Theodore Rhodes (November 9, 1913 – July 4, 1969) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who helped to break the

color barrier Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

in the sport. Rhodes was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and attended the city's public schools. He learned the game of golf in his teenage years while working as a caddie at Nashville's Belle Meade Country Club and Richland Country Club. In the late 1930s, Rhodes joined the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC). He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When his tour of duty concluded, Rhodes was discharged in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he met entertainer

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and heavyweight boxing champion

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

. He taught both men to play the game of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, and served as Louis' personal instructor, valet and playing partner.

Golf career

In the late 1940s, Rhodes moved to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

where he was mentored by

Ray Mangrum Ray B. Mangrum (June 17, 1910 – April 2, 1975) was an American professional golfer and the older brother of a more famous golfer, Lloyd Mangrum. Mangrum began his golf career in the 1920s as a club professional in Dallas, Texas, eventually beco ...

. In 1948, he played in the U.S. Open at the

Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and became recognized as the first African-American professional golfer. Rhodes and fellow African-American golfer

Bill Spiller Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 – 1988) was an American professional golfer who helped to break the color barrier in his sport. Biography Spiller was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a nine-year-old to live with h ...

initiated litigation against the

Professional Golfers' Association of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

(PGA) seeking removal of the association's "Caucasian only clause". Although they prevailed in the out-of-court settlement, the PGA circumvented the agreement by changing its tournaments to "invitationals" and invited only whites to participate. Rhodes played mostly in

United Golf Association The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of African-American professional golfers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks during the era of racial segregation in the United States. It was said to have sta ...

sanctioned tournaments during his career, winning about 150 times. Courses he played included

Rogers Park, Tampa Rogers Park Golf Course is a historic public 18-hole golf course in Tampa, Florida. Land for the park was acquired by the City of Tampa in 1947 and was used for picnics and games by black residents during the era of racial segregation in the Un ...

. Rhodes returned to his native Nashville in the 1960s and mentored several black PGA players including

Lee Elder Robert Lee Elder (July 14, 1934 – November 28, 2021) was an American professional golfer. In 1975, he became the first African-American to play in the Masters Tournament, where he missed the cut. Elder was invited to the tournament after he w ...

and

Charlie Sifford Charles Luther Sifford (June 2, 1922 – February 3, 2015) was an American professional golfer who was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the ...

. He died at the age of 55. A month after his death, the Cumberland Golf Course in Nashville was renamed in his honor and is now named Ted Rhodes Golf Course. In 1998, Rhodes was inducted into the

Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame The Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame was established in 1991 by the Tennessee Golf Foundation as a non-profit organization. The hall of fame is located at the "Golf House Tennessee" a 21,000 square foot golf complex in Franklin, Tennessee (near Nashvill ...

. In 2009, the PGA of America granted posthumous membership to Rhodes, Spiller, and

John Shippen John Matthew Shippen Jr. (December 2, 1879 – May 20, 1968) was an American golfer who competed in several of the early U.S. Opens. Born in Washington D.C., he was the son of a former slave and Presbyterian minister, John Shippen Sr. and Eliza ...

. The PGA also has granted posthumous honorary membership to boxer

.PGA of America bestows membership upon late African-American pioneers
During his first Masters win speech,

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

mentioned Rhodes as one of the pioneers that paved the way for him to play golf. In 2010, Rhodes was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. The Ted Rhodes Foundation was created in 1993 to keep his legacy alive and educate others about his contributions to the game of golf by hosting golf tournaments for youth and adults, as well as golf clinics. The foundation is run by Rhodes's granddaughter Tiffany White. The foundation supports HBCUs (

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

) golf teams, such as Fisk University's in Nashville, and gives scholarships to HBCU golf team members. Lastly, the foundation supports urban junior golf programs, such as First Tee of Tennessee and First Tee of Lake County.

References

External links

* edrhodes.org Ted Rhodes Foundation {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Ted American male golfers African-American golfers Golfers from Tennessee Civilian Conservation Corps people Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee 1913 births 1969 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople