Meet the Authors
Graham ‘Buster’ Tutt
Graham ‘Buster’ Tutt was born in a working class area of London in 1956 and learned his football on a bombsite close to his home. From an early age, his height and expert handling skills saw him gravitate towards a goalkeeping career. After being released by Malcolm Allison at Crystal Palace, Graham joined Charlton Athletic, then managed by Theo Foley. He made his debut for The Addicks in 1974, aged 17, establishing himself as first-choice goalkeeper and was tipped for greater things in the game. He then suffered a horrific incident at Roker Park in February 1976 involving a collision with another player. It was an injury that nearly cost Graham both his life and his eyesight. Despite a brave comeback attempt, the damage to his vision finished his professional career in the UK.
Graham then moved to South Africa, starting afresh with Arcadia Shepherds and witnessing, at first hand, some of the worst excesses of apartheid. After some hair-raising experiences, he moved to America in 1980 and signed a contract with Columbus Magic where he played for a season. The following year he joined The Atlanta Chiefs in the North American Soccer League before finishing his professional career with the Georgia Generals.
Graham then embarked on a coaching career and established a network of summer camps for boys and girls through which he met and married his wife, Liz.
In 1991, he founded the men’s soccer team at Life University in Marietta Georgia before devoting his time to establishing an indoor soccer league across America. In 2012 He was inducted into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame.
Buster lived with his wife Liz, in Marietta, Georgia, until his death in June 2022. Between them they raised two sons, Billy and Taylor.
Matt Eastley
Matt Eastley was born in Bexley, Kent just a few months before Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy after England defeated West Germany 4-2 to win the World Cup. Even though Matt’s Dad was more of a rugby fan he was, like his dad before him, a Charlton Athletic fan.
After a grammar school education in Sidcup, Kent, Matt went to university in Cardiff and, after briefly working in a bank, became a journalist. His first book ‘From Bovril to Champagne’ was published in 2010 after which he wrote Charlton Athletic On This Day followed by The Charlton Miscellany. He then wrote a series of books about FA Cup Finals, told through the eyes of fans who attended them. These were From Barry Stobart to Neil Young (the 1960s), From Ronnie Radford to Roger Osborne (The 1970s) and From Dave Beasant to Ricky Villa (1980s). In 2016 he researched and wrote 66 on 66 which told the stories of 66 people who had been at the famous World Cup Final.
Matt has written for numerous magazines and newspapers and has appeared on The One Show and BBC Radio 5 Live. He also works regularly for the BBC as a football commentator and analyst.
When Buster met Matt
A Transatlantic high five on one of many zoom calls!
I had just turned nine-years-old when I stood with my dad and grandad in the packed Covered End at The Valley, Charlton Athletic’s cavernous, bowl of a ground. That was an unforgettable night when Charlton beat a Preston side, managed by Sir Bobby Charlton, 3-1 to win promotion to the old division two. I will never forget the atmosphere in the ground that night and the crowd spilling on to the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate. In goal for The Addicks that night was a young man called Graham Tutt. Little did I know that some 40 years later Graham and I would become partners to collaborate on the telling of Graham’s remarkable life story. Like many Charlton fans, I had lost track of Graham’s life after he played his last professional match in this country – the game where millions of Match of the Day viewers witnessed him being carried off with terrible injuries in a match at Sunderland in February 1976. Who could have imagined then that we would develop a unique transatlantic friendship?
Many years later, when I became a journalist and writer, I tracked Graham down to the United States and wrote an article about him in the retro football magazine Backpass. Graham had already been thinking about writing his life story and so a partnership was born which has culminated in the writing of Never Give Up: The Graham ‘Buster’ Tutt Story. From my perspective it has been a pleasure but one that I never dreamt of as I watched my Charlton heroes from the terraces on that balmy evening in April 1975.
Written by Matthew
