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June 9, 2009
HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN GOLF CHRONICLED IN “UNEVEN FAIRWAYS,” DEBUTING ON TV ONE SATURDAY, JUNE 13 AT 7 PM ET
Silver Spring, MD - Following Tiger Woods' rally to win his fourth Memorial title and leading into U.S. Open week, where he will be defending his third championship title, the sport of golf takes center stage on Saturday, June 13 at 7 PM as TV One airs the documentary special Uneven Fairways. Hosted by award-winning actor Samuel L. Jackson and based on the books Uneven Lies by Pete McDaniel and Forbidden Fairways by Calvin H. Sinnette, the hour-long documentary chronicles the rich history of African Americans in golf, and celebrates those who confronted prejudice and endured indignities for the right to play golf at its highest level. The film, produced by The Golf
Channel in partnership with Moxie Pictures, also chronicles the circumstances
that led these men and women to create their own tour - the United Golf
Association. Told in their own words through exclusive interviews, and
documented by archival footage, this program tells the story of what African
Americans did to follow their dreams to play the sport they loved.
Uneven
Fairways delves into the stories of several of golf's trailblazers
including:
John Shippen -
Recognized as the first African-American professional golfer, Shippen competed
in five U.S. Open Championships, the first in 1896.
Charlie Sifford -
One of the leading pioneers in the fight for desegregation in golf, Sifford was
the first African-American member of the PGA in 1962.
Bill Spiller -
One of the top African-American golfers in the 1940s and '50s, Spiller was
instrumental in the PGA overturning the "Caucasian Only" clause in 1961.
Ted Rhodes -
Initiated litigation alongside Spiller against the PGA's "Caucasian Only"
clause. One of the top golfers in his era, sources estimate Rhodes won
nearly 150 tournaments on the UGA Tour in the 1940s - 1960.
Joe Louis -
Recognized as one of the top-heavyweight boxers of all time, Louis was
the first African-American to compete in a PGA sanctioned event at the 1952 San
Diego Open.
Among those interviewed in the
documentary are Tiger Woods, PGA TOUR winners Calvin Pete and Jim Thorpe; The
First Tee Chief Executive Officer Joe Louis Barrow Jr. (son of Joe Louis); Jack
Nicklaus; Arnold Palmer; Peggy White (daughter of Ted Rhodes); Bill Spiller Jr.,
several UGA Tour members including Bill Bishop and Pete Brown and authors
McDaniel and Sinnette. Altogether, nearly 50 personalities were interviewed for
the documentary.
In paying tribute to golf's
pioneers, Woods says, "Not only the golfing community, but everyone should know
who they were. They were true pioneers. If it wasn't for their focus
and dedication to the great love of the game of golf, as I said, my father
probably wouldn't have played the game because he wouldn't have had access to
the game…so, in essence, I owe my entire career to them and their pioneering
efforts."
The film originally premiered on
The Golf Channel in February 2009. An encore airing on TV One is scheduled June
13 at midnight as well as Sunday, June 14 at 6 PM, Sunday, June 21 at noon, and
Friday, June 26 at 10 AM.
Sponsors for Uneven
Fairways on TV One include the U.S. Army and 2009 Toyota
Venza
Launched in January 2004, TV One
(www.tvoneonline.com)
serves more than 47.5 million households (Nielsen June 2009 estimate), offering
a broad range of entertainment, reality and lifestyle -oriented original
programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and
inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. TV One's
investors include Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and
urban listeners; Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA and CMCSK; www.comcast.com],
the leading cable television company in the country; The DirecTV Group;
Constellation Ventures; Syndicated Communications; and Opportunity Capital
Partners.
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