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Charlie Sifford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charlie Sifford (born June 2, 1922) was the first African American golfer to play on the PGA Tour and the first to win a PGA Tour event.
Sifford was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He began work as a caddy at the age of thirteen. Later he competed in the golf tournaments that black golfers organized for themselves as they were excluded from the PGA of America, and worked as a personal golf coach for band leader Billy Eckstine. He first attempted to qualify for a PGA Tour event at the 1952 Phoenix Open, using an invitation obtained by former World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis and was subjected to threats and racial abuse there and at other tournaments. In 1957 he won the Long Beach Open, which was not an official PGA Tour event, but was co-sponsored by the PGA and had some well known white players in the field. He became a member of the Tour in 1961 and went on to win two official money events. He also won the 1975 Senior PGA Championship, then the leading tournament for golfers over fifty. However he was never invited to compete at the Masters Tournament, possibly due to racial tensions.
In 2004, Charlie Sifford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He chose the white South African Gary Player to perform the induction.
- Sifford breaks golf HOF's color barrier
- Charlie Sifford (Great Athletes) ISBN 1-883846-27-7
- Just Let Me Play: The Story of Charlie Sifford, the First Black PGA Golfer (1992) ISBN 0-945167-44-X
- The Wicked Game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and the Story of Modern Golf (2004) by Howard Sounes. ISBN 0-06-051386-1
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