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The Founders 2016
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00:28:00against other competitors.
00:28:03She convinced Mr. Isley, who was president of Wilson,
00:28:09and Spalding and McGregor to hire Fred Cochran.
00:28:13He wanted to further promote sporting goods, equipment.
00:28:15So it would put the name of those golf clubs out there,
00:28:18those big staff bags that would say Patty Berg, Wilson,
00:28:22on the side, in front of spectators.
00:28:25They had a meeting at the Venetian Hotel in 1949
00:28:28with Patty Berg, Babe, and George Zaharias, and Fred Cochran.
00:28:32And they decided they would really turn the WPGA into the LPGA.
00:28:38When we became the LPGA in 1950
00:28:40at Rolling Hills Country Club in Wichita, Kansas...
00:28:44I was 15.
00:28:46It was more than money.
00:28:48We wanted the world to recognize that women can be great golfers.
00:28:54Remarkable that those women got that off the ground.
00:29:11The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:11The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:12The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:13The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:14The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:14The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:14The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:15The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:16The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:16The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:16The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:17The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:18The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:18The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:19The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:20The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:22The LPGA is a production of WPGA.
00:29:50We were a group like a carnival, and we went from town to town to town.
00:29:56We did the whole thing ourselves.
00:29:57We had physical struggles because we had to drive so far.
00:30:01One of our trips was 1,600 miles from Bokkan, Washington, to Waterloo.
00:30:06That took almost two days.
00:30:07We didn't have cell phones.
00:30:09We had tig-pog paddles, and one was yellow, one was red, one was green, and we'd wave it
00:30:16out the window, and the food was green, yellow was pee, and red was gas.
00:30:27And if we saw a cop's car behind the signboard, we'd blink our lights so that the people behind
00:30:35us would know this was a cop.
00:31:06Get out.
00:31:06I'm driving.
00:31:07I don't care how sleepy I am.
00:31:08I'd better drive a sleepy than you are awake, supposedly.
00:31:12I'd like to go.
00:31:15Well, there were no interstates.
00:31:17We used to go through all the little towns.
00:31:20The whole city turned out for our little tournament.
00:31:26Well, we checked in, of course, into the motel or the hotel.
00:31:30Some of us would speak at a Kiwanis or Lyons luncheon to promote the tour.
00:31:36Of course, we had to get our hair done.
00:31:41We'd go to the local ball games and hit shots from home plate, and under lights, hitting
00:31:47a golf ball with an eight-iron, it looked like you were knocking 10,000 miles.
00:31:59We went to the local radio station.
00:32:02We had posters.
00:32:04We stopped at all the stores.
00:32:06Can we put this in your window?
00:32:09People like that were so supportive.
00:32:11This one tournament, we had 19 players, but we only paid 18 people.
00:32:17So what did the people in Waterloo do?
00:32:19They passed a hat to a round of the people, and they got $100 for the last place.
00:32:25Gives me goosebumps to think about.
00:32:27Marilyn Smith, one of the tour's most popular young ladies, shows why she is also a top
00:32:31thing.
00:32:32We were really good in that type of atmosphere.
00:32:34When you put us in a big city, no.
00:32:37Uh-uh.
00:32:38Wasn't time yet.
00:32:40The tour back in those early days, it was like a big family.
00:32:45The nation's disc staff swingers arrive early to get a little practice before teeing off
00:32:49on the final round of the 72-hole tournament.
00:32:52We would go to a club and give an hour demonstration clinic, showing how people did things.
00:33:01incorrectly, and then we'd show them how to do it correctly.
00:33:06And then we would play nine holes with the pro, the ladies' champion, the men's champion.
00:33:11And as we played the hole, we would explain how we were approaching the shots, and we were
00:33:17teaching them a learning experience.
00:33:22Here we are, a slice from left to right, putting the visor in slicing position.
00:33:26You can see how important the visor is.
00:33:28See, the club on the outside of the line, hitting the ball now from left to right.
00:33:34The more people we got involved in playing, the more spectators would want to come and
00:33:39watch us perform.
00:33:40When we had these tournaments, they would have an evening for us to dress up and come
00:33:47to the club and meet the people, the sponsors.
00:33:55I've gone to so many cocktail parties, I can't tell you.
00:33:59And I don't drink.
00:34:01I could make a drink last until the ice melted.
00:34:03But baby don't know the lengths that I would go to.
00:34:09Inside the clubhouse, we would model these clothes for the people.
00:34:13That was, that was another way of publicizing.
00:34:16That we were feminine, too.
00:34:18We weren't just, you know, we could dress up, too.
00:34:22How far would I rule?
00:34:25Someone didn't want to do it.
00:34:27In fact, we got to the point sometimes where we had to find them if they didn't go.
00:34:32So, and we did.
00:34:35You know, some of the women professionals had to talk to all these people.
00:34:38And that certainly wouldn't have suited Louise.
00:34:43In anything you do where you rely on the public to pay your way,
00:34:47you have to treat people nicely, you have to have grace, you have to not be a hothead.
00:34:54Come on out here.
00:34:55Looky here, looky here.
00:34:58Looky here.
00:34:58Looky here.
00:35:01You're Alice.
00:35:02That's right.
00:35:03And you're Marlene.
00:35:04Marlene.
00:35:05Turn around and let the folks say, you know, this is really something, Don.
00:35:08Not only are these, they look like athletes, and yet they're beautiful.
00:35:12You bet.
00:35:13Just beautiful.
00:35:13And you slug these golf balls?
