This is an American story. It’s about a pioneer in our national championship. It shows strength in the face of adversity. It involves the weakness of bigotry and the courage to stand up to it. It illustrates the pursuit of excellence and the frailty of fate. It’s about forging a life in a game against all odds.
It’s the story of John Shippen, the son of freed slaves who became the first American-born golf professional and came within one bad hole of winning the U.S. Open 52 years before another Black man would play in the national open and 101 years before Tiger Woods became the first Black major champion.
“Some of the younger people have no clue and think African-American golf began with Tiger Woods,” said Pete McDaniel, a longtime golf journalist who wrote “Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf.”
“We had never been taught the difference between African-Americans taking up the game and wanting to play the game and actually being an originator in the professional ranks. People are shocked. I run into that all the time. My book has been out 26 years and even people I play golf with have no idea of the rich history of African-Americans in golf.”
Thurman Simmons – who along with his wife, Ruby, wrote a memoir (“A Golf Legend”) of their decades-long journey to honor a forgotten hero – thinks the reaction is the same when you declare that the first American-born golf professional was a Black man.
“They don’t believe you,” Simmons said.
Shippen was an American original, building a respected role in a game where Blacks were unwelcome if not explicitly barred from inclusion.