He finished the season with 17 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, three receptions for 50 yards, and 9 kickoff returns for 156 yards. He was voted special teams player of the year by his teammates. The offseason in 1984 turned out to be less positive. Tuggle got divorced from his wife and suffered a knee injury during a workout, resulting in minor surgery. During the summer, Tuggle and some teammates were involved in a minor car crash when their vehicle struck a telephone pole. The accident wasn't serious, but Tuggle noticed pain in his shoulder that seemed too significant to be entirely the result of the collision. Advised to see a doctor by Carpenter, who was with him in the car, Tuggle was soon diagnosed with cancer. He stayed on the team and continued to work out with them, hoping he could one day return to the field. "You could tell what a terrible thing his chemotherapy was," said Giants conditioning coach Johnny Parker, "but John actually got stronger, and although it broke your heart to do it, he wanted to be pushed, he didn't want sympathy. In the weight room, John Tuggle was not sick. John Tuggle was a standard." The Giants advised Tuggle not to report to training camp in 1985, as that way they would not have to cut him from the team and he could continue to collect his salary until his contract expired in February 1986. In the final months of his life, Tuggle moved in with a college teammate from his days at Cal, telling him he wanted to die in California. He spent his remaining days undergoing cancer treatment in San Diego and Mexico until his death on August 30, 1986. Though they did not keep him on the team after the 1985 season, the Giants paid for Tuggle's health insurance for the remainder of his life, and wore his number 38 on their helmets during their 1986–87 Super Bowl winning season. Tuggle was the subject of the 30 for 30 short, The Irrelevant Giant. References External links 1961 births 1986 deaths American football running backs California Golden Bears football players New York Giants players Ed Block Courage Award recipients Players of American football from Honolulu Players of American football from San Jose, California Deaths from angiosarcoma Deaths from cancer in Mexico