00:35:15How much do you weigh?
00:35:17Well...
00:35:18I weigh 120.
00:35:20120?
00:35:21Yes.
00:35:22And you?
00:35:22I weigh 106.
00:35:24With all my clothes on.
00:35:27On television, it has to be that.
00:35:29We played the National Open one time at Wingfoot in New York.
00:35:34And so Alice and I had to go buy some skirts.
00:35:38Because slacks were not accepted, women's golfers couldn't play, wear slacks on the golfers, they
00:35:45look too masculine, I don't know.
00:35:46With more and more attractive pros, a lot of men are beginning to realize that the ladies'
00:35:51pro tour offers a lot more to attract galleries than just good golf.
00:35:57It is a fact, however, that competitive athletics tend to destroy all that is natural in women and
00:36:05all that which tends to make them attractive to men.
00:36:12Babe was quite aware of the fact that she needed to become more ladylike to be more acceptable.
00:36:27People didn't like athletic women.
00:36:30I think they still find it hard.
00:36:31All through the decades, they found it hard to deal with athletic women.
00:36:42Getting sponsorship was the hardest thing.
00:36:46We depended on the Lions Club, the Sipatan Group, and they would have us come there as an
00:36:53attraction, so they would make money.
00:36:56And they would put up a price.
00:36:57The first 25, 30 years, all we did is go from spot A to B to C, whoever would put
00:37:04up some money
00:37:05for us to play for.
00:37:08Players ran the tour.
00:37:09There was no paid staff.
00:37:11We had a treasurer who gave out the money, you know, at the end of the tournament.
00:37:16And then we had a tournament committee who went out and set up the golf courses, lime off certain areas
00:37:21and did all that.
00:37:22We had a pairings committee.
00:37:23And then we had someone that called up after the tournament to Associated Press to give the scores.
00:37:28You know, it was just a put together thing.
00:37:32We didn't get much press, honey.
00:37:34If we got any press that was on the back page, and I always misspelled my name.
00:37:38My name has two N's on Maryland.
00:37:41And they didn't believe it.
00:37:42They always chopped that off.
00:37:45As a professional, we played a course, and I looked down the fairway and, well, where's the grass?
00:37:52And I thought, what in the hell have I done?
00:37:56The kind of golf courses we played on in those days were certainly not like they are today.
00:38:01Right now, some of the fairways are better than most of the greens we played.
00:38:06We played steel shafts, wooden heads.
00:38:10We only had one wedge.
00:38:13We could play a tune with our wedge.
00:38:16We played courses much longer than what they play today.
00:38:20Courses that were brand new, and we were kind of a guinea pig before the men came.
00:38:25Then another course we played in 1950 was a 60-mile-an-hour win.
00:38:30And I was paired with Louise Suggs and Shirley Sport.
00:38:34Shirley was going to take a three-wood shot and hit the ball.
00:38:36Well, the wind blew her off balance, and she missed the ball.
00:38:39Well, we went, just laughed and thought that was so funny, you know.
00:38:45Well, Louise plugged along, and she had a 78, which is one of the best rounds of golf in a
00:38:5160-mile-an-hour win.
00:38:54There's a light in my life shining over me.
00:38:58The only way I know to describe it is you just took what you could get.
00:39:02There's a light in my life shining over me, yeah.
00:39:09Let your blessings from above feel me.
00:39:13They're playing for their next meal.
00:39:17There's a light in my life.
00:39:19for the next place they're going to stay.
00:39:21They're playing for the love of it, but they're also playing to make it a job.
00:39:26Well, we were supposed to be married in the house and taking care of children,
00:39:30and it wasn't a norm to have a woman out on the golf course.
00:39:43We overcame that. We just didn't pay attention to that.
00:39:47In my life shining over me.
00:39:50Well, anything in those days in a skirt that was skinny,
00:39:55halfway combed hair and stuff, they whistled at.
00:40:01They didn't know quite how to take us.
00:40:04Because it was normal for a man to be an athlete.
00:40:08It wasn't normal for a woman to be an athlete.
00:40:11Like, why would you want to do this?
00:40:13It was all right to play for a silver pot.
00:40:17I think when you became a professional, that was regarded as really different,
00:40:22and to play for money wasn't nice as a woman.
00:40:27Generally speaking, men have a hard time accepting a female athlete.
00:40:32If a woman could hit the pin with the same club that a man uses,
00:40:38she'd beat him every time.
00:40:40Of course, I was jumped on like you can imagine what by the press for saying that.
00:40:47But that's what I believed.
00:40:53Louise was the first woman to play against men at a professional level.
00:40:59Louise managed to win it.
00:41:01She said that that particular day, playing from the same tees with the men,
00:41:05after the 54-hole competition had ended, she was the winner.
00:41:10As she was walking out of the event in the parking lot,
00:41:14she saw Sam Sneed, and he was sort of gruff and head down and walking away,
00:41:20and then he kind of turned back and had a few curt remarks.
00:41:25Louise took great pleasure in saying to Sam,
00:41:29Sam, I don't know what the hell you're bitching about because you weren't even second.
00:41:36So he scratched out of there and left about a half ton of rubber on the cement.
00:41:42Louise Huggs and I were paired in a twosome,
00:41:45and I hooked the ball into the left ruff, and I said,
00:41:49Louise, I said, this isn't my ball.
00:41:52And she said, oh, my God.
00:41:54I was assessed shot for every shot you hit with the wrong ball.
00:41:58She was really militant about doing things the right way and everything.
00:42:03She said, Marlene, I want to tell you.
