The Life and Legacy of Solomon Hughes Sr.
Solomon Hughes Sr. was a quiet trailblazer and elite player who helped to end segregation and restrictions of racial discrimination in professional golf. Born in 1908 in Gadsden, Alabama, Hughes learned the game of golf at age 12, carrying bags and serving as caddy master at the local country club. With the encouragement of a Pro who recognized his talent and despite racial codes in the segregated South, he began to give lessons to both men and women club members.
After honing his own skills through that time, Hughes turned his passion into a profession and started to compete as a professional in UGA (United Golfers’ Association) sponsored events, a league formed by Black golfers barred from playing on the then-segregated PGA (Professional Golfer’s Association). Solomon stood out, according to fellow UGA player Joe “ Roach” Delancey as “a stylist who was one of the best swingers in golf we had.” He would go on to win the 1935 National Negro Open at the age of 26, the first of many victories on the UGA circuit.
Hughes moved his wife and two children to Minneapolis in 1943 where he became a familiar and respected figure on Twin Cities courses, both public and private. In 1945 Hughes was crowned champion of the Joe Louis Open in Detroit and the Midwest Open in Toledo, Ohio and the Des Moines Open. Upon returning home, he joined the African American Twin Cities Golf Club as a Pro, and taught lessons while supporting his family and initially working as a Pullman porter for the Great Northern Railroad.
Through this time, Solomon Hughes Sr. consistently ranked as one of the top UGA players and became an inspiration to Black golfers young and old, teaching the finer points of the game to boxing champions Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson. He would also mentor golfers Ted Rhodes and Charlie Sifford, among the first Black golfers to be admitted when the PGA would ultimately open their doors to African Americans.
Solomon Hughes Sr.’s notable contributions and historic role in golf would extend to the national stage when he and Ted Rhodes challenged the PGA to let them enter the 1948 St. Paul Open, held at Keller Golf Course in Hughes’ adopted home state of Minnesota. Their request was denied and sparked a years-long battle to change the game. An effort spearheaded by Joe Louis, leveraging his celebrity, ultimately making him the first African American to play in a PGA event and later given the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.
Not long after and as a footnote in history, Hughes would tee off on the first day of the 1952 St. Paul Open with Ted Rhodes, each playing in a group alongside white players and becoming the first professional black players to compete in a PGA event. The PGA’s ‘Caucasians Only’ clause would eventually come down in 1961, a momentous victory that dismantled segregation in golf and opened the door for players of any race to compete at the highest level.
Until his diagnosis with leukemia, Hughes would continue to play golf across the country, winning senior tournaments and realizing his dream of journeying to Scotland, where golf began. Solomon Hughes Sr. died in 1987 and while unable to enter the PGA, lived to see players that he tutored and inspired earn success on the Tour. His contributions to the game and his community serve to remind us that we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.