Charles Luther Sifford Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Charles L. Sifford (born June 2, 1922) is an African American former professional golfer who helped to desegregate the PGA of America.Sifford was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and currently resides in Shaker Heights, Ohio. 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 PGA Seniors' Championship, then the leading tournament for golfers over fifty.In 2004, Sifford became the first African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He chose fellow Hall of Fame member South African Gary Player to present him for induction. On June 22, 2006, he received an honorary degree from the University of St Andrews as a Doctor of Laws. He also received the 2007 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor.In 2009, the Northern Trust Open created an exemption for a player who represents the advancement of diversity in golf; it is named in honor of Sifford and is referred to as the Charlie Sifford Exemption.In 2011 Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation renamed Revolution Park Golf Course to Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course at Revolution Park.President Barack Obama awarded him the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I really would like to know how good I could have been with a fair chance. I loved the game, and I had a gift, but I had too much pressure. I will never know.
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Fact
1
He often had to change clothes in his car because he was not allowed in the clubhouse. He brought his own sandwiches or ate lunch with the caddies because he could not enter country-club restaurants. Even after he was granted provisional membership in 1961, several tournaments in the South and Southwest still barred him. He didn't gain full accreditation from the PGA until 1964.
2
While fighting for a spot on the PGA Tour, he won the United Golf Association championship six times from 1952 to 1960, including five years in a row.
3
He learned to play golf while working as a caddie at a segregated country club in North Carolina. He tried for years to join the PGA tour, but was turned down because of the PGA's "Caucasian clause," requiring its members to be white. He was 38 and past his prime as a player when the PGA finally granted him provisional membership. He went on to win two tournaments, and competed in the U.S. Open and PGA championships.
4
During WWII, he served in the Army in the Pacific and was a member of a military golf team. After his discharge, he became a valet and golf coach for several years to singer Billy Eckstine.
5
While playing in Phoenix in 1952, he and other black golfers reached the green on the first hole, only to find human feces in the cup. After he made a shot, spectators sometimes kicked his golf ball into the rough or hid it under garbage.
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Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. First black player to receive this honor.
7
First black golfer to play in the PGA (1960) and first to win a PGA event (1967 Greater Hartford Open). One of his early mentors was Clayton Heafner.
$10 Million