00:42:05She said, I don't know if anyone else would have done what you did
00:42:08because nobody would have ever known.
00:42:10That meant so much to me.
00:42:12That was a better gift than winning the tournament, really,
00:42:16to have somebody like Louise say that.
00:42:21On the course, I had no friends.
00:42:26Anybody that I played was an enemy.
00:42:28It made no difference who it was.
00:42:30And by nature, competitive nature, to win.
00:42:36Well, Louise has probably told you about her with Babe, haven't she?
00:42:41Yeah.
00:42:42So I won't go into that.
00:42:44Babe not only was self-promoting,
00:42:47she was all-consuming of the space around her,
00:42:50and that didn't set too well with Louise.
00:42:57I was paired with her to qualify for the Western Amateur in Indianapolis.
00:43:06I changed shoes.
00:43:07She came in, and I got up and walked over, and I said,
00:43:10Mrs. Harris, I'd like to introduce myself.
00:43:14We're paired together today.
00:43:16She looked at me up and down and said,
00:43:19Well, so what?
00:43:23Well, that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, y'all might add.
00:43:27Louise Suggs was a gem so far as golf, a golf swing is concerned.
00:43:32But the personality was Babe.
00:43:40And Louise didn't have that personality,
00:43:43found it terribly difficult to project.
00:43:48They were very different personalities.
00:43:51Babe Zaharias was a show-off, very outgoing.
00:43:56Louise Suggs is very reserved.
00:43:59Louise just wanted to do her thing and win and, you know, quietly.
00:44:08And Patty Berg was always able to project.
00:44:12But, you know, Babe just had so much more in terms of hitting the golf ball.
00:44:18I mean, she just hit the golf ball so much further than everybody else
00:44:22and was so athletic.
00:44:24I mean, you couldn't ever describe Patty Berg as athletic.
00:44:27She was a great golfer, but she wasn't athletic, and Babe was.
00:44:33Had it not been for her,
00:44:36the LPGA probably wouldn't have started for another decade.
00:44:41She went in the locker room one time and she said,
00:44:44All right, you girls, I need to make more money than you do,
00:44:46because I am the star.
00:44:52And Patty cornered her afterwards and said,
00:44:56Babe, you may be the star, but every star's gotta have a chorus line.
00:44:59The world's leading woman athlete teeing off in the final round
00:45:02with a three-hole lead.
00:45:03But the sturdy Minneapolis redhead is right after her
00:45:05in a thrilling homestretch battle at Chicago Skycrest course.
00:45:13Showing the form that won of the 1941 and 43 Open,
00:45:17Patty cuts that lead to one hole with sharpshooting like this.
00:45:22The Babe isn't missing them either.
00:45:24Quite a ding-dong affair.
00:45:28At the end of the regular 36 holes, the girls were all even.
00:45:31It was shots like this that helped Patty square the match
00:45:34with the highly favored Mrs. Zaharias,
00:45:36carrying the play into a hectic overtime duel.
00:45:39Patty copped the cup with her putt on the 37th
00:45:42to win the Western Open for the third time,
00:45:44equating the Babe's victories in the same event.
00:45:47Somebody asked me one time,
00:45:49do you all get together before the tournament starts
00:45:51and decide who's gonna win the tournament?
00:45:54I said, no.
00:45:57If you've ever seen three cats fighting over a plate of fish,
00:46:00you'll know why.
00:46:06I'll trade you my heart for your heart, baby,
00:46:09give you all my kisses to boo.
00:46:11I'll trade you my heart for your heart, baby,
00:46:14give you all my kisses to boo.
00:46:15You'll never find any three more competitive women than we were.
00:46:21Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
00:46:37Louise was the one that dug in and worked.
00:46:40She didn't care if she got any credit for it.
00:46:43Patty liked the credit.
00:46:45And Babe was the most charismatic.
00:47:00Hi, sport fans.
00:47:02This is Howard Miller, ready to take you around the nation
00:47:04for a close-up look at some great sporting scenes.
00:47:0750 stars led by Babe Didman's Open Championship.
00:47:10Babe holds the Rolling Hills course woman's record with a 70,
00:47:14and today she's a co-favorite again.
00:47:17The other favorite is defending champion Louise Suggs.
00:47:20Last year she won her first national open at Landover, Maryland,
00:47:23with a record 291.
00:47:27And still in there is Patty Berg of Minneapolis,
00:47:30who won the first national open back in 1936, 14 years ago.
00:47:36A sponsor wouldn't stand for not having Babe and Patty and myself and a few other people like that.
00:47:46Because we both had red hair and about the same stature,
00:47:50people start following me because they thought it was Patty Berg.
00:47:54And then when they found out it wasn't Patty Berg, they went somewhere else.
00:47:58She was good with the crowds and she was fantastic.
00:48:05I think I was closer to Patty on a personal basis.
00:48:12She was a very pleasant person to be with and outgoing and tried to promote the game of golf other
00:48:21than herself,
00:48:23where I think Babe was busy promoting herself.
00:48:27But the main gallery is following the Babe again, out to sew it up.
00:48:31Like a champion, she saves her best round for the final day and plays amazing golf.
00:48:43The $1,250 mean $14,000 for the Babe so far.
00:48:48While amateur Betsy is happy to nose out Louise Suggs.
00:48:53Babe and Betsy, two happy lessons.
00:48:58Babe irritated some people that were serious because she was a cut up
00:49:02and she'd do some things sometimes called gamesmanship to bother you.
