September 27, 1930: Bobby Jones completes what was then considered the Grand Slam of golf.
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.
Robert Tyre Jones Jr. was born on March 17, 1902 in Atlanta, the son of a prominent lawyer, and he became a lawyer himself. He battled health issues as a boy, and golf was recommended as a way of getting out into the open and breathing fresh air. He won his 1st tournament at the age of 14.
In the amateur age of golf, he won the U.S. Open in 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1928; the U.S. Amateur in 1924, 1925, 1927 and 1928; and The Open Championship, more commonly called the British Open, in 1926 and 1927.
Even at the time, the 1920s was called "The Golden Age of Sports." It was Babe Ruth in baseball, Red Grange in football, Howie Morenz in hockey, Jack Dempsey in boxing, Paavo Nurmi in track, Bill Tilden in tennis, and Man o' War in horse racing. In golf, it was Bobby Jones.
But Jones' best year would be after the Twenties stopped, Roaring and otherwise. In the Spring of 1930, while the world was falling into the Great Depression, he took a cruise to Britain. On May 31, at the place where golf is said to have been invented, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, he won The Amateur Championship, a.k.a. the British Amateur. He stayed, and, on June 20, he won The Open Championship, a.k.a. the British Open, at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
He came home to America, and, facing amateurs and professionals, without having given up his amateur status -- it must have been nice having a rich father -- he won the U.S. Open at Interlachen Country Club in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota on July 12. On September 27, at Merion Golf Club in the Philadelphia suburb of Haverford, Pennsylvania, he won the U.S. Amateur. At this point, this was considered "The Grand Slam" of golf.
Jones then retired, without ever having turned professional. Which means he never entered the PGA Championship, because PGA stands for "Professional Golfers' Association." In 1932, in Augusta, Georgia, he and investment banker Clifford Roberts founded Augusta National Golf Club on the site of a former plantation. Jones and Alister MacKenzie, a Scot who had designed courses all over the world, designed the golf course at the Club.
In 1934, Jones founded the Masters Tournament there. Still effectively an amateur, he entered the 1st edition of his own tournament... and finished in a tie for 13th. Horton Smith won it. By retiring from golf at the age of 28, the game's fans were spared from seeing the decline of Bobby Jones.
In 1953, Ben Hogan won the Masters and the U.S. and British Opens, becoming the 1st to win 3 of what became known as the 4 majors in a single year. However, the schedules for the British Open and the PGA Championship overlapped, making the winning of all 4 in 1 year impossible.
In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the Masters in April and the U.S. Open in June. According to his autobiography, A Golfer's Life, he and his friend Bob Drum of the Pittsburgh Press, while on the trans-Atlantic flight to the British Open at St. Andrews, came up with the idea that adding it and the PGA titles that July would constitute a modern "Grand Slam." Drum spread the notion among the gathered media and it caught on. Palmer couldn't hold up his end of the bargain, finishing 2nd at the British Open, to Kel Nagle.
Jack Nicklaus won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 1972, but, like Hogan, finished 2nd in the British, to Lee Trevino. In 2000, Tiger Woods did not win the Masters, but won the next 4 majors: The 2000 U.S. Open, the 2000 British Open, the 2000 PGA Championship, and the 2001 Masters. Winning all 4 in a row became known as "The Tiger Slam."
But that's not the Grand Slam, because it wasn't all done in the same year. Indeed, while someone wins each of the majors in every year, winning all 4 is tough: Hogan, Nicklaus, Woods, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player are the only 5 golfers ever to have won "The Career Grand Slam." Famously, Sam Snead won 3 Masters, 3 PGA titles, and the 1946 British Open, but never won the U.S. Open, finishing 2nd 4 times. Phil Mickleson has had even more trouble at the U.S. Open, finishing 2nd 6 times, despite winning the Masters 3 times, the PGA twice and the British once. Trevino won the U.S., the British and the PGA twice each, but his best performance at the Masters was 10th place.
Bobby Jones died on December 18, 1971. He was not related to Robert Trent Jones and his son Robert Trent Jones Jr., also designers of golf courses.
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September 27, 1930 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 10-8 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Roy Sheird outpitched George Earnshaw. Babe Ruth had 2 home runs and 5 RBIs, while Lou Gehrig went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. For the A's, Jimmie Foxx went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
Despite this Yankee win, the A's had already wrapped up the American League Pennant. Indeed, from 1926 to 1932, either the Yanks or the A's had won the Pennant every year.
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at the Polo Grounds. Bill Terry went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Mel Ott went 2-for-4.
* A doubleheader was split at Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) won the opener, 8-2. The Boston Braves won the nightcap, 7-1.
* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 9-7 at League Park in Cleveland.
* A doubleheader was split at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers won the 1st game, 6-5. The Chicago White Sox won the 2nd game, 10-5.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 13-8 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-8 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Paul Waner went 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. Lloyd Waner did not play.
Among the college football games played that day were these:
* Alabama beat Howard College, 43-0 at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alabama went on to win the Southern Conference. The Southeastern Conference wasn't founded until 1933. Denny Stadium was renamed Bryant-Denny Stadium in 1975. Definitely not to be confused with the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., the then-all-white Howard College became Samford University in 1965.
* Michigan beat Michigan State Normal, 7-0 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Not to be confused with Michigan State, Michigan State Normal became Eastern Michigan University in 1956.
* Washington State beat Albertson, 47-12 at Rogers Field in Pullman, Washington. "Wazzu" went on to win the Pacific Coast Conference. Albertson became the College of Idaho.
* In what will eventually be recognized as a major rivalry, the University of Southern California, USC, beat the University of California at Los Angeles, UCLA, 52-0 at at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Both teams played home games there, but, officially, this was a home game for UCLA.
* Army beat Boston University, 39-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.
* Among New York City teams, Columbia beat Middlebury, 48-0 at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan. Fordham beat the University of Baltimore, 73-0 at Fordham Field in The Bronx. New York University beat Hobart College, 35-0 at Ohio Field in Upper Manhattan. City College of New York beat Long Island University, 44-0 at Lewisohn Stadium in Upper Manhattan. Manhattan College lost to Rider College (now Rider University) of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 14-7 at Innisfall Park in The Bronx. And St. John's University opened their season the next week.
* In addition to Rider beating Manhattan, one other New Jersey team was in action: Rutgers lost to Providence College, 12-6 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick. Princeton and Seton Hall opened their season the next week. Seton Hall dropped football after the 1932 season, due to the Great Depression. Providence dropped football after 1941, due to World War II.
* Texas played the next day, beating Texas Mines, the school now known as Texas-El Paso or UTEP, 28-0 at Memorial Stadium in Austin. Texas went on to win the Southwest Conference title.
* Notre Dame, who would go on to be awarded the National Championship, opened their season the following week. So did Kansas, who would go on to win the Big Six Conference title. Navy also opened the next week.
And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to St. Andrews Stadium, and beat Birmingham City, 4-2.
