Western Amateur 1952: One of Golf's Greatest Fields
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Western Amateur 1952: One of Golf’s Greatest Fields Few amateur championships -- before or since -- have offered a more colorful and talented field of players than the 50th Western Amateur. As golf’s popularity surged after World War II, America’s amateur ranks exploded with new stars. In all, 223 competitors from 20 states traveled to test their skill at “the elegantly tailored property of Exmoor.” (Tribune). A thick fog off Lake Michigan delayed the first day of play, but an unheralded paper salesman from Kenosha, WI emerged as the first-round leader. John Gibbs Smith fired a two under 69, with six others close by with 70s. After two days of medal play, the field was cut to 64 players for five grueling days of match play. Old rivalries intensified at Exmoor. Just weeks before, Harvie Ward had defeated his Walker Cup teammate Frank Stranahan, the #1 amateur in the world, 6 & 5, in the British Amateur at Prestwick. Their fierce but friendly competition would peak in the 36-hole final match. Stranahan struck first on the opening hole, sinking a 40-foot putt for an eagle three. Ward fought back to one down after 19 holes. But by mid-afternoon, Stranahan had defended his title, winning the Western Amateur for the fourth time, 3 & 2. In the Spirit of Exmoor, members played key roles in organizing a successful! event. The club’s tournament committee was headed by 1 Jerome Bowes, Jr. and Harold A. Moore, who also served that year as WGA treasurer. America’s Top Amateurs Clash in the Semi-Finals Stranahan Rallies to Defeat Knowles, 4 &2 Frank Stranahan (b. 1922), known as “the Toledo (OH) strongman” for his devotion to physical training, was the world’s top amateur for more than a decade. Won the 1948 and 1950 British Amateur, runner-up in five majors – Masters and U. S. Open. Won the Canadian Amateur, 1947, 1948 and the Tam O’Shanter All-American Amateur 1948-53. Won four Western Amateurs. Won the Los Angeles Open in 1958. Competed in eight consecutive British Opens, helping, along with Arnold Palmer, to gain acceptance of the Open as one of golf’s four “majors.” Was the #1 power weight lifter in his weight class, from 1945-1954. Now resides in West Palm Beach, FL. Shown right with Clark Gable. Bobby Knowles, Jr. (1914-2007), Beverly, Mass., 1951 French amateur champion, winner of state titles in Massachusetts and South Carolina. Won a Bronze Star and Purple Heart in World War II. Won state amateur titles in Massachusetts and South Carolina. Played in the Masters. Member Walker Cup 1951. Great grandson of American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Ward Comes from Behind to Beat Morey, 3 &2 Harvie Ward, Jr. (1925-2004), Tarboro, NC, is the only golfer to have won the British Amateur (1952), U. S. Amateur (1955,1956), the Canadian Amateur (1954), and the NCAA individual championship (1949 North Carolina). Played on three victorious Walker Cup teams, winning all six matches. Called the best player in America at one time by Ben Hogan. Placed 4th in the Masters (1957) and served as coach to PGA star Payne Stewart. Member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. His accomplishments are portrayed in the popular book “The Match.” Shown with Arnold Palmer (1949). Dale Morey (1919-2002), gifted Louisiana State basketball star from Martinsville, Ind., won 300 tournaments in his career, plus state amateur championships in four states – North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas. College All-American in golf and basketball. Winner of the 1953 Western Amateur and two U. S. Senior Amateurs. Played on three Walker Cup teams. Elected to the Southern Golf Hall of Fame. Defeated Exmoor star golfer Ken Morine 1 up in match play, then lost to ! Stranahan. 2 Golfing Greats at Exmoor in the 50th Western Amateur Bob Goldwater (1910-2002), Phoenix, AZ, winner of Arizona state and Southwest championships; founder of the Phoenix Open in 1939; founder of Frontier Airlines; brother of U. S. presidential candidate and senator Barry Goldwater. Defeated by runner-up Harvie Ward, 5 &4, in the third round of match play. Don Cherry (b. 1924), Wichita Falls, TX, was known as “the singing golfer.” One of America’s top recording stars and Las Vegas performers in the 1950s and ‘60s, with hits such as “Mona Lisa” and the unforgettable “Band of Gold.” As a golfer, he won 24 amateur titles, including the 1953 Canadian Amateur and played on the 1954 Walker Cup team with Jack Nicklaus. Ed Ervasti (b. 1914), Detroit, winner of the Michigan amateur, six Canadian seniors, two North South Senior amateurs, the 1994 World Super Senior. Elected to the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. By age 89, he had shot his age a record 3000 times. At age 93, he shot a score of 72 at London Sunningdale, a championship course. Lost to semi-finalist Dale Morey. William Campbell (b. 1923), Princeton graduate, played in 33 U.S. Amateurs, winning in 1964. Played on eight Walker Cup teams, won three W. Va. championships and the U.S. Senior Amateur in 1979, 1980. Named captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews; USGA president 1982-83. Beat Tom Veech, 4 & 3, then lost to Ed Ervasti, 2 up, in round three. One of America’s greatest amateur players. Jim Frisina, one of Illinois greatest lifetime amateurs, competed in 25 straight Illinois amateurs, winning five times. Qualified for 13 U.S. amateurs, was third low amateur in the 1949 U.S. Open at Medinah. Played in the Masters and World championships of 1951. Won local tournaments 41 years apart, in Taylorville in 1931 and 1972 in Champaign. Member of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. ! 3 Tom Veech, member of Exmoor (1973-1981), was captain and All-American golfer at Notre Dame (1951). Won the Western Junior in 1947 at age 18, Wisconsin State Amateur in 1952, age 23, the Wisconsin State Open, 1948, 1956, 1957 and 1962. Finished 5th in the Western Open, 1967, and 6th in 1964. Played in the Masters. Inducted to Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame. Lost in the third round of the 1952 Western Amateur to the great Billy Campbell. Tom is the father of Exmoor member Patrick Veech. Charles “Chick” Evans (1890-1979), former Exmoor member, and one of America’s greatest golfers, winner of eight Western Amateur titles, the 1916 U. S. Open, and the 1920 U. S. Amateur. Played on three Walker Cup teams. Founded the Evans Scholars program in 1929. The crowd around Exmoor’s 18th green erupted as Chick, then 62, canned an uphill 20-foot putt to square his match with three-time Illinois state champion (and much younger) Harold Foreman of Lake Shore. Chick then birdied the first sudden death hole to advance. Lost to Tom Stephenson of Kansas City, MO in the third round. The Western of 1952 marked 43 years since Chick won his first Western amateur title in 1909 at age 19, the year he became a member of Exmoor and our victorious Marshall Field Cup team. ! 4.