00:49:08And then she'd make fun of it later, so it was hard to stay mad at her,
00:49:11but you knew that she was going to try to do some stuff.
00:49:14She always swore that she never got appearance money
00:49:17because the LPGA didn't allow that, still doesn't allow it.
00:49:22Oh yes, I would have said she definitely got appearance fee
00:49:25to turn up at tournaments and would have asked for them and would have got them
00:49:30and maybe would have been resented for having got them.
00:49:34Patty Burke said she never broke any rules
00:49:36and Louise Suggs says otherwise.
00:49:41Louise absolutely was the conscience of the rules,
00:49:46even to the point where she refused to sign one of the Babe's cards
00:49:51after the event because she felt that she pressured
00:49:55one of the Rules Committee people to give her that favorable ruling.
00:50:00To this day, I don't know how much appearance money she got,
00:50:04but she told the story that she always gave it to the LPGA.
00:50:09She did not.
00:50:10That's one of those things that she and I came to blows about, just about.
00:50:19I wouldn't have thought that they found it easy to live with Babe, those women.
00:50:26But they knew that she was their bread and butter.
00:50:29So, I mean, you know, you can't knock your bread and butter.
00:50:32You know, there's a difference between being a buddy and respecting the talent.
00:50:37There was a great respect for the talent.
00:50:39When I first met Babe, I was in Sacramento.
00:50:44She had the greatest hazel eyes I have ever seen.
00:50:49I mean, they just, they were right on you, going through you, towards you, any which way, but full of
00:50:56life.
00:50:56But the Babe sinks her to win with a new course record of 298.
00:51:05Some said she'd been slipping this winter, but the Babe never played better golf.
00:51:14In 1948, she had a pain in her side, and instead of finding out what was the problem medically, she
00:51:23ignored it.
00:51:25And that went on for four years, which seems unbelievable that somebody could have that much pain
00:51:32and then go on for another four years before she did anything about it.
00:51:37It was just a startling thing that this great athlete with this perfect body could have anything go so wrong.
00:51:46And it was very hard.
00:51:49Fred Corcoran, after Babe Zaharias got really sick, he resigned.
00:51:55The funds were dropped, so he left us.
00:51:58And then several of us took over as tournament directors to get, to get tournaments.
00:52:04Well, we did whatever we had to do. We couldn't afford a commissioner for a few years.
00:52:10And that's when some of our arguments started.
00:52:16Everybody had to come to the meeting, and you'd discuss whatever you wanted to talk about,
00:52:21and get up and argue about it, and try to get in an agreement as to what we're going to
00:52:27do.
00:52:28There was a lot of disharmony in those meetings. It must have been really hard.
00:52:37Well, some of them were screen fests.
00:52:40Women hold a grudge.
00:52:42Well, it's hard. Men, you know, they can go to a meeting and argue and cuss and swear.
00:52:47But women hold a grudge, and that's not good. You've got to let it go.
00:52:52We all came together in the end. You know, it was just a very passionate display of opinions.
00:53:10This article came out in January 1954.
00:53:17She did it tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time, I think it did upset most of the women
00:53:21she wrote about.
00:53:24Patty Berg was the healthiest hypochondriac.
00:53:27Most of us get amusedly weary hearing of Patty Berg's...
00:53:33Uh-huh.
00:53:36Well, okay.
00:53:39Marlene Bauer has never finished high school. That's neat.
00:53:42But when I left, the principal of the school, he said,
00:53:46you're wasting your time here. You'll learn more on the tour.
00:53:49So she didn't tell the whole story. That's perfect.
00:53:52Outgoing Marilyn Smith sometimes gets so sociable with a tournament guy that she forgets to hit her shots.
00:54:00I had many opportunities to be engaged or married, and I didn't want to do that.
00:54:07I wanted to just keep going all by myself. That was the choice I made.
00:54:12Well, I almost got married two or three times, you know, and very hard to settle down, you know, when
00:54:19you're traveling like that.
00:54:22That would have been a big decision to quit.
00:54:27I wasn't in love with them enough to do that, to quit the tour and marry him.
00:54:35People like that, that put other people down, they don't like themselves.
00:54:40And so they feel better when they can push somebody down a little farther so they're taller.
00:54:45I don't think it endeared her to her fellow competitors.
00:54:50But on the other hand, it was probably great publicity for the LPGA.
00:54:56I'm sure that Babe was really annoyed by the article.
00:55:00She told Betty Hicks that she would leave the tour and see how Suggs earns the money.
00:55:06George actually would not have let Babe leave the tour because George was earning money with Babe earning money.
00:55:17The Wichita Country Club in Kansas makes way for a new USGA Women's Open Golf Champion with Mrs. Babe Zaharias
00:55:24sidelined by illness.
00:55:26And she collapsed in 1952 at a tournament in Texas.
00:55:33And it wasn't until 1953 that she was actually diagnosed with colon cancer.
00:55:41You never thought of her as a victim or being sick.
00:55:45She was a very good trooper about that.
00:55:48She took what life handed her and carried on.
00:55:53After Babe got cancer in 1953 and had the dramatic surgery that she had to have in order to survive,
00:56:01everybody thought she was finished.
00:56:04But she loved golf so much that she slowly began to come back.
00:56:09In the Women's National Open near Boston, Babe Zaharias making a...
00:56:13And it must have been her strength, her determination that made her go on.
00:56:20Babe drops a six-footer to preserve her par and her big lead.
00:56:24And she won by 10 strokes.
00:56:26And I consider that the greatest women's Open victory of all time.
