Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 – 1988) was an American professional golfer 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 his sport.

Biography

Spiller was born in

Tishomingo, Oklahoma Tishomingo is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,034 at the 2010 census, a decline of 4.1 percent from the figure of 3,162 in 2000. It was the first capital of the Chick ...

and moved to

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

as a nine-year-old to live with his father where he quickly learned the drawbacks of being a black citizen in America. He was an excellent athlete, a two-sport star in high school. Spiller went on to enroll at

Wiley College Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...

in Marshall, Texas, and earned an education degree. He did not take up the sport of golf until he was about 30. Spiller moved to Southern California to try to make a living teaching, but it was not enough to get by, so he worked as a railroad porter. Spiller took up the challenge of a fellow porter in Los Angeles to try golf. He started competing and winning blacks-only amateur golf tournaments during the 1940s. After being denied entry in the 1948 Richmond Open held in Richmond, California by the

PGA 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 ...

, Spiller spent many years challenging the segregation policy of the PGA of America. Professional golf at the time was controlled by the PGA of America which required tournaments to give the final say over who could participate. One of its rules was that participants must be

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

. A golfer who was otherwise qualified (such as Spiller) could be denied tournament entry for not being Caucasian. Spiller sued with the assistance of Bay Area attorney Jonathan Rowell. The basis of the lawsuit filed by Spiller and fellow golfer

Ted Rhodes Theodore Rhodes (November 9, 1913 – July 4, 1969) was an American professional golfer who helped to break the color barrier in the sport. Rhodes was born in Nashville, Tennessee and attended the city's public schools. He learned the game of g ...

was that the golfers were denied a right to earn a living in the sport because the PGA was a closed shop. Under the Taft-Hartley Act such rules were against the law. Shortly before the court date, they withdrew the lawsuit in return for a promise from the PGA lawyer that the PGA would end discrimination. The PGA reneged on its end of the bargain and began sponsoring "invitational tournaments" to which blacks were not invited. In 1952, the sponsors of the new San Diego Open invited Spiller, unaware of the "Caucasians only" clause. This time he was assisted by fellow invitee and former heavyweight champion Joe Louis. When both men were excluded by president of the PGA of America

Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments. Tournament career Born in Springfield, Missouri, Smith turned professional in 1926 and w ...

, Louis took his story to popular newspaper columnist

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

. The story quickly gained national attention as other newspapers spread the word. Once again, Spiller threatened to sue. Once again, Smith promised to change the rules. This time the PGA of America announced blacks could play, if invited. Some sponsors began inviting blacks, however the segregation clause remained. In 1960, Spiller's cause came to the attention of California attorney general (and future California Supreme Court justice) Stanley Mosk. Mosk told the PGA of America it would not be allowed to use public courses. At the time, most tournaments were held on public courses. When the PGA of America replied that it would restrict itself to private courses, Mosk promised to stop that as well. Furthermore, he began contacting state attorneys general around the country. The PGA of America relented in November 1961, removing the clause it had inserted in 1943. It was too late for Spiller to have a successful professional golf career. Spiller had not started until he was almost 30 and the clause wasn't removed until he was 48. However it opened the door for the next generation of players. In 2009, the

granted posthumous membership to Spiller, Rhodes, and John Shippen. The PGA also has granted posthumous honorary membership to Joe Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiller, Bill American male golfers African-American golfers Golfers from California Wiley College alumni People from Tishomingo, Oklahoma 1913 births 1988 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Biography

See also

References