Pioneers of the Masters

Who was the first black golfer to play in the U.S. Masters tournament? AugustA’s National golf Club was founded by some of the great golfers and businessmen of the thirties, including Bobby Jones Jr. and Clifford Roberts.

the course opened in spring 1933, its members chosen from an elite group of white businessmen. the first Augusta National Invitational tournament, as the Masters was originally known, began on March 22, 1934, and was won by Horton smith. the present name was adopted in 1939.

From the beginning of the tournament until 1983, tournament rules stated that players must use local caddies, not those with whom they usually travel and play. All caddies at Augusta National were black.

It was not until 1961 that the Professional golfers’ Association Of America rescinded its ‘Caucasians only’ rule after years of protests and legal fights by early black players such as Bill spiller and ted Rhodes. In 1961, Charlie sifford became the first African-American player to earn a PgA tour card. Pete Brown was the first African- American player to win a PgA-sanctioned event, the 1964 Waco turner Open.

sifford won the greater Hartford Invitational in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969, two PgA tour events, but did not play in the Masters. Ostensibly, the tournament was an ‘invitational’, but it had established protocols as to who was invited.

If a player won a PgA event in the preceding year or finished the year among the top 25 money winners, he received an invitation. sifford easily met these criteria, but was denied an invitation.

According to sifford: ‘When I won a tournament, they changed the rules for who was eligible.’ He added: ‘to my mind, the Masters was the worst redneck tournament in the country, run by people who openly discriminated against blacks.’

the colour barrier was eventually broken in 1975 when Lee Elder was invited to play in the tournament. the Masters had changed its qualification standards in 1972 so that every PgA tour winner was guaranteed a place in the competition.

thus when Elder won the 1974 Monsanto Open, he automatically gained entry to the tournament. Like other black golfers, Elder experienced years of harassment at tournaments in other southern states.

At some clubs, such as Pensacola in Florida, he had to change clothes in a car Breaking the colour barrier: Lee Elder, the first black golfer to play at the Masters, with Tiger Woods, the first black winner park as black players weren’t allowed in the club house.

In the run-up to the Masters, he received so many intimidating letters, including death threats warning him he would never tee off, that he ended up renting two houses in georgia and spent the tournament moving between the two properties so no one would know where he was staying.

unfortunately, he did not make the cut after shooting 74 and 78; he said there was too much pressure on him.

Elder was 40 when he first played at the Masters. He felt that if he had played as a younger man he might have had a chance of winning. He went on to play in three further Masters — 1977, 1978 and 1979 — making the cut each time, finishing 19th, 42nd and 17th respectively.

Not until 1990 did Augusta National admit its first black member, businessman Ron townsend. In 2012, Augusta National invited ex-secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and south Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932.

Richard Terry, Wolverhampton. Is there a governmentsanctioned UFO landing pad in Alberta, Canada? tHE 1967 Canadian Centennial was a year-long event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, and the town of st Paul in Alberta embraced the celebration, setting up 100 centennial projects. the centrepiece was put forward by John Lagassé, inspired by several uFO sightings in the area.

It was accepted by st Paul’s Centennial Organising committee, which donated the $11,000 required to build the platform.

Weighing just over 130 tons, the large flat concrete structure contains a time capsule to be opened on the 100-year anniversary of the pad’s opening in 2067. the pad consists of a raised platform with a map of Canada embossed on the back stop, consisting of stones provided by each province of Canada.

the sign beside the pad reads: ‘the area under the World’s First uFO Landing Pad was designated international by the town of st Paul as a symbol of our faith that mankind will maintain the outer universe free from national wars and strife. that future travel in space will be safe for all intergalactic beings, all visitors from Earth or otherwise are welcome to this territory and to the town of st Paul.’

the project wasn’t funded by the government, but it did dispatch Paul Hellyer, Minister of National Defence, to officially open the pad on June 3, 1967.

In 1990, the town opened an adjacent uFO tourist information centre and exhibit featuring photos of uFOs, crop circles and cattle mutilations. there is also a uFO hotline but, so far, no alien visitors.

Paul Haining, Belfast. I’ve just been reading about a German soldier in an elite regiment at the end of World War II who joined the French Foreign Legion. Was this an unusual thing to do? tHE most comprehensive work on this subject is Dr Eckard Michels’s Deutsche In Der Fremdenlegion, 1870-1965: Mythen Und Realitaeten.

A substantial number of german soldiers were recruited into the Legion during and after the war. Recruiters scoured French PoW camps for recruits from 1943 and the French zone of germany beginning in the summer of 1945.

According to the Allied High Commission, the number of former Wehrmacht PoWs inducted into the Legion in 1945-46 was possibly up to 5,000. Many fought in the early stages of the French Indo-China wars. Most controversial was the possible presence of ex- ss men in the Legion. Officially, former ss men could not enlist.

French military intelligence agents interrogated prospective volunteers and inspected each candidate for the blood type tattoo inscribed under the armpit of most ss soldiers.

But not all ss men had this tattoo, and it is thought a small number did manage to gain entrance in 1945 and 1946. When an estimated figure of ‘60 or 70’ former ss serving in the Legion was released, there was public outrage.

Professor Michels attempted on three occasions to obtain access to the Legion’s archive at Aubagne to explore this question, but he was refused admittance.

However, American historian Douglas Porch was permitted to see most of their files, and his overall conclusion was that few ex-ss men served in the Legion.

Martin R. Wray, Wilmslow, Cheshire.