- Professional golfer.
- First black golfer to play in the PGA (1960) and first to win a PGA event (1967 Greater Hartford Open). One of his early mentors was Clayton Heafner.
- Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. First black player to receive this honor.
- While playing in Phoenix in 1952, he and other black golfers reached the green on the first hole, only to find human feces in the cup. After he made a shot, spectators sometimes kicked his golf ball into the rough or hid it under garbage.
- During WWII, he served in the Army in the Pacific and was a member of a military golf team. After his discharge, he became a valet and golf coach for several years to singer Billy Eckstine.
- He learned to play golf while working as a caddie at a segregated country club in North Carolina. He tried for years to join the PGA tour, but was turned down because of the PGA's "Caucasian clause," requiring its members to be white. 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 competed in the U.S. Open and PGA championships.
- While fighting for a spot on the PGA Tour, he won the United Golf Association championship six times from 1952 to 1960, including five years in a row.
- He often had to change clothes in his car because he was not allowed in the clubhouse. He brought his own sandwiches or ate lunch with the caddies because he could not enter country-club restaurants. Even after he was granted provisional membership in 1961, several tournaments in the South and Southwest still barred him. He didn't gain full accreditation from the PGA until 1964.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content