William Lowell, Sr.
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William Lowell Sr. (1863 – June 24, 1954) was a dentist and an inventor of a wooden golf tee.


Biography

William Lowell was born in
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...
, and lived in
Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...
, and had a son, William Lowell Jr. (1897–1976). He first made 5,000 tees, that were stained green, but he soon changed to red, to make them more distinctive and named them "Reddy Tees". In 1922
Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...
and Joe Kirkwood Sr. used his tees during their exhibitions. The Reddy Tee was patented on May 13, 1925, but in 1922 he signed a deal with the A.G. Spalding Company, for 24 dozen. By 1925 he was selling $100,000 worth of tees and they were being made of
celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day ...
. By 1926 copycat versions were on the market, and he spent much of his time and money fighting patent infringement. He died at Orange Memorial Hospital in
East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...
, on June 24, 1954, at the age of 91.


Patents

* golf tee filed December 7, 1925 * golf tee filed August 26, 1925 * golf putter filed November 13, 1925


See also

*
George Franklin Grant George Franklin Grant (September 15, 1846 – August 21, 1910) was the first African-American professor at Harvard. He was also a Boston dentist, and an inventor of an early composite golf tee made from wood and natural rubber (specifically, ...
, another golf tee inventor


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell, William Sr. Golf equipment manufacturers People from East Orange, New Jersey People from Hoboken, New Jersey People from Maplewood, New Jersey People from South Orange, New Jersey People from Summit, New Jersey 1863 births 1954 deaths