Bill Wright, Who Broke a Color Barrier in Golf, Dies at 84
In 1959, decades before Tiger Woods, Wright became the first Black golfer to win a United States Golf Association event.
Bill Wright in the Amateur Public Links Championship in Denver in 1959. His victory there was a singular moment for Black golfers at a time when the P.G.A. bylaws still had a “Caucasians-only” clause.Credit.Denver Post, via Getty Images
Feb. 25, 2021
Bill Wright, the first Black competitor to win a United States Golf Association event in an era when African-Americans were not welcome either in segregated country clubs or in the top amateur and professional ranks, died on Feb. 19 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84.