00:56:32Mrs. Zaharias has the crown wrapped up.
00:56:35Just 18 months ago, she underwent an operation for cancer.
00:56:38Everyone said her career was over.
00:56:40But here she is, winning by a mile, a margin of 12 strokes with a score of 291,
00:56:45one of the most inspiring comebacks in all sports history.
00:56:55USGA President Ike Granger presents the cup, then Babe offers some touching remarks.
00:57:01I don't like to keep bringing up this hospital deal of mine,
00:57:08but I was laying there in room 201 at the Hotel Dew Hospital and these reports were going out
00:57:15about that I'd never play championship or tournament golf again.
00:57:22And I laid in the bed and I said,
00:57:25Please, God, let me play again.
00:57:27And he answered my prayer.
00:57:29And I want to thank God for letting me win again.
00:57:32It's really wonderful.
00:57:35Last time I saw Babe was at the women's title holders in Augusta.
00:57:44Now, she'd had her operation for cancer and things aren't looking too good.
00:57:51And it's the first time I saw, I checked those eyes.
00:57:55Those eyes were lifeless now.
00:58:03Babe Zaharia spent her last Christmas in Fort Worth, Texas.
00:58:08She was good friends with R.L. and Bertha Bowen.
00:58:11R.L. flew them from Beaumont.
00:58:15And Babe got off this little plane and she still had on her pajamas and her nightgown.
00:58:20And Babe said to Bertha, she said,
00:58:23Can you take me out to Colonial Country Club?
00:58:26And Bertha said yes.
00:58:27And they got in Bertha's station wagon, but they drove out.
00:58:29They drove along this little dirt road that went up next to the second green.
00:58:33And Bertha helped Babe out of the car.
00:58:37And she said, I just wanted to see a golf course one more time.
00:58:52You know, it was terrible for a lot of us.
00:58:57Well, she died of cancer, you know.
00:59:00And, well, that's, I don't want to go through all that.
00:59:15It was sad.
00:59:17And it was sad that it would happen to somebody like her because she looked so strong and so healthy.
00:59:26Never missed a beat mentally until her dying day.
00:59:31We all admired her.
00:59:45I'm sorry she passed away.
00:59:47I'm sorry anybody passes away for that matter.
00:59:51I don't grieve for Babe in my own way.
00:59:54That was what I did.
01:00:08You know, it was such a tragedy to us because she was our drawing card.
01:00:14Because she was there, we were there.
01:00:16She was the star.
01:00:18And people came because they knew her.
01:00:21And then they began to know us because of her.
01:00:25People were afraid that maybe the LPGA tour would fall apart.
01:00:30Because the LPGA had been sold on Babe, I think it was very difficult.
01:00:36It was a huge blow for them.
01:00:41We did all crazy things to try to get people to come watch us.
01:00:45Shirley and I went to a boxing match again to try to get support.
01:00:50We had to sit there and watch the fight.
01:00:52And they were punching each other and squirting the blood and get sweaty on our, on Marilyn.
01:00:58I got woozy and I couldn't go into the ring, but Shirley did.
01:01:02She walked through those ropes.
01:01:03They ring the bell and, rrr, rrr, and this is Shirley's fork.
01:01:07And come out to the National Open and see the golfers tomorrow or the next day.
01:01:13And they all, you know, all the boxers, boo, boo, you know.
01:01:15I don't know if any of those boxing fans came, but we did everything we could to get publicity.
01:01:23People are really staring at you and some are probably looking to hope that you foul up.
01:01:28Did we worry that we were going to survive?
01:01:30I think every year we went home after the season, we didn't know what the next season was going to
01:01:37bring.
01:01:37It was always a worry.
01:01:41We had to get more players.
01:01:42You've got to show that you're producing, like planting a plant.
01:01:46Is it going to grow? Are you going to feed it? And it will grow.
01:01:50It's true that today men still monopolize the sport.
01:01:54Out of approximately 10 million golfers in the United States, only two and a half million are women.
01:02:01But ladies golf is growing in popularity.
01:02:04And much of the credit for this growth goes to the LPGA, the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
01:02:12There are great players like Patty Bird and Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright, who have played well for many, many
01:02:19years.
01:02:19From the day that we first met.
01:02:22The future of ladies professional golf really depends on the young pros that are now just getting started.
01:02:32I also feel that the gals, as time goes on, will find their tour increasing not only in interest, but
01:02:41the volume of the tournaments, the amount of money they're playing for and so forth will also increase, simply because
01:02:48golf has become so popular with the ladies in the United States.
01:03:00When I started back in 62, I think we had 30, 35 players a week at best. And now we
01:03:07have many times 80 and 90 players.
01:03:20I think all of the players today have beautiful golf swings and great will to win and desire.
01:03:30We're starting our progress now, and I don't think there's any stopping. I think we're just climbing the ladder now.
01:03:36We're just about there.
01:03:37I think all we can do now is go up.
01:03:42Althea Gibson-Darvin is probably one of the outstanding tennis stars of all time.
01:03:47She turned to professional golf in 1963 and has made a good showing for herself.
01:03:52Althea's athletic skill and her marvelous sense of humor have endeared her to both golf fans and the girls on
01:03:57the tour.
01:03:57Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to play on the tour.
01:04:04Well, Althea won Wimbledon twice, which was extraordinary.
01:04:09And then when she retired from tennis, she decided she wanted to take up professional golf.
01:04:15Former U.S. and Wimbledon tennis champion, Althea Gibson-Darvin, into professional golf now.
01:04:20Althea Gibson- And I don't know how she managed. I mean, how she managed even to play professional golf,
01:04:26I don't know.
01:04:26But to manage as an African-American in those days really was a very difficult path to tread.
01:04:36Althea Gibson- We were playing a tournament in Texas, and they wouldn't allow her in the clubhouse.
01:04:41Althea Gibson- So Lenny Wirtz was our tournament director, and all of us decided to not play that course
01:04:47and move someplace else where she would be accepted.
01:04:49Althea Gibson- We took care of each other, you know, no matter what. I mean, we didn't believe in
01:04:55that. We were, that's what we were fighting for, was equality as women.
01:05:00Althea Gibson- In fact, we boycotted three tournaments because they wouldn't let Althea change her shoes. She'd had to
01:05:07change her shoes in the car.
01:05:09Althea Gibson- So finally, there were a couple of places that we did not play because of that.
01:05:13Althea Gibson- Baton Rouge was one of them, as you can well imagine.
01:05:17Althea Gibson- This is indicative of a true champion. Those who can sustain, stay out there, and win championship
01:05:24after championship.
01:05:27Althea Gibson- And when Renée Powell came along after her, it was still unbelievably difficult for Renée, and she
01:05:36suffered a lot as well.
01:05:38Renée Powell- I think there were a lot of issues, certainly in our country. We had a lot of
01:05:44racial issues, and I certainly had problems at hotels, I had problems at restaurants, I had problems sometimes just trying
01:05:52to get into the locker room at various clubs.
01:05:55Althea Gibson- My peers on the tour were, they were like a family. If something, if there was an
01:06:01issue and somebody knew about it, they would always come to my defense.
01:06:05Althea Gibson- That's one thing that the LPGA were very proud of. We don't care what color you are
01:06:09or what, you're accepted.
01:06:12Althea Gibson- And the LPGA is far more accepting than the PGA ever was.
01:06:19Althea Gibson- The struggle of women in this country and the struggle of color in the country sort of
01:06:25run parallel, which is something that I've always sort of understood because I've been both. I am both, you know?
01:06:31Althea Gibson- You know, when I think about growing up and being Hispanic and being a female, there were
01:06:37times I couldn't play at certain times. And with respect to the men, I think it's, you know, it was
01:06:42definitely a man's world back then.
01:06:43Althea Gibson- They were pioneers in the, in the really women's sports, not just golf, but women's sports. I
01:06:49mean, that really was the forerunner of all of women's sports.
01:06:53Althea Gibson- You know, when we talk about Title IX, it came along long after, after the LPGA was,
01:06:59was formed.
01:07:01Althea Gibson- Will you, will you, will you be my love?
01:07:40Althea Gibson- The opportunity is right there.
01:07:44And I think that's what's been frustrating to the woman who wants to be an athlete.
01:07:48And I think that the perception is that a female is never a true athlete.
01:07:54I think it's harder for women to be athletes, and when they succeed, it's more of an accomplishment.
01:08:04At one, Sheehan was the only one off the green.
01:08:07The Europeans were close.
01:08:09But not close enough.
01:08:11They missed.
01:08:12I didn't plan on it.
01:08:14It wasn't something that I came out this big announcement.
01:08:17I just was tired of living in the closet.
01:08:21Really wasn't even talked about.
01:08:24I think that, you know, there were some of the players probably knew, and some didn't.
01:08:29And it was just an accepted thing that, you know, this is who she is, and she's a hell of
01:08:34a player, and let's go play golf.
01:08:49I know when I was a rookie, I thought, wow, you know, we're going to catch up with the guys,
01:08:54and our purses are going to be close to what they're making.
01:08:57And now, you know, 2014, I think we're about as far back as we were back then.
01:09:03The purses between men's and women's is always challenging.
01:09:07I think, you know, obviously, our founders battled the same thing.
01:09:12It's still a current thing.
01:09:14You look at some of the telecasts, and you watch the coverage, and the way we're talked about is we're
01:09:19talked about as females, what we wear, how we're dressed, how we act, instead of our golf swings and the
01:09:25shots we can hit.
01:09:26You know, and that's something that we still struggle with.
01:09:28And until, you know, we get to the point where we're seen as athletes, we're going to continue to have
01:09:34smaller purses as the guys.
01:09:38The PGA Tour's viewership today is probably, you know, three to some cases four times the viewership of a women's
01:09:45event.
01:09:45And as a result of higher viewership, they can charge a higher sponsorship, and as a result of higher sponsorship,
01:09:50they can create a bigger purse.
01:09:51I want to see our players playing for more money.
01:09:54I want to see our players playing on a bigger stage and getting the credit that they deserve.
01:10:07People don't know how good we are.
01:10:16I want the girls, you know, 20 years from now to be playing for more money and playing better golf
01:10:21courses.
01:10:21Playing the courses the guys play every year, I think, you know, because I think we can.
01:10:25You know, people think that we're not good enough, but we can play with those guys.
01:10:31I think that's probably the biggest message I'd like to give to, you know, to our daughter, that it's, you
01:10:37know, you have a dream, and it can happen.
01:10:39It really can.
01:10:39You just have to, you know, go about it and do it.
01:10:43Even with our son, I want him to know that obviously he can do it too, but the girls can
01:10:48do it equally as well.
01:10:50So, you get used to it.
01:10:54I was a rookie in 1996, and I'd just won the Sprint Title Holders Tournament, which was at that stage
01:11:02before the, not including the US Open, it was the biggest purse on the LPGA.
