Edward Stewart "Porky" Oliver, Jr. (September 6, 1915 – September 21, 1961) was a

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 ...

from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He played on what is now known as the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Career

Born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, Oliver started as a caddie at age 11 at the Dupont Country Club. He was later recruited to Wilmington Country Club where he led his team to the Philadelphia caddie championship title. He turned pro at the age of 19. As a youth his friends called him "Snowball" due to his accuracy throwing snowballs. He was an excellent all-around athlete and led his high school baseball team to a championship while averaging 14 strikeouts a game. After joining the golf circuit Oliver put on weight and eventually picked up the nickname "Porky." He said the name came courtesy of his friend

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...

. At his weight ranged from 215 to during his career. Oliver won eight times on the

in the 1940s and 1950s. He was well known for finishing second in several major championships, but not letting it get him down. He lost to

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

in the finals of the 1946 PGA Championship, was runner-up to

Julius Boros Julius Nicolas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an American professional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at the U.S. Open. Early life and amateur career Born in ...

in the 1952 U.S. Open, and to Hogan at the 1953 Masters. He seemed to have a knack of playing his best golf against the greatest players. He defeated Ben Hogan in San Francisco and Phoenix in 1940 and at the 1941 Western Open. He defeated Hogan again in late 1945 at the Durham Jaycee Open but suffered high profile losses to him in later years. Not long after expressing his concern over playing with Hogan in the 1951 Colonial National Invitation Tournament, which ended badly for him, he faced him in the final group at the 1952 U.S. Open. It turned out to be one of Oliver's greatest performances as he came from five behind golf's leading man over the final 36 holes in the Texas heat. Unfortunately he could not overcome the lead of Julius Boros who took the title, while Oliver finished second. Oliver had a couple big wins against

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

including their 36 hole quarterfinal match in the 1946 PGA after which Nelson went into retirement. He also defeated

to win the 1956 White Sulfur Springs Open. When South African

Bobby Locke Arthur D'Arcy "Bobby" Locke (20 November 1917 – 9 March 1987) was a South African professional golfer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won The Open Championship four times and 15 PGA Tour events in total ...

dominated the US tour in 1947, he defeated Oliver in a playoff at the All American Open and passed him for the win at the Canadian Open after Oliver broke the tournament scoring record. They finished in a tie for third at the 1946 US Open. Before being sidelined with cancer Oliver collected 145 top ten finishes, including 22 seconds and 17 thirds. In 1940 Oliver finished in a tie with

Lawson Little William Lawson Little Jr. (June 23, 1910 – February 1, 1968) was an American professional golfer who also had a distinguished amateur career. Early life Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and lived much of his early life in the San Fr ...

and

Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of six players (alon ...

at the 1940 U.S. Open, but in a highly controversial decision was disqualified for teeing off 30 minutes early over weather concerns (under current rules, tournament directors reserve the rule to advance round start times, group players in three, and using both the first and tenth tees in case of approaching weather). Bobby Jones called it, "the most unfortunate golfing occasion of which I have ever heard." Later that same year, Oliver played a series of exhibitions with Gene Sarazen sponsored by ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. One of the first "special interest" magazines of its kind, it was started in April 1959 by Arnold Abramson and Robert Abramson, the owners of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation, who sol ...

''. He was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier of the PGA Championship in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, but lost in the third round to eventual champion Chick Harbert. Because of his positive attitude, Oliver was a popular player on tour.

Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in ...

called him, "the greatest ambassador to golf who ever played." Oliver played on three

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

teams (

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

). In the 1953 matches at Wentworth, England, he teamed with his boyhood friend Dave Douglas (the only other golfer from Delaware to win on the PGA Tour) to defeat Peter Allis and

Harry Weetman Harry Weetman (25 October 1920 – 19 July 1972) was an English professional golfer. Professional career Weetman won many tournaments on the British PGA circuit in the pre-European Tour era and won the Harry Vardon Trophy for lowest stroke av ...

. That single point would prove the margin of victory for the US team. Oliver lost four and a half years during his prime (age 25 - 30) while serving in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was also involved in several serious car accidents, including one that took the life of a fellow passenger when they were returning from the Tucson Open. The driver was Oliver's friend and 1952 PGA champion, Jim Turnesa. On the way to the LA Open in 1949 his car was rear-ended by a lumber truck in Oregon. He suffered from the after effects of his injuries for much of the balance of his career. To spend more time with his family and gain a regular paycheck, he held head professional positions at Hornell, New York, Kenmore, Washington, and at Blue Hill Country Club in Canton, Massachusetts. These positions also greatly restricted his time on the tour.

Cancer

Two weeks after finishing ninth in the 1960 Houston Open, Oliver was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and had part of a lung removed in late May in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. Remarkably, he played a tour event that September in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, but missed the cut by two strokes. Oliver was an advocate for cancer research, traveling the banquet circuit while battling the disease. Numerous golf tournaments and fundraisers were held in his honor. Presidents Kennedy and Eisenhower, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Ed Sullivan and many more joined a national committee to raise funds for his family and to fight cancer. In August 1961 the PGA named him the "Honorary Captain" of that year's Ryder Cup Team. He died in September at age 46 at Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, less than a month before the matches.

Legacy

Oliver was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. The course of the Wilmington Country Club where he caddied as a teenager has been redesigned and is now the Ed Oliver Golf Club. During the 2022 BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware Oliver was inducted by the Western Golf Association into the Caddie Hall of Fame. He and his wife Clara (1915–2010) are buried in All Saints Cemetery in Wilmington; they had three sons and a daughter.

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (8)

*1940 (3) Bing Crosby Pro-Am,

Phoenix Open The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. The tournament was originally the Ariz ...

, St. Paul Open *1941 (1)

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

*1947 (1) San Antonio Texas Open *1948 (1) Tacoma Open Invitational *1953 (1) Kansas City Open *

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

(1) Houston Open

Other wins

''this list may be incomplete'' *1936 Central Pennsylvania Open *1937 Wood Memorial *1938 South Jersey Open, Central Pennsylvania Open *1939 Buffalo Open *1940 Buffalo Open *1940 Mid-South Better-Ball Championship (partnered with Clayton Heafner) *1945 Delaware Open *1948 Pacific Northwest PGA Championship *1949 Northwest Open, Philippine World Open, Washington State PGA Championship, Idaho Open, Esmeralda Open, Goodwill Open *1954 Wood Memorial *1956

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament. The brothers Donald Ross and Alex Ross had much success early in the tournament's history, winning the first eight events between them. In the mid-1910s, the Massachusetts G ...

, White Sulphur Open *1959 Jamaica Open, Montana Open, Lake Tahoe Pro-Am

Results in major championships

''Note: Oliver never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.''
NT = no tournament
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1948 PGA – 1955 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (1946 U.S. Open – 1947 PGA)

U.S. national team appearances

(winners),

(winners) * Lakes International Cup: 1952 (winners) * Hopkins Trophy: 1953 (winners), 1954 (winners)

References

External links

Ed Oliver Golf ClubDelaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame
* Caddie Hall of Fame * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Ed American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Delaware United States Army personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Wilmington, Delaware 1915 births 1961 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen