Talkin’ Sports
With Pat
Sorry that I missed the last two weeks or Talk’n Sport’s, but I
am back. I want to talk about a golfer named Charlie Sifford, who passed away
two weeks ago. He was the first African American golfer on the PGA Tour. That
was 1961. He had been trying for years to be allowed to compete but was always
turned downed, for most of the golf courses had a “Caucasian clause”, which
required its members to be white. He was past his prime, 38 when the PGA did
grant him membership and he went on to win two tournaments, and compete in the
U.S. OPEN AND THE PGA Championship. He was also the first African American to
be admitted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. There was a black tour organized
by the United Golf Association, the paychecks were small and the courses were
not kept up. While fighting for a spot on the PGA, he won the UGA championship
six times from 1952 to 1960 including five years in a row. He won he first
official PGA tournament in 67, and was always in the top 60 of money winners on
the tour. That was without a sponsor, coach or given equipment he paid for
everything and most of the time not only ate by himself but also had to deal
with unruly fans and their awful comments that they were allowed to make. He
was never invited to the Masters, even after he won the PGA seniors
championship in 1975. Still in 1986 after a tournament in Los Angeles, promised
a prize of $100,000, plus a new car to anyone who made a hole in one. Mr. Sifford scored the ace but was denied the
award and had to take promoters to court where he one again. They should have
known he was going to fight them and just paid up. This was an amazing story
and makes me think that if he would have been allowed to be on the tour during
his prime how many tournaments and majors he could have won?