01:11:07And I won $180,000 first place, and Louise was in the media centre.
01:11:13The first thing she said to me was, you know, girl, you won more money today than I won in
01:11:22my entire career.
01:11:24And, you know, that really puts it in perspective, a 21-year-old, you know, you know, I thought I
01:11:29was loaded at the time too.
01:11:30So, to think that someone had won and accomplished that much in the game of golf, and I'd just achieved
01:11:36financially what she had in her whole career.
01:11:42She said it with all the pride that a mom would have.
01:11:45She was almost, it was almost overjoyed with the comment, and I thought right there, that's what separates the LPGA
01:11:51from other sports.
01:11:52These women take pride in creating those opportunities, when a lot of other sports almost have a bitterness about the
01:11:57fact that they played in the wrong era.
01:12:04You know, people come to me and say, oh, aren't you upset?
01:12:07I mean, God, what could you make now if you'd done the same thing?
01:12:11I said, no, I don't look at things that way.
01:12:14Everything has a, you know, I really don't.
01:12:17Go get them.
01:12:19They're devoting a great deal of money to help promote junior girls' golf.
01:12:25And that's, that's where we're going to keep going forward, getting new, young talent.
01:12:32We made over $81,000 last year in this tournament.
01:12:36We think we're going to make over $100,000 this year.
01:12:38And we're going to give, we gave $25,000 scholarships to help young girls go to college.
01:12:45And hold your finish.
01:12:46And four finger and thumb and toe of the club to the target.
01:12:48It's just a wonderful opportunity to inspire young women for character and honesty and hard work and determination.
01:12:58Yeah, the LPGA's mission is real simple.
01:13:00We want to be the preeminent women's sports organization.
01:13:03And we want to do that by attracting the best female golfers in the world.
01:13:07Be the best women's organization.
01:13:09Bring in the best and put them on display.
01:13:11And through that display effort, make sure we leave the game better and more opportunistic for the next generation of
01:13:16women in golf.
01:13:16We have five tours, five tours, not one tour.
01:13:23We have five tours.
01:13:24We have the Japanese, the Korean, the European, Australian.
01:13:28We have to learn your language, right?
01:13:31Are you going to teach us?
01:13:32The fact that women from all over the world go and make a living playing golf more than a living,
01:13:38they can do incredibly well.
01:13:40And they have to thank those women pioneers.
01:14:04We created the Founders' Cup because personally for me, I was gaining strength
01:14:10from learning about the Founders and what drove them and what was important to them.
01:14:14And I realized that that strength was still completely relevant today.
01:14:17But I wasn't sure that my young 19, 20, 21-year-old players were getting that same opportunity
01:14:22to see, hear, and feel the strength that came from 60 years ago.
01:14:36That's almost too short, don't you think?
01:14:39I think so.
01:14:41Yeah.
01:15:01I think we started with 13 players.
01:15:06Look where we are now.
01:15:09Isn't that something?
01:15:1213 players.
01:15:28Shirley's 87, you've got to be careful with her.
01:15:31Shirley is not.
01:15:33You're 87?
01:15:34Oh, wait.
01:15:35You can't be pushing like 57.
01:15:37And a half.
01:15:39Do you have any major regrets looking back?
01:15:42Not about golf.
01:15:43Yeah, I guess so.
01:15:45I would have liked to have learned a lot about music.
01:15:48I'd like to learn how to arrange flowers.
01:15:51I think that's an art to be able to just, you know, you're just going to dump them in a
01:15:56vase.
01:15:56You're going to, this is coming down the hill.
01:15:59Yeah.
01:15:59I think we'll make this.
01:16:00She's a teacher at heart.
01:16:01I mean, you know, she's just teaching from the minute she walks on the tee.
01:16:04And she still hits the, you know, dead center square sweet spot of the golf club every time
01:16:09she swings.
01:16:09That hill, it starts coming this way.
01:16:11It comes over that hill.
01:16:12So I'm a founder of the tour and a founder of the teaching division.
01:16:17Put your thumbs right on it.
01:16:19So you're getting your hands facing.
01:16:20You're getting numerous prize monies, but I get the feeling that I've given something
01:16:26to carry on the game of golf.
01:16:38She's priceless.
01:16:39I hope she gets in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
01:16:41She deserves to be in it.
01:16:43Why wouldn't they put her in it?
01:16:45Part of it's political, I think, honey.
01:16:47I don't know.
01:16:48I don't know anything about it.
01:16:49I'm lucky I'm in.
01:16:58Where's Shirley?
01:16:59Is she in here?
01:17:00I'm over here at the front.
01:17:01Where's Shirley?
01:17:02Don't get in the back.
01:17:03Get in the front.
01:17:04Get up here in the front.
01:17:06Please mind.
01:17:07Please mind.
01:17:09There.
01:17:13Thank you, sweetie.
01:17:16You're a hero.
01:17:17What a legacy, Pat.
01:17:18How's it feel to be?
01:17:20I'm just an ordinary person who's lived an ordinary life.
01:17:26Now, here's something for you all.
01:17:27Oh, thank you.
01:17:28I spend a lot of time talking to players about how to treat customers, how to treat those
01:17:31who are outside the ropes.
01:17:33What I really should have done now that I know Marilyn has just introduced Marilyn and left
01:17:36the room.
01:17:37I'm so glad you're here.
01:17:38She sends me a thank you note every time we talk, even if it's a phone conversation.
01:17:41I'll get a handwritten note saying thanks for the time today, Commissioner.
01:17:43I'll give you some magnets to all of you before you go.
