[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H788-H789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE PASSING OF CHARLIE SIFFORD

  (Mr. CLYBURN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note the passing of a great 
American.
  Golf pioneer Charlie Sifford died last night at the age of 92. Often 
called the ``Jackie Robinson of golf,'' Sifford wrote in his 
autobiography, ``Just Let Me Play,'' about his fateful meeting with the 
man who broke baseball's color barrier:
  ``He asked me if I was a quitter,'' Sifford wrote.
  ``I told him: `No.' ''
  ``He said: `If you're not a quitter, you're probably going to 
experience some things that will make you want to quit.' ''
  Sifford experienced unspeakable acts of racial abuse, slurs, and 
threats as he became the first African American to play the PGA Tour.
  Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1922, Sifford worked as a 
caddie and dominated the all-Black United States Golfers Association, 
winning five straight national titles. He challenged the PGA's Whites-
only rule, and, in 1961, they rescinded it. Sifford won the Greater 
Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the 
1975 Senior PGA Championship. In 2004, he became the first African 
American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
  Last year, President Barack Obama awarded Sifford the Medal of 
Freedom, joining Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only golfers to 
receive our Nation's highest civilian honor.

[[Page H789]]

Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers of all time, has often said he 
may have never taken up the game were it not for the courage, grace, 
and perseverance of Charlie Sifford.
  Mr. Speaker, Charlie Sifford was not a quitter. He was a hero. He was 
my hero. May he rest in peace.

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