Celebrating Black History Month in Golf

As we celebrate Black History Month and relate it to the game of golf, you could look at Tiger Woods’ ascension as the world’s top golfer through two different prisms. On the one hand, we celebrate the fact that Woods’ emergence has brought some focus to the game’s need to continue promoting and increasing access among aspiring African-American players. On the other, we can lament the fact that there’s still a long way to go in that pursuit.

Either way, it’s important to remember the contributions of Tiger’s African-American predecessors who paved the way for men and women of color not only to enjoy such success today, but to be able to even pursue it.

Pete McDaniel, author of Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf, offers some compelling video testimonials on the GOLF CHANNEL Web site. One of them in particular is a tremendously informative session, and if you simply take 10 minutes out of your day to hear some great stories about the likes of such African-American golf pioneers as Teddy Rhodes, Bill Spiller and Charlie Sifford, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for their impact on the game.

Through this and other Black History Month videos on this site, you’ll also discover that two of the most influential people in advancing the game for African-Americans were actually champions in other sports. After a stellar tennis career that netted her 11 Grand Slam tournament titles, Althea Gibson turned her focus to golf and in 1964 became the first-ever African-American player on the LPGA Tour. And “The Brown Bomber” himself – longtime heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis - not only funded the careers of golfers like Rhodes, but also would routinely (and intentionally) lose gambling matches to the likes of Rhodes, Spiller and Sifford because he knew they needed the money.

Joe Louis was also instrumental in laying the groundwork for the PGA of America’s 1961 removal of its “Caucasian-only clause,” using his celebrity status to push for his inclusion in the 1952 San Diego Open – and in the process becoming the first-ever African-American to play in a PGA-sanctioned event.

Prior to hearing McDaniel on the subject, my only first-hand appreciation of black history in golf came from having seen the likes of Calvin Peete and Jim Thorpe compete in televised PGA events when I was a kid. McDaniel’s recollections gave mine some desperately needed context for which I’m grateful, and from which I can now maintain a deeper respect for African-American contributions to the game we all love.