Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2022 - 25

Solomon Hughes Jr.
of people don't know golf is big among
black people because they always had to
play in a segregated setting. So anytime
black golfers accomplished something the
black press would highlight it. "
After Hughes and Rhodes were denied
entry into the St. Paul Open again in
1951, the Spokesman, joined by the Open's
sponsor (the St. Paul Jaycees) and Joe
Louis, turned up the pressure on the PGA.
Although Hughes didn't want to take the
fight public, a lawsuit was filed in the golfers'
names-and the PGA finally allowed
Hughes and Rhodes to play in the 1952
St. Paul Open. (The obdurate PGA waited
another nine years before removing the
Caucasians Only clause from its charter.)
According to his son, Solomon internalized
his struggle and simply went back
to practice. " You can't win if you quit, "
Soli heard him say. Unfortunately for
Solomon, when he finally teed it up at the
Open in '52, he was 45 years old and his
best competitive golf was behind him.
" He never talked about it, but I would
think that after fighting so hard to get in the
St. Paul Open, it had to affect him, " Soli says.
" He won his first tournament at the age of
26, so, by the time my dad's 45, 20 years have
gone by. He was really denied the opportunities
to compete competitively. "
Still, his efforts can't be denied, as each
pioneer stands on the shoulders of those
before them. It's not often big, dramatic
events that change the world, rather the
accumulation of many small, courageous
acts that lead to a Charlie Sifford playing
on Tour, Lee Elder playing the Masters
and Tiger Woods becoming the biggest
name in golf.
" I've never met Tiger Woods, but if
I did, I would ask him if he knows of
Solomon Hughes, " Hallman said. " Lee
Elder, yes, he broke the doors open, but
Solomon Hughes broke doors open for
Elder. And Lee Elder, it's my understanding,
knew that. He understood his history.
" It's the little things. Rosa Park gets
credit for desegregating buses but somebody
else did it before her. So, there's
always somebody that does something that
doesn't get the notoriety, but they set that
tone and somebody else breaks it open. "
A Lasting Legacy
Through it all, the game was Solomon's
respite and his inspiration. He kept practicing
and playing golf at Hiawatha until
he died of cancer in 1987. He didn't get
to see Tiger's 1997 " win for the ages " at
Augusta, but, according to his son, spent
his last few months watching only golf on
television. On the day before he passed,
Solomon requested a trip to Hiawatha to
soak it in one more time.
" I'm glad they're honoring him because
he's not just a dutiful father but a professional
golf champion, " Soli says. " He was
The local African American golf community of
south Minneapolis held the Solomon Hughes
Sr. Legacy Memorial event at Hiawatha Golf
Club in June.
a pioneer for golf rights because he tried
to help other golfers. And at Hiawatha, he
was instrumental in changing the clubhouse
policy. "
Solomon Hughes' name emblazoned
on the clubhouse of a course that serves
a growing black community of golfers-
a course currently fighting to remain
open-is a fitting epitaph to a golfer who
spent his life quietly pushing through
closed racial doors.
" I love that the name of the course,
Hiawatha, is a native name. It should
always stay Hiawatha, " Dean says.
" However, not just the clubhouse, but
the Learning Facility should be called the
Solomon Hughes Learning Center. "
" He was a quiet trailblazer and one of
many, " Hallman says. " The world needs
more like Solomon Hughes. "
Indeed, there's more work to do to
make the game equitable for all. But
would Solomon Hughes Sr. be proud of
this tribute to the progress he helped set
in motion?
" If he were alive today and looking at
the clubhouse, " Soli said of his reserved
father, " he would simply say, 'Well, that's
all right . . . that's all right.' "
mngolf.org
Fall 2022 MINNESOTAGOLFER
25
PHOTOS: JEFF LAWLER
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2022
