Background
Peete, Calvin was born on July 18, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Dennis and Irenia (Bridgeford) Peete.
Peete, Calvin was born on July 18, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Dennis and Irenia (Bridgeford) Peete.
Graduate in adult education, Highland Park School, Detroit, 1982. Certified degree honorary, Wayne State University, 1983.
He was the most successful African-American to have played on the Professional Golf Association Tour, with 12 wins, prior to the emergence of Tiger Woods. He played on the 1983 and 1985 United States. Ryder Cup teams. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for several weeks when they debuted in 1986.
Peete did not begin playing golf until he was in his 20s, but immediately excelled at a game most pros learn as young children.
He learned the game while peddling goods to migrant workers in Rochester, New York, playing on the public course at Genesee Valley Park. Growing up poor, Peete suffered a badly broken arm that was never properly set.
He was the leader in driving accuracy on the Professional Golf Association Tour for 10 straight years, 1981-1990. Peete was inducted into the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
Peete died after a long battle with lung cancer, in Atlanta, Georgia on April 29, 2015.
He was 71. He was a cousin of former American football quarterback Rodney Peete. Professional Golf Association Tour wins (12) Japan Golf Tour wins (2).
Active supporter Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, Palm Beach and Lee Counties (Florida). Member Professional Golfers Association.
Married Christine Sears, October 24, 1974. Children: Charlotte, Calvin, Rickie, Dennis, Kalvanetta.
