June 4, 1927: The 1st Ryder Cup Tournament

Walter Hagen

June 4, 1927: The 1st Ryder Cup golf tournament is held, at the Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts, 43 miles west of downtown Boston. The American team, captained by Walter Hagen, defeated the British team, captained by Ted Ray, 91⁄2–21⁄2.

NOTE: For a long time, with this project, I resisted putting in references to golf, because of the kind of people who tend to play it. I finally caved in, although I haven't included as many references as I would if it were a real sport, which it is not.

Hagen (1892-1969) was the 1st golfer to really catch the attention of Americans who weren't rich. Known as the "father of professional golf," the native of Rochester, New York brought publicity, prestige, big prize money, and lucrative endorsements to the sport.

He won the U.S. Open in 1914 and 1919; the PGA Championship in 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1927; and the British Open in 1922, 1924, 1928 and 1929. His 11 majors are still 3rd all-time behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. By the time The Masters came around in 1935, he was already in decline, and only played it once, in 1936, finishing in a tie for 11th place. Still, he captained the 1st 6 U.S. Ryder Cup teams, through 1935. The Wilson sporting goods company still sells Walter Hagen brand golf clubs.

The Ryder Cup is named for Samuel Ryder (1858-1936), an English businessman and golf enthusiast, who originated the idea of selling garden seeds in "penny packets," and built a very successful business on the concept.

Samuel Ryder

The Ryder Cup is a match play golf event, with each match worth one point. From this inaugural event through 1959, the format consisted of 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches on the first day, and 8 singles matches on the second day, for a total of 12 points. Therefore, 61⁄2 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 36 holes.

Initially contested between Great Britain and the United States, the home team won the first five contests. Still, with the competition's resumption after World War II, repeated American dominance eventually led to a decision to extend the representation of "Great Britain and Ireland" to include continental Europe starting in 1979.

The Cup was first held in Britain in 1929, at the Moortown Golf Club, outside Leeds, in Yorkshire; in Scotland, the birthplace of golf, in 1973, at Muirfield, outside Edinburgh; and on the European continent in 1997, at Valderrama Golf Club, in Sotogrande, Andalusia, in southern Spain.

The event was held every 2 odd-numbered years from 1927 to 1937, before the 1939 event was canceled due to World War II. Play was resumed in 1947, and was again played in odd-numbered years through 1999. The 9/11 attacks delayed the 2001 event to 2002, and was then held in even-numbered years through 2018. The COVID-19 epidemic delayed the 2020 event until 2021, and it is now, again, set to be held in odd-numbered years.

As of the 2021 tournament, the U.S. has won the event 27 times, the opposition 15, and there have been 2 ties.

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June 4, 1927 was a Saturday. British actor Geoffrey Palmer was born. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1 at Redland Field (later rename Crosley Field) in Cincinnati.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known from 1914 to 1931, while Wilbert Robinson managed them) lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Walter Johnson, in what turned out to be his final season, was the losing pitcher.

* The Boston Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-8 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 3. The Tigers won the opener, 6-5. The Yankees won the nightcap, 8-6. Over the 2 games, Babe Ruth went 2-for 8 with a walk and an RBI; while Lou Gehrig went 2-for-6 with a home run in each game, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* The Philadelphia Athletics and the Cleveland Indians also made up a June 4 rainout as part of a doubleheader on August 3, at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The A's swept, 9-2 and 7-4. Over the 2 games, former Detroit star Ty Cobb went 3-for-8 for the A's. Bill Lamar, filling in for usual A's left fielder Al Simmons, went 3-for-9 with 3 RBIs. After sitting out the 1st game, a's catcher Mickey Cochrane went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs in the 2nd game.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates were also rained out on June 4. They waited until August 4 to make it up, also as part of a doubleheader, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pirates swept, 8-5 and 7-3. Ray Kremer was not only the winning pitcher in the 2nd game, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

For the Bucs, Paul Waner went 4-for-9 with a walk and an RBI, Lloyd Waner went 5-for-10 with an RBI, Hazen "Kiki" Cuyler went 4-for-9 with an RBI, and Glenn Wright went 2-for-7 with 2 walks and 4 RBIs. For the Phils, Cy Williams went 3-for-8 with a walk and 3 RBIs, Freddy Leach went 4-for-9, and Dick Spalding went 5-for-8 with a walk and 3 RBIs.