Spirit of the Game: William Wright

Word: This piece first appeared on usga.org on February 20, 2012.

Not lengthy after receiving the trophy for his historic U.S. Beginner Public Hyperlinks triumph in 1959, William Wright obtained a telephone name on the Wellshire Golf Course in Denver from a Seattle reporter.

The primary query requested of Wright was, “How does it really feel to be the primary black to win a nationwide match?”

Angered that the primary inquiry concerned race, not his efficiency, Wright instantly slammed down the telephone and walked away.

Startled by the response, the reporter known as once more.

On the time, Wright didn’t fully understand the importance of his victory. However he additionally didn’t need his pores and skin colour to be the story, both. He wished to be handled like each different champion golfer; to let his efficiency, which included a 1-up semifinal win over defending champion Don Essig, and a 3-and-2 final-match victory over Frank Campbell, to be the point of interest. Wright had by no means trailed in any of his six matches, regardless of barely making match play with a qualifying rating of 149.“I instructed myself to be calm,” recalled Wright as he recounted the story to 200 attendees of the African-American Golf Historical past Symposium on the USGA in Far Hills, N.J., on Feb. 18. “I backed away from the telephone as a result of I didn’t need to slam it down once more. I requested him, ‘What are you eager about?’ I instructed him I used to be pleased that I gained the match.”

Wright’s principal objective that week was to qualify for match play. He had struggled and fought so onerous simply to take part that he was pleased with his accomplishment.

Wright instructed the viewers that he was happy with what was finally written about his victory.

It has taken time for the importance to sink in, however being the primary African-American USGA champion now has a particular place in Wright’s profession. One can simply sense the delight when the 75-year-old golf skilled speaks. Round his neck on the symposium was the gold medal he obtained on that July day in 1959. It’s similar to the gold medal that each USGA particular person champion receives, from the U.S. Junior Beginner to the U.S. Open.

Wright was one in all 5 audio system on the one-day symposium that additionally highlighted a particular exhibit on the USGA Museum that includes African-American sports activities icons Althea Gibson, Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson, however he was the one speaker with a USGA championship pedigree.

That 1959 APL was Wright’s first USGA competitors. For years, his father, Bob, an excellent golfer in his personal proper (he certified for the 1963 APL), and mom fought a rule that barred blacks from becoming a member of metropolis programs in Seattle. They might play, however couldn’t belong to males’s or ladies’s golf equipment to determine a USGA Handicap Index®, one thing that was required to compete.

“You need to perceive, we couldn’t play in metropolis tournaments, state tournaments or nationwide tournaments as a result of we couldn’t be part of a membership,” defined Wright. “There have been solely three [public] golf programs in Seattle: West Seattle, Jackson Park and Jefferson Park.”

Lastly, his mom’s battle satisfied the governor to place an finish to the discrimination. Not solely may blacks not be part of, however neither may one other quickly rising demographic within the metropolis – Asians.

Successful that APL modified the notion, no less than in Seattle. Upon returning residence, Wright was now acknowledged by folks. He may get a beginning time at Jefferson Park, the identical course the place a future Masters champion honed his skills (Fred {Couples}).

However nationally, black golfers nonetheless have been receiving the chilly shoulder. It occurred once more to Wright later that summer time when he arrived at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., for the U.S. Beginner. Because the APL champion, Wright had earned an computerized exemption into the Nationwide Beginner. Nevertheless, he was the one African American within the subject and his fellow opponents did little to make him really feel welcome.

No person engaged Wright, then a 23-year-old Western Washington College senior, till an aged gentleman noticed him on the apply placing inexperienced. Charles “Chick” Evans, a two-time U.S. Beginner champion (1916 and 1920) and one in all simply 5 gamers (Evans, Bob Jones, Johnny Goodman, Jerome Travers and Francis Ouimet) to have gained the U.S. Beginner and U.S. Open as an newbie, instantly noticed what was occurring. So the 69-year-old Chicagoan approached Wright and took him below his wing, offering him a locker inside The Broadmoor and even providing him lodging.

Then Evans took him out for a apply spherical with two future golf titans. One was Deane Beman (future U.S. Beginner champion and PGA Tour commissioner), and the opposite was a 220-pound blond with a crew reduce. His title was Jack Nicklaus, who would win his first of his eight USGA titles that 12 months at The Broadmoor.

“I’ve by no means forgotten it,” stated Wright of Evans’ benevolence. “He came visiting and made it so I may take pleasure in essentially the most aristocratic resort. It was simply superb.”

Wright could be eradicated within the first spherical, however that summer time of 1959 was the kickstart to a exceptional life, on and off the course. He ultimately relocated to Los Angeles together with his spouse, Ceta, and opened a collection of automobile dealerships. He additionally grew to become a Class A PGA skilled in 1971 and briefly performed on the PGA Tour.

He nonetheless teaches at a small golf facility close to the Los Angeles Worldwide Airport, and has not misplaced his zeal for the sport. Whereas within the automobile enterprise, it wasn’t unusual for Wright to rise at 3:30 or 4 within the morning and play 12 holes at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena earlier than heading over to his automobile dealership.

“I nonetheless have that need to play golf and I need to play onerous,” stated Wright, who has certified for one U.S. Open and 5 U.S. Senior Opens.

Wright now not has to cope with the injustices that after confronted an African-American golfer. He’s grateful for males like Joe Louis who helped blacks acquire entry to the PGA Tour and helped abolish the Caucasian-only clause from The PGA of America’s bylaws.

In the present day, he can name any course in Los Angeles and inform the store who he’s and instantly obtain an invite to play.

He want to see extra blacks within the recreation. So far, solely Wright, Alton Duhon (USGA Senior Beginner) and Tiger Woods (U.S. Junior Beginner, U.S. Beginner and U.S. Open) have gained particular person USGA titles. Mariah Stackhouse (2009) and Amira Alexander (2011) helped Georgia win a pair of USGA Girls’s State Staff championships.

Wright handed away, February 19, 2021.