01:17:46It has the name of our tournament on it.
01:17:48Well, I've met five presidents and been in all 50 states and 37 countries just because
01:17:53of golf.
01:17:54It looks like what golf has given to me.
01:17:55And it's awesome.
01:18:04There's my trophy, my World Golf Hall of Fame trophy.
01:18:07Do you want me to hold that?
01:18:08Do you want a picture of that?
01:18:09Oh, it's heavy, isn't it?
01:18:10It is heavy.
01:18:10Did you get it?
01:18:12Can't hold it too long.
01:18:14It's my prized possession, I guess you'd say.
01:18:19Something that's special.
01:18:22Can you come and get this, honey?
01:18:25I will.
01:18:32I've got to give you a hug because body language tells me you're a good person.
01:18:36Thank you so much.
01:18:38I'm serious.
01:18:38He's the best we get.
01:18:39Let me just get your mic.
01:18:40You have the right heartbeat.
01:18:42When I think of Marlene, I think of longevity in golf.
01:18:46You just can't imagine that this woman could have gone on all those years.
01:18:51Mrs. Marlene Bauer-Hagee sings a big one.
01:18:53You know, she's played professional golf at top level all that time.
01:18:58How did she do it?
01:18:59I've no idea.
01:19:00I mean, quite remarkable woman.
01:19:02It's like I lived several different lifetimes because of the things that happened.
01:19:11I don't know how to describe it.
01:19:14Certainly nothing boring or mundane about it.
01:19:21If I could play another round of golf with somebody of the original 13, it would be my sister.
01:19:35Because I could see her again.
01:19:50Oh, this is good.
01:19:53Babe and look at that hairdo.
01:19:55Babe and Louise shaking hands.
01:19:56That's a good one.
01:19:58After a tournament, probably, you know.
01:20:00Well, in 1988, Patti Berg had taken the bus to attend a dinner honoring Louise Suggs.
01:20:08And she said to me, she said, you know, I think Louise acted as if she was really glad I
01:20:15was there.
01:20:17And she said, I was happy to go.
01:20:20And I was delighted that she seemed happy I was there.
01:20:25She said, because, you know, Louise and I didn't always get along.
01:20:28And she said, I think it was because I was a good friend of Babe's.
01:20:35And she kind of settled back in the car seat and just stared out the window and said, I think
01:20:41everything's okay now.
01:20:43On one of Louise's visits to our club, her club, having lunch, she asked me if I would give her
01:20:50a tour.
01:20:51And I brought her down here to the lower level.
01:20:54And as she turned the corner from over here and she spotted this piece of artwork of the babe, she
01:21:03stood there and her face got red.
01:21:06And she says, what in the holy hell is this woman doing hanging on the wall of my club and
01:21:14there's no artwork of me?
01:21:16And I said, Louise, Louise, please calm down.
01:21:19This is the basement area of the club.
01:21:22Over my shoulder, pretty soon, there's going to be an original piece of artwork of you.
01:21:29And that is on top of the babe, where you have always been and how we always will see you.
01:21:38And that seemed to calm her down.
01:21:40In all fairness and due process of whatever, without Babe, we probably, Babe's the Harris, we probably wouldn't have made
01:21:50it.
01:21:51Louise Suggs was probably the one that did the most through it all.
01:21:57She was really dedicated.
01:21:59Not that the others weren't.
01:22:00And she never got the credit that she should have gotten.
01:22:30You know, it's the first time.
01:22:34And then I've even been up there with the big boys.
01:22:49Louise Suggs was probably the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:54the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:54the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:56the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was
01:22:59the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that was the one that
01:23:29I think you have to keep looking and searching and someday you'll find something your real
01:23:38spot you want to enjoy then you can sit down and rest I was blessed I've had a
01:23:48so many wonderful blessings because of golf and the people that I've met along the way and the
01:23:55travels I mean it's just we were blessed by the Lord or something because it's bigger than ever
01:24:01now it's pretty exciting to be sitting here because you know if they haven't weren't doing
01:24:08what they were doing back then we wouldn't be here we all are yes very proud as you can see
01:24:21the what's
01:24:23happening today that's something to be proud of I still feel very fortunate to be able to play the
01:24:39game that I love and make a living from it and that's due to the 13 women that started this
01:24:44for
01:24:44us I think that all of us draw strength from if we think about it from what those women did
01:25:06we have to have the greatest respect for people who have laid the groundwork for others to follow it
01:25:55golf is forever golf is forever and say that again golf is forever
01:26:02my precious love there's a light in my life shining over me
01:26:11lord sometimes I said and I wonder why strange things happen to me
01:26:18yeah again I feel my friends are gone yeah but if I put my trust in Jesus
01:26:29a bird as a light on don't you see there's a light in my life shining over me
01:26:40lord walk with me talk with me please stay close by my side be my shelter be my comfort be
01:26:52my guide
01:26:53yeah I was blind I was blind but now I see Jesus came and he rescued me there's a light
01:27:03in my life shining over me
01:27:07yeah there's a light in my life shining over me there's a light in my life shining over me yeah
01:27:23let your blessing from above fill me with my precious love there's a light in my life shining over me
01:27:35yeah I see you there's a light in my life shining over me yeah I see you there's a light
01:27:43in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my
01:27:52life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I
01:27:54see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you
01:27:54there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a
01:27:55light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in
01:27:56my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life
01:27:57I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see
01:27:58you there's a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's
01:27:59a light in my life I see you there's a light in my life I see you there's a
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