Posted on 11/29/2021 10:53:49 AM PST by nickcarraway
Lee Elder, who broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play in the Masters and paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow, has died at the age of 87.
The PGA Tour announced Elder’s death, which was first reported Monday by Debert Cook of African American Golfers Digest. No cause was given, but the tour confirmed Elder's death with his family.
He had been in poor health and wore an oxygen tube beneath his nose when he appeared at the opening of the Masters in April. The tour said he died early Sunday in Escondido, California.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
It’s amazing how fact-checkers can so quickly announce the death of someone who was a footnote to history who is all but forgotten. They will mention someone who had a bit part in a one-season TV show from the 1960’s. I wonder how they do it.
Sad, he is only remembered because of his skin color.
True. I doubt that many people, even ardent baseball fans, can tell you very much about Jackie Robinson's accomplishments on the field. The only thing they would remember about him was that he was the first black ballplayer to play in the big leagues. Is that fact really so important that it blots out everything else about the man?
“Sad, he is only remembered because of his skin color.”
exactly my thought
If I was black and read that, I’d be pissed off.
He was rookie of the year, NL MVP, and a 6-time All Star, and he wasn’t in MLB until he was 28. You don’t think he was good?
I know he was good. I’m just wondering how many people can rattle off his accomplishments (without first doing a Google search).
Well, if you asked Yogi, he is known for being OUT at home in The 1955 World Series ;)
Not in my home. My in laws were avid golfers…meeting at the golf course. Every Sunday until my MIL was 99 were spent playing or watching golf.
He was a good golfer. It IS a shame they won’t judge him for being among the best of his craft.
RIP.
Nobody paved the way for Tiger, Tiger earned his way. Nobody paved the way for Lee either, he earned his way into the Masters, nothing to do with skin color. The Masters has rigorous methods to qualify, nobody is exempt until you win one. I'm so sick of the racial identity BS.
Augusta didn’t allow black members until 1990. One of the people who started the club said that as long as he is alive all players will be white, and all caddies will be black.
“The only thing they would remember about him was that he was the first black ballplayer to play in the big leagues.”
Funny thing is, although Jackie Robinson is widely recognized as the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues, Mose Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker is acknowledged by historians at the National Baseball Hall of Fame to actually be the first, six decades before Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
And Walker was highly educated with a degree from the University of Michigan Law School. But Robinson’s entry into MLB was accomplished for reasons other than play. And others to suit up that year were Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians (sorry, it’s history), Hank Thompson and Willard Brown, St. Louis Browns, and Dan Bankhead, also of the Dodgers, the first black pitcher in MLB. Three are in the hall of fame. So Jackie Robinson was not the first, just one of a few. But he was willing to play Branch Rickey’s game of race.
And you’re right, he will be remembered for that, mostly. The games people play.
wy69
How many Black players won a qualifying PGA tournament prior to 1975 and or were a top 50 golfer and would have qualified. The PGA allowed Blacks to earn their card as early as 1960.
Any yes, Willie Mays was black too but for some reason, no big deal was made of it. Which is exactly the way it should have been for Jackie.
Thanks for your info on Moses "Fleet" Walker. I truly never heard of the man and I used to be a big baseball fan back in my younger days. I also did not realize that a few other black ballplayers came up the same time as Jackie.
qualifying for the Masters and being a member are two different things.
But you said you were sick of the racial identity bs. That doesn’t qualify?
“who broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer”
White people changed the rules to allow Blacks to play in the PGA.
I'm not sure what you mean by that? What choice to Robinson have?
The Boston Red Sox won 94 games in 1950, but for the rest of the decade they were mediocre or worse.
The Red Sox scout had tried out Robinson and Willie Mays in the later 1940's, but the Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey didn't want black players. The Red Sox were the last team in MLB to have a black player, not until 1959.
You really think the Red Sox wouldn't have been better in the 1950s if they had Robinson and Mays?
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