Robert Angelo Hudson (July 27, 1887September 4, 1974) was a grocery industry executive and golf enthusiast based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He is remembered for sponsoring the

1947 Ryder Cup The 7th Ryder Cup Matches were held November 1–2, 1947 at Portland Golf Club in Portland, Oregon, marking a resumption of the competition after a full decade. World War II forced cancellations from 1939 to 1945; the last competition was in 19 ...

Early life and legacy

Hudson was born in 1887 in Portland. He began working for a wholesale grocery company at the age of 14, and at age 19 Hudson became the company's sales manager. In 1907 he founded the Hudson-Duncan Co., a wholesale produce packaging enterprise. The firm would later become Hudson House Inc. His great-granddaughter still lives in the Portland area, but has shunned golf in favor of the

Portland Thorns Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received supp ...

and

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

soccer clubs.

Hudson House

In 1920 Hudson partnered with associates William Evans and

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer, Inc. is an American chain of hypermarket superstores and subsidiary of Kroger based in Portland, Oregon. The stores operate in the northwestern United States, with locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was ...

to form an insurance and investment firm, Hudson, Evans, and Meyer. Later, in a partnership between Robert Hudson, Fred Meyer, and Meyer's younger brother Henry Meyer, Hudson introduced the popular

self-service Self-service is a system whereby customers acquire (or serve) themselves goods or services, paying for the items at a point-of-sale, as opposed to a shop assistant or clerk acquiring goods or providing services in addition to taking payment. Comm ...

grocery chain

Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable ...

to the Portland area. After Fred Meyer left the company in the late 1920s, Hudson went on to open 30 Piggly Wiggly stores in Oregon. Hudson formed the wholesale food processing company, Hudson House Inc., as a supplier for Piggly Wiggly stores in Oregon. After Henry Meyer retired from the firm in 1966, Hudson renamed his 30 Piggly Wiggly stores the 3 Boys Market chain. Hudson House became insolvent in the early 1970s, forcing Hudson to sell his processing plants, warehouses, and 3 Boys Markets.

Golf activities

In 1944 Hudson established the Portland Open golf tournament with a $10,000 purse. Hudson played in the tournament, but the prize went to

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 ...

. Hudson again sponsored the tournament in 1945, and the prize went 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 ...

. Hudson is best known for funding the 1947 Ryder Cup, a tournament that had not been played for ten years. Hudson underwrote both the British and American teams, and for his efforts he was chosen Man of the Year in 1947 by the Golf Writers Association of America. The Hudson Cup was established in 1949 by the Pacific Northwest section of 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 ...

in Hudson's honor. In 1951 Hudson became president of the PGA advisory committee. He is the namesake of the Hudson Trophy at the South Herts Golf Club near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was posthumously inducted into the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame in 1978, and in 1984 he was honored by the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

References

External links

Paul Jackson Wholesale Co. history

Pacific Northwest Section PGAHall of Fame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Robert A. 1887 births 1974 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American grocers American food company founders Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon American male golfers 20th-century American businesspeople