Ted Rhodes

Theodore Rhodes (November 9, 1913 – July 4, 1969) was an American professional golfer in the mid-twentieth century, a time when African American golfers were a rarity. Rhodes helped break golf's color barrier. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, he dominated the Negro UGA circuit, winning around 150 tournaments from the late 1940s to 1960, including four National Negro Open titles. He qualified for high-profile PGA tournaments but was denied admission because of that organization’s “Caucasian-only” clause. His perseverance in fighting such discrimination benefited future generations of minority golfers. An example is Tiger Woods who, during his historic first Masters victory speech, mentioned Rhodes as one of the pioneers who paved the way for him to compete in major golf events. After Rhodes' death in 1969 (age 55), the Ted Rhodes Foundation was established to promote youth golf and support golf teams at historically black colleges and universities(HBCUs). Rhodes' home course in Nashville was re-named in his honor. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.