Merchant, civil rights, golf legend dies

BRIDGEPORT — John F. Merchant, a long-time local lawyer and civil rights activist credited with opening professional golf to AfricanAmerican players, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 87.

Merchant, of Newtown, was a prominent figure in local court for more than 50 years where he practiced both criminal and civil law. When he entered a courtroom lawyers would get to their feet to shake his hand and were always met with a pat on the back and his wide, toothful grin.

“John was the pre-eminent, elder stateman of black practicing attorneys,” said Bridgeport lawyer Erroll Skyers. “He was the benchmark for many young attorneys, a wonderful gentleman.”

Recently retired Bridgeport State’s Attorney John Smriga recalled the cases he and Merchant had together. “John was a true gentleman and gifted negotiator,” Smriga said. “He had the ability to be very persuasive without ever using a harsh word or losing his patience. He will be sorely missed.”

Bridgeport lawyer Edward Gavin called Merchant a trailblazer.

“He was well respected by all in the legal profession,” Gavin said.

Funeral arrangements had not be completed.

Merchant was born in a section of Greenwich known then as Chickahominy whose minority residents including both his parents worked for the wealthy residents in town.

Merchant worked hard in school and was the first black to graduate from the University of Virginia Law School in 1958. Never forgetting where he came from, he created the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund in 1987 that assists black students enrolling at Virginia

with grants and/or scholarships.

In 1962, Merchant moved to Bridgeport after firms in Greenwich refused to hire him and formed the first black law firm with L. Scott Melville and E. Eugene Spear, both who later became Superior Court judges.

“Mine was a legal career where almost to a person a lawyer’s word was his bond and could be relied upon without qualification,” Merchant later wrote in his biography, “A Journey Worth Taking.”

Merchant learned to play golf while in the Navy but while he played at a number of courses in the area, he was blocked from playing in tournaments because he was black.

“You couldn’t get a certified handicap to play in any of the sanctioned events because you had to be a part of the men’s association and they wouldn’t let blacks join the men’s association,” he said in an interview in the Connecticut Post in 2010.

Merchant spoke out about the inequality in the sport and in 1992, with the support of Fairfield lawyer, S. Giles Payne, Merchant was appointed the first black member of the USGA’s executive committee.

While on the committee Merchant brought together black golfers from around the country with prominent golf people and industries, like Titleist, Nike and Wilson. He organized the First Tee Program to introduce black children to golf.

One young player Merchant worked with was a 19-year-old amateur named Tiger Woods. As a favor to Merchant, Woods did two clinics at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield in 1995 and 1996 and also played a couple of rounds of golf with Merchant at the Country Club of Fairfield.