William Lowell Sr. (1863 – June 24, 1954) was a dentist and an inventor of a wooden
golf tee.
Biography
William Lowell was born in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...
, and lived in
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...
, and had a son,
William Lowell Jr. (1897–1976).
He first made 5,000 tees, that were stained green, but he soon changed to red, to make them more distinctive and named them "Reddy Tees". In 1922
Walter Hagen
Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...
and
Joe Kirkwood Sr. used his tees during their exhibitions. The Reddy Tee was patented on May 13, 1925, but in 1922 he signed a deal with the
A.G. Spalding Company, for 24 dozen. By 1925 he was selling $100,000 worth of tees and they were being made of
celluloid
Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day ...
. By 1926
copycat versions were on the market, and he spent much of his time and money fighting patent infringement.
He died at
Orange Memorial Hospital in
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...
, on June 24, 1954, at the age of 91.
Patents
*
golf tee filed December 7, 1925
* golf tee filed August 26, 1925
* golf putter filed November 13, 1925
See also
*
George Franklin Grant
George Franklin Grant (September 15, 1846 – August 21, 1910) was the first African-American professor at Harvard. He was also a Boston dentist, and an inventor of an early composite golf tee made from wood and natural rubber (specifically, ...
, another golf tee inventor
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell, William Sr.
Golf equipment manufacturers
People from East Orange, New Jersey
People from Hoboken, New Jersey
People from Maplewood, New Jersey
People from South Orange, New Jersey
People from Summit, New Jersey
1863 births
1954 deaths
