An amateur golfer, businessman and inventor, he was the co-inventor of the rubber-cored golf ball, patented in 1899. It was this ball which revolutionized the game of golf and is still used today in modified form.
Named to the U.S. Women’s Curtis Cup Team in 1948 to highlight a notable career on the links. Won the Women’s City title in 1944, 1946 and 1947 and the Women’s Ohio title in 1946 and 1947. Qualified for the Women’s Western and Amateur championships several times.
Won Cleveland City Amateur Championship in 1900 and 1901 and the first Ohio Amateur Championship in 1904. Began competing in 1897 and qualified for the National Amateur Championship 1899.
Ohio Golf Champion in 1915 and 1921 and winner of numerous Cleveland District P.G.A. titles. Recognized as one of the leading golf instructors in the country and as a designer and builder of golf courses. Served for many years as head professional at the Acacia Country Club.
Served as head professional from 1911 until 1952 at the Mayfield Country Club, a course he himself designed. Also designed and built The Westwood Country Club. Finished second in the National Open in 1899 and was still active as a golfer in his mid-80s.
A consistent winner, he qualified for the National Amateur in 1962 and 1963 and in 1968 won the gold medal in national competition. He has won the District Senior Tournament 12 times in the last 14 years. In 1985 he continued his winning ways by copping the NOGA seniors championship.
A dominant competitive figure on the Greater Cleveland golf scene for a remarkable span of nearly 40 years, she was still hitting ’em down the fairways in quest of more titles at the time of her induction into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. Her collection of trophies at that point reflected nine Greater Cleveland Women’s Golf Association championships between 1969 and 2004 and seven runner-up finished, two titles and a pair of second place finishes in the Women’s Ohio State Golf Association Senior Championships, one title, one medalist and four semi-finalist finishes in the Women’s Ohio State Golf Association Championships and a myriad of other titles or significant finishes in tournaments not only in Ohio, but also on a national level as well as in her earlier years in her native state of Pennsylvania. Small wonder that the Northern Ohio PGA designated her a “Legend of Golf” in 2003. A retired teacher who graduated from Ursuline College, and taught at elementary, high school and college level, she was a co-founder, along with her daughter, Anne Caja, an All-American golfer at William and Mary College, of the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation in 1994, a organization which has been instrumental in fostering the growth of the girls golf in Greater Cleveland schools by providing golf training programs, financial assistance to compete in golf tournaments and in providing college scholarships. She lives in Chagrin Falls.
One of the most dominant male golfers in Northeastern Ohio over the last three decades, he came out of St. Joseph High to earn a scholarship to the University of Alabama where would gain an eighth place finish in the 1978 College All-American Classic and All-SEC second team honors. By then he had already won the first two of his three Ohio Publinx championships and the 1977 Ohio Amateur championship. He added his third Ohio Publinx title in 1978 and was crowned the Ohio Open Champion in 1979. Honors kept piling up from there: seven Player of the Year citations on the NOPGA (Northern Ohio PGA) section, three NOPGA Match Play Championships, two NOPGA section championships, and most recently the 2008 Senior Open Championship. In 1996 he competed in the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills Country Club and in a signature moment found himself tied for fifth with a 69 after the first day. He has twice turned in scores of 61, but neither matched from a pride standpoint the 64 he fired at Aurora Country Club to tie the course record held jointly by Arnold Palmer, Bruce Devlin and Charles Coody. He was the head pro at Aurora from 1991 to 2005 and now manages and operates Strongsville Golf.
Founder, Chairmen and CEO of the Cleveland-based sports and entertainment conglomerate International Management Group (IMG), he is recognized worldwide as the pioneering force behind the development of the sports marketing industry, an industry which revolutionized sports by establishing athletic representation as a distinct business. A native of Chicago he was a standout golfer at the College of William and Mary, qualifying for the U.S. Open and several U.S. and British amateur championships. Following college and a stint in the service, he accepted a position with a prestigious Cleveland law firm where he decided to combine his legal and business skills with his love of golf to go into the athletic representation business in 1960. a handshake deal with a young golfer he had met in college named Arnold Palmer launched his enterprise. Soon after, he signed an unknown South African golfer named Gary Player and a newly turned professional named Jack Nicklaus, and IMG was off to a very healthy beginning. Today, operating with 83 offices in 32 countries, its multifaceted businesses cover magnitude of enterprises in broadcasting, the classical music world, recreational facilities development and corporate consulting. The world’s largest athletic representation firm, it still numbers Palmer amongst its clients along with the likes of Tiger Woods, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzsky, Monica Seles, Wimbledon, the British Open and the Nobel Foundation.
Deceased 2003
Creator of a scholarship fund in 1940 which quickly grew into the Cleveland District Golf Association Caddie Foundation. Served as chairman of that Foundation for its first 32 years, during which time college scholarships worth over $378,000 were awarded to 314 boys. Served as president of the Cleveland District Golf Association in 1941 and was also a president of Lakewood Country Club.