He’s been called the Jackie Robinson of golf.
Charles Luther Sifford (June 2, 1922 – February 3, 2015) died this month. I don’t think I saw any blogs or articles about his death. I guess writers thought some more important stuff was happening that day.
We have to start with some history. Charlie Sifford was born in North Carolina in 1922. He started caddying at golf courses when he was thirteen. He started golfing at the same time. He got pretty good, too. So good, in fact, that he could turn pro. But, at the time, black golfers weren’t allowed to join the Professional Golfer’s Association of America (PGA) because, you know, racism. At the time, black golfers organized the United Golf Association and competed in their own tournaments.
As a professional, he won the Negro National Open six times. Sifford always strove to join the PGA, though. In 1947, the year that Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, Sifford asked Robinson how he might break the color barrier in professional golf. Robinson said, “OK, if you’re not a quitter, go ahead and take the challenge. If you’re a quitter, there’s going to be a lot of obstacles you’re going to have to go through to be successful in what you’re trying to do.”
In the 1940s, still early in Sifford’s career, pressure began to mount for the PGA to remove the “caucasians only” clause from its bylaws. In 1948, the year after the MLB integrated, two black golfers finished with scores good enough to qualify for automatic entry to PGA tournaments but were denied.
In 1957, Sifford qualified for the Long Beach Open which was co-sponsored by the PGA. He was the first black golfer allowed to play in a PGA co-sponsored event. He won.
In 1961, under pressure from the California attorney general, Charlie Sifford was granted full membership to the PGA. In 1967, he won the Greater Hartford Open, becoming the first black golfer to win a fully-sponsored PGA event. Sifford went on to compete in 422 PGA tournaments.
In 2014, President Obama granted Charlie Sifford the Presidential Medal of Freedom
He died on February 3, 2015 at the age of 92.
TL;DR
- Professional golf used to be segregated.
- Charlie Sifford broke that color barrier and inspired generations of black golfers, including Tiger Woods.
What You Should Do Now:
- Read Siffords’ autobiography Just Let Me Play.
- Think of your favorite sport. Find out who broke that color barrier.
28 Days of Inspirational Black People:
- Ed Brooke
- Blanche Bruce
- Andrew Young
- Denys Cowan
- Antoine Fuqua
- John Singleton
- Countee Cullen
- Dennis Kimetto
- Robert Hayden
- Lee Daniels
- Anthony Mackie/Falcon
- Val James
- Abebe Bikila
- Steve McQueen
- Ernest J. Gaines
Photo — Flickr/ Casey Geib