“God picked the right man…”
If you’re a fan of golf you probably have heard of Charlie Sifford.
But today, for any of our non-golfing readers (hi Mom!), or for any who agree with us that his story is one that probably can’t be overtold, we’re posting a couple of clips that share a little bit about this American pioneer.
First, hear a brief recounting (it’s worth the nearly 10 minutes) of his past from a 2006 ceremony where he received an honorary degree, Doctor of Laws, from the University of St. Andrews.
You can also hear what Calvin Peete had to say (at 1:40 of this clip) and you’ll understand where our headline today comes from.
Well done Mr. Sifford.
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Caddies to Cadillacs…
You know what’s interesting? I don’t recall reading a single other blog entry across all the golf-blog-o’sphere about Charlie, or other pioneers on Jan. 18th.
I find that just….interesting, and sadly revealing.
That’s because golfers are not interested in grass roots. They’re interested in golf posts about swing tips, who won the last tournament or Natalie Gulbis.
We blogged about Charlie back in 2008 in the cynically titled category “You already knew this”.
http://triplebogey.wordpress.com/2008/01/30/charlie-dont-surf/
This puts it into perspective…
http://kylekinane.tumblr.com/post/342435839/to-all-the-brave-men-and-women-that-marched-on-nbc
Sadly, so does this:
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2010/1/19/sifford-exemption-follow-up.html
Great post. Watching this video … one realizes how recent it was that this was a blatantly segregationist country where evil (some would call it ignorance, but I’m not buying that) ruled, and institutionalized racism was the order of the day. While things have clearly improved since then with the much of behavior displayed against Dr. Sifford having been made illegal, the fact that we still have people like Rush Limbaugh and Audra Shays and Trent Lott…and that nearly half the population of the US actually admires such individuals makes it clear that much of the improvement is merely superficial.
As far as golf bloggers are concerned the majority avoid political statements and avoid making the slightest statement about hot-button issues like race so as not to alienate even one reader. Either that or they do write about about it and are so damn impressed with their own sophomoric snarkiness that they render the discussion obnoxious and meaningless.
I myself wrote wrote about Haiti on January 18. About how a golf course that was once exclusive and exclusionary had been transformed … by a force of nature, not by the wisdom of men… into a refuge for people of all walks of life. Some people told me the story was a downer and would turn off readers. I didn’t think so, and I thought it was an important story.
Mr. Sifford’s story is no less important, neither is the story of Bill Powell the pioneering golfer who died in January. I’m writing about both of them and a number of others for a possible book in the future. Unfortunately long format writing IS in fact something that to my mind categorically doesn’t work on the internet… at least not yet… and I find it very difficult to distill the stories of these amazing people down to online size.
You did a good job with this one though.
Nice tribute, Hack. Charlie was the Jackie Robinson of pro golf. He’s one tough man. I’ve actually had a few encounters with him, and blogged about it. Last September I had dinner with him at a Champions Tour event in North Carolina. That was interesting.