Assistant Professional at Shinnecock

In July, 1896, John Shippen became the first Black American golf professional when he played in the Second U.S. Open Championship at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. But his participation in the event almost didn't happen.

John Shippen was born in 1879 in Washington, D.C., one of nine children of a Presbyterian pastor. Nine years later, his father was sent by the church to minister at the Shinnecock reservation. He knew nothing of golf until 1891 when Scotsman Willie Dunn arrived in Southhampton to supervise construction of Shinnecock Hills.

Shippen was among the young workers who helped clear the land and construct the course. Dunn shared his knowledge of the game with young John, who soon became a better player than any of the club's members and was elevated to the position of assistant to the professional.

As his proficiency grew, so did his love for the game. At the age of 16, with the encouragement of many of the club's members, Shippen entered the United States Open Championships.

But on the day prior to the start of the competition, controversy threatened to close the Open door. Irate that the field included a Black American, the foreign-born contingent cornered Theodore Havemeyer, president of the USGA. They told Havemeyer, in no uncertain terms, that if Shippen was allowed to play in the championship, they would not.>p> It is believed that the president assured the dissidents by claiming Shippen was half Shinnecock Indian, a less distasteful racial cocktail.

Shippen displayed precise shotmaking and incredible maturity and at the end of the first day his 78 tied him with four others for the top spot. The next day, however, young John's game unraveled on the back nine, specifically the par-four 13th where he drove onto a sandy road and hacked his way to an 11.

The result was a final-round 81 and a 36-hole total of 159, seven worse than that of Scottish-born winner James Foulis.

Shippen played in four more U.S. Opens but was never again a serious contender for the title. After his playing career, Shippen became pro/greenskeeper at Shady Rest Country Club in New Jersey.

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John Shippen Jr. Golfs first Black professional

December 5

John Shippen Jr. John Mathew Shippen Jr. was born on this date in 1879. He was an African-American golfer.

From Long Island, New York, Shippen was the fourth of nine children of John Sr. and Eliza Spotswood Shippen, his father, a Presbyterian minister, held a degree in theology from Howard University.

One of his father’s early assignments was pastor of a church on the Shinnecock Indian reservation in Southampton, New York. Two years later when a group of Southampton residents bought 80 acres in the area to build a golf course, Shinnecock Hills opened for play in 1894 as a 12-hole golf course, which was expanded to 18 holes.

The owner, Scotsman Willie Dunn began to teach some of the local youth how to caddy and play golf. One of his star pupils was John Shippen Jr. Under the watchful eye of Dunn, not only did Shippen become a fine caddy, but an accomplished golfer as well.

His talent made him an assistant and he also gave lessons to some of the club members. In addition, he served as a starter for tournaments, repaired clubs and helped out the maintenance crew, all this at the age of sixteen. In 1896, his golfing ability was so evident that members encouraged him to enter the second U. S. Open, scheduled to be played at Shinnecock.

With the club’s support, Shippen entered and convinced one of his young friends, Oscar Bunn, a full-blooded Shinnecock Indian, to play also.

It wasn’t long before the nasty side of golf’s elite reared its ugly head. Several of the English and Scottish professionals confronted USGA president Theodore Havemeyer and threatened to withdraw if Shippen and Bunn were allowed to compete.

Considering the times, Havemeyer’s response was one of a truly enlightened man. He informed the protesting professionals that the tournament would be played as scheduled, even if Shippen and Bunn were the only players. Everyone arrived for their assigned tee times when the Open started the next morning.

Shippen quickly demonstrated his skill by carding a 78 in the first round, leaving him in a tie for first. The early Opens were contested over 36 holes and in the second round Shippen made the turn with a shot at the title.

Then came hole number 13 where he shot an 11, stopping any chance for the trophy. Still, he finished with an 81, for a 159 total, 5th place and a $10 prize; Shippen said that hole haunted him his entire life.

He just could not believe he took that many strokes on a hole he had played so many times. He played in four more U. S. Opens but his best finish was in 1902 where he again finished fifth. In 1898 when Shippen’s father completed his tenure as pastor on the Shinnecock Reservation, he moved to Washington. Everyone in the family went with him except young Shippen who stayed in golf, his first love, for the remainder of his life.

He served as golf professional at several clubs with his last stop being the Shady Rest Golf Course in New Jersey in 1924, where he remained until he retired in 1960. He died in 1968 in a nursing home in Newark, New Jersey. Shippen played in the U. S. Open six times, ending in 1913. No African-American played in the Open again until Ted Rhodes in 1948.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the John Shippen Memorial Golf Foundation was formed, honoring the memory of one of American golf’s true pioneers.