Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 – 1988) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who helped break the color barrier in the sport.

Biography

Spiller was born in

Tishomingo, Oklahoma Tishomingo is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Johnston County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,101 as of the 2020 census, an increase of 2.2% over the population of 3,034 reported at the 2010 census. It was the fir ...

and moved to

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

with his father when he was nine years old. He grew up in a time of frequent racial violence, notably during the

Tulsa race massacre The Tulsa race massacre was a two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place in the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as ...

. He was an excellent athlete, becoming a two-sport star at Booker T. Washington High School. He later attended

Wiley College Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the ...

, a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and earned an education degree. He did not start playing golf until he was around 30 years old. He moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

to work as a teacher but also had to take an additional job as a railroad porter. He was introduced to competitive golf by another porter in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and he began to participate and win in amateur golf tournaments for black players in the 1940s. In 1948, Spiller faced discrimination when he was barred from entering the Richmond Open golf tournament in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

, due to the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA)'s segregation policy of excluding non-white players. Spiller and another golfer,

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 Racial segregation, color barrier. A native of N ...

, sued the PGA for violating the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibited discrimination in labor unions. After the PGA pledged to stop its discriminatory practices, the lawsuit was withdrawn. However, the PGA persisted in organizing "invitational tournaments" that still barred

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

players from participating. In 1952, PGA president

Horton Smith Horton Smith (May 22, 1908 – October 15, 1963) was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments. Tournament career Born in Springfield, Missouri, Smith turned professional in 1926 and ...

excluded Spiller and boxer

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...

from the San Diego Open, which caused a national outcry and legal threats. The PGA again promised to change, but it kept the segregation clause. In 1960,

Stanley Mosk Morey Stanley Mosk (September 4, 1912 – June 19, 2001) was an American jurist, politician, and attorney. He served as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court for 37 years (1964–2001), the longest tenure in that court's history. ...

, the

attorney general of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

, intervened and warned the PGA that it would be barred from using public golf courses unless it ceased its discriminatory policies. Consequently, in November 1961, the PGA consented to eliminate the segregation clause. However, Spiller’s golf career had already suffered, as he had taken up golf relatively late in life and retired before the segregation clause was removed. Spiller died in 1988 at the age of 75, one year after suffering a fall in his bathtub. In his final years, he also had a stroke and showed signs of dementia. In 2009, the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish and elevate t ...

granted posthumous membership to Spiller, Rhodes, and

John Shippen John Matthew Shippen Jr. (December 2, 1879 – May 20, 1968) was an American golfer who competed in several of the early U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Opens. Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of a former slave and Presbyterian minister, John Ship ...

, and also honored

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

with posthumous honorary membership. He was named to the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiller, Bill American male golfers African-American golfers Golfers from California Wiley University alumni People from Tishomingo, Oklahoma 1913 births 1988 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen