04/25/24
April 26, 2007
'Let's See Tiger Play Under Par Left-Handed': Today's Cincinnati Enquirer recalls another legendary black golfer named Woods, a local player from the '40s to '70s who belonged to a select fraternity of hustlers who made their money gambling on themselves. "Chicago was dominated by a player known mostly as Young Blood. Nashville had Potato Pie. Atlanta had Golf Ball. Washington, D.C., had Get Straight. Cincinnati had Jimmy Woods." Woods, who died in 2000, would beat an opponent right-handed and then offer to make things fair by playing him left-handed. His long-time caddie Ron Dumas said, "Jimmy made shots other guys wouldn't even try."
That's wicked stuff. Never heard of the man. Sounds fascinating.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:06 AM on April 26, 2007
I've read a few stories over the years about these golf hustlers who would go course to course (where they may not be well-known), and doing these amazing things revolving around outrageous bets. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Jim Thorpe used to be well-known for doing this in his younger days. These guys remind me of some of the playground legends in basketball. You wonder how some of them never make it in the pro ranks, but that's not what they're about (for various reasons).
posted by dyams at 10:20 AM on April 26, 2007
Wow. I feel bad that iv'e never heard of the guy.
posted by TelamarketersBeware at 10:52 AM on April 26, 2007
I dunno if this is skirting the topic, but Pete Dexter's novel, Train, set in 1950's LA, revolves around a black golf prodigy of a similar mold. It's not strictly a sports novel, though, more a race/sex/murder/golf page-turner. Hope it's not inappropriate to bring it up, but the book seemed germane to this post; it's pretty thrilling, if you're not too squeamish.
posted by Hugh Janus at 11:42 AM on April 26, 2007
Now I want to hear about some of the other golfers mentioned in the story, especially Golf Ball, who plied his trade in Bobby Jones's home town.
posted by trox at 02:29 PM on April 26, 2007
Obviously the dude was a bad mo-fo on the links.Can you imagine the racial digs he would have had to endure if somehow he'd been allowed to go pro in the 60's?
posted by sickleguy at 04:04 PM on April 26, 2007
Can you imagine the racial digs he would have had to endure if somehow he'd been allowed to go pro in the 60's? From golf fans? Never.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:59 PM on April 26, 2007
Great story, Thanks rcade.
posted by jojomfd1 at 10:36 PM on April 26, 2007
For those who haven't, try "Missing Links" by Rick Reilly, great read.
posted by gfinsf at 10:55 AM on April 28, 2007
Great read, rcade. I've never heard of Jimmy Woods before but after reading this article, I'm going to find as much info as possible for future reference. Very good story.