Sport: Color Line

¶ In California, three Negro professional golfers were barred from the $10,000 Richmond “open” golf tournament. The local club was willing to let them play, but the all-powerful Professional Golfers’ Association, which all the leading pros belong to, has a “Caucasian clause.” The three excluded golfers—Ted Rhodes (who taught Joe Louis how to play), Bill Spiller and Madison Gunter—thereupon sued the P.G.A. and the club for $315,000.

¶ In Oklahoma, a Negro athlete competed against whites, reportedly for the first time in the state’s history. He was 6 ft. 6 in. Don Barksdale, an All-America basketball player last year at U.C.L.A. Barksdale scored 17 points, sparked the pro Oakland (Calif.) Bittners to a 45-41 victory over the all-white Phillips Oilers (of Bartlesville, Okla.), who hadn’t been defeated in 31 games. The Oklahoma audience cheered him.