from Clemson on
the cover.
—Trisha Lucey
Issue date: December 14, 1998
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