Masters Quiz: Seven foreign golfers have won the Masters since
1970. Name them. Answer below.
Lee Elder
Elder was the first African-American to appear in the Masters in
1975. “I didn”t realize how important it was at the time, because
all I really wanted to do was play in the tournament.”
It had been about 14 years since the PGA had repealed its
“Caucasian-only” clause. But no welcome mat at the Masters,
even for Charlie Sifford or Pete Brown, solid touring pros.
By 1973, Congressman Ed Koch (later mayor of New York) was
among the members of Congress, along with UN ambassador
Andrew Young, who wrote a letter urging then Masters
chairman, Clifford Roberts, to invite a black. Roberts wrote in
reply, “We are a little surprised as well as being flattered that 18
congressmen should be able to take the time out to help us
operate a golf tournament.”
Elder eventually gained his invitation by winning the 1974
Monsanto Open in Pensacola, FL. (winning a tournament over the
preceding year was one of the prerequisites for gaining an
invitation). Just six years earlier blacks had been banned from
participating in this event.
Right after the victory, as Elder was accepting his trophy, Clifford
Roberts was calling Lee to congratulate him. Two months before
the ”75 Masters, Roberts invited Elder for a practice round. And
when Elder returned for the tournament, Roberts personally met
him and led him to the registration site.
Finally, on April 10, Elder and playing partner Gene Littler hit the
first tee. The media crush was unbelievable. Even celebrities like
former football great Jim Brown were in the gallery. Lee”s first
drive was right down the middle. And it really didn”t matter that
he shot 74-78, missing the cut.
Elder played in 5 more Masters and he speaks fondly of his first
trip. “I”ll never forget the ride down Magnolia Lane. Some of
the players had told me how it felt, but I wasn”t prepared for it.
When we turned down that cobblestone road, I started to shake.
It changed my whole life.” [Source: Pete McDaniel, Golf Digest]
Palmer, Player and Nicklaus / The Masters
I hope some of you got to see the three greats tee it up on
Thursday. And darned if they all didn”t play well. Clearly,
though, they tired at the end or the final scores would have been
even better. But think of this. 64-year old Player shot a 4-over,
besting John Huston, Lee Westwood, Bob Tway and Jesper
Parnevik. 70-year old Palmer, with a 6-over par round, beat Ben
Crenshaw, Corey Pavin and Greg Norman. And 60-year old
Nicklaus” 2-over was close to being much better. If I was there
at Augusta, I know who I would have been following.
Know Your Gonzalez
Remember, Elian Gonzalez father, Juan Gonzalez, is NOT the
Detroit Tigers ballplayer of the same name. [I keep making this
mistake myself.] But did you know that about 15 Gonzalez”s
have been position players in the major leagues? Name the Cuban
Gonzalez who has the most home runs? Answer below.
Lefty Grove
While pitching for the Philadelphia Athletics, Grove had the
following won-lost record, 1928-30: 24-8, 20-6, 28-5. [72-19]
So Lefty was rewarded with a $20,000 contract for 1931 – plus
an incentive clause that generated $1,000 for each victory above
20. He went 31-4!!! Now do you think today”s players could do
that?
[By the way, Lefty also went 25-10 in ”32 and 24-8 in ”33. He
finished with a career mark of 300-141.]
Sydney Olympics…and Sharks
So Sports Illustrated”s Rick Reilly wrote last week of the nine
shark-related incidents in and near Sydney Harbor, the site of the
swimming segment of the Olympic triathlon. Sydney officials say
the chance of an attack during the Olympics is “virtually nil”
because attacks rarely occur in those parts in September. But on
April 16 there is a World Cup triathlon in these waters. Reilly
writes, “It”s not too late for Sydney officials to do the right thing
on the sharks. In fact, it”s high time for Sydney to take the one
step that will make this first Olympic triathlon the best ever.
Make sure John Tesh is entered.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/3/61: #1 “Blue Moon” (The
Marcels) #2 “Apache” (Jorgen Ingmann.hey, he ain”t no
apache!) #3 “Surrender” (Elvis Presley).
Market Crash Songs
HK from Toronto compiled a little list:
“Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
“Won”t Get Fooled Again” – The Who
“Free Fallin”” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
“It”s All Over Now” – Rolling Stones
“I Fall to Pieces” – Patsy Cline
“The End of the World as We Know It” – REM
“Eve of Destruction” – Barry Maguire.my favorite
St. Lawrence Loses
The cinderella ride of the St. Lawrence hockey team (see Bar Chat,
4/3) came to an end last night as Boston College beat the Saints,
4-2, in the NCAA Frozen Four. Boston College now meets North
Dakota (still a state, as far as I know) in the Division I
championship game Saturday night. [North Dakota”s nickname is
the “Fighting Sioux.” When are the PC folks going to get hold of
that one?]
Quiz Answer: Gary Player (”74, ”78), Seve Ballesteros (”80,
”83,), Bernhard Langer (”85, ”93), Sandy Lyle (”88), Nick Faldo
(”89, ”90, ”96), Ian Woosnam (”91), Jose Maria Olazabal (”94,
”99).
Gonzalez Quiz: Tony. Hit 103 homers with a .286 career
average (mostly while with the Phillies), 1960-71. Juan Gonzalez,
340 entering this year, is from Puerto Rico. Luis Gonzalez, 133,
was born in Tampa, FL.
Next Bar Chat, Monday…a little NASCAR.
