Chicago's Role in the Fight to Integrate Golf: The Last Desegregated Sport

In the early 1900s, Chicago was a major battleground during the fight to desegregate golf. A member of the United Golfers Association, Walter Speedy was named the "Father of African American Golf." Speedy was an important figure in fighting to play on golf courses all around the country, but his efforts were especially impactful in his hometown, Chicago. Famously, in 1910, Speedy and three of his Black friends were denied entry to Chicago's Jackson Park Golf Course. In response, they sued for the ability to play in a tournament hosted at Jackson Park. They also formed their own Black-only golf club called Alpha Golf Club in 1915, which later held the first-ever African American golf tournament at the Marquette Golf Course. This opened the doors for the creation of many more Black-owned golf clubs in Chicago.