Clyde Louis Duncan, Jr. (February 5, 1961 – February 16, 2015) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

. Duncan was a first-round pick for the Cardinals in the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

, but he only played in 1984 and 1985, finishing his career with just four receptions.

Early life

Duncan attended Potomac High School, in

Oxon Hill, Maryland Oxon Hill is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in southern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Oxon Hill is a close suburb of Washington, located southeast of the downtown district and east of Alexandria, Virgin ...

. Playing at both receiver and tailback for Potomac's football team, he accumulated 2,209 yards his senior year, including 958 yards receiving and 808 yards rushing, and was named a high school All-American by ''Football News'' and the Maryland Player of the Year by the Washington Pigskin Club. Duncan played college football at

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

from 1979 to 1983. Along with teammates

Willie Gault Willie James Gault (born September 5, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the fa ...

, Anthony Hancock,

Lenny Taylor Leonard Moore Taylor (born February 15, 1961) is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL). Biography Taylor was born Leonard Moore Taylor on February 15, 1961 ...

and

Tim McGee Timothy Dwayne Hatchett McGee (born August 7, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Redskins from 1986 to 1994. Befor ...

, he helped create the school's reputation as "Wide Receiver U." He played sparingly in 1979,

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1980, played as a defensive back in 1981, and played primarily as a reserve receiver in 1982. In 1983, however, he led the team in receiving with 33 catches for 640 yards and six touchdowns. He caught touchdown passes of 80 yards and 57 yards in Tennessee's 41–34 win over Alabama, and his 85-yard touchdown catch against Vanderbilt remains the third-longest in school history. He attracted close attention from scouts for his workout performance at the 1983

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

Professional football career

Duncan was selected in the first round of the

by the Cardinals. Duncan's rookie year was disrupted by a contract dispute, and he did not sign with the Cardinals until September 10. He soon separated his shoulder, sending him to the injured reserve list. In 1985, Duncan did work his way into the lineup, but caught only four passes on the season and lost his role as third receiver. The Cardinals released Duncan on August 18, 1986. Duncan was subsequently acquired by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the spring of 1987, but he was released at the start of preseason and did not appear in another NFL game. He died at the age of 54 in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Clyde 1961 births 2015 deaths People from Oxon Hill, Maryland Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland American football wide receivers Tennessee Volunteers football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players NFL replacement players