Charlie Sifford, strong-willed golfer who broke down racial barriers, dies at 92

[CherryPanda]

Charlie Sifford, who overcame death threats, heckling from spectators and sabotage on the course to become the first African American golfer on the PGA Tour in 1961 and who was often called the Jackie Robinson of his sport, died Feb. 3 at a hospital in Cleveland. He was 92.

Mr. Sifford learned to play golf while working as a caddie at a segregated country club in his native North Carolina and tried for years to compete on the tour of the Professional Golfers’ Association. He was turned down year after year because of the PGA’s “Caucasian clause,” which required its members to be white.

Stocky and broad-shouldered, with a thick cigar often clenched between his teeth, Mr. Sifford was a vision of determination on the course and off. 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 to compete in the U.S. Open and PGA championships. In 2004, Mr. Sifford became the first African American admitted to the World Golf Hall of Fame. A fellow golfer, President Obama, awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2014.

Charlie Sifford strong-willed golfer who broke down racial barriers dies at 92 - The Washington Post

Have you ever heard about this man? Do you know anything about him? I believe, you should. We should (for, frankly speaking, I haven’t heard about him before, but I’m not into golf).

For he was a man to know about. Just read the story and learn what he had to go through to be able to play golf. And, actually, what he did for everyone who wants to play golf.

And what strikes me most… How he was different from many, many people today who claim to be fighting for equal rights.

 

[Asclepias]

I dont get how he was different? He was a Black man with confidence that would not quit.