Saturday, December 15, 2007

The Way They Were - Ryder Cup team 1927


WHAT THE BEST OF BRITISH PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS
LOOKED LIKE 80 YEARS AGO ...
The Professional Golfers' Association has chosen a very distinctive Christmas Card for 2007 in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Ryder Cup matches which began in June 1927 at the Worcester Country Club, Massachusetts. The Americans, captained by Walter Hagen, won by 9 1/2 to 2 1/2 points.
The cover picture of the card shows the British team of 1927 preparing for departure from Waterloo Station in London on "The Boat Train" to join the SS Aquitania at Southampton.
Pictured above is the back cover illustration of the PGA's Christmas Card. It shows the team departing on the SS Aquitania for New York, posing with its captain Abe Mitchell for a photograph on deck. Mr Mitchell was unable to travel, having been diagnosed with a grumbling appendix. His role as team captain was taken by Ted Ray.
Caption for the above picture reads:
Left to right: George Philpott (team manager), Sam Ryder (the donor of the trophy), George Gadd, Arthur Havers, George Duncan, Ted Ray, Fred Robson, Archie Compston, Charles Whitcombe and Abe Mitchell.
Colin Farquharson writes: To the best of my knowledge, George Duncan was the only Scot in the British Ryder Cup team of 1927. George, who played "Golf at the Gallop" (the title of his autobiography, hailed from Oldmeldrum and won the Open in 1920 at Deal.
From the "Golfer's Handbook 2007":
Samuel Ryder (1858-1936) was a prosperous St Albans seed merchant who was so impressed with the friendly rivalry between the British and American professionals at an unofficial match at Wentworth in 1926 that he donated the famous gold trophy for the first official Ryder Cup match.
Abe Mitchell was said by J H Taylor (Open champion five times between 1890 and 1913) to be the finest player never to win an Open. Abe finished in the top six five times. He did win the (British) match-play championship in 1919, 1920 and 1929. Mitchell taught the game to Samuel Ryder and is the figure depicted on top of the Ryder Cup.

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