2018 November Golf Memorabilia Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/18/2018
Charles Price's 1978 Heritage Golf Classic Ten Years as Chairman Recognition Plaque
Charles Price moved to Hilton Head in 1969, and was appointed by the Fraser brothers to market their Sea Pines and the Heritage Golf Tournament projects. Most important to these efforts, through his years on the PGA Tour, he new how to attract players. Jack Nicklaus was probably a natural for that first tournament on an unknown course in an unknown backwater without enough hotel rooms to hold the invited guests. The young star had helped Pete Dye design Harbour Town Golf Links. But Arnold Palmer, who Price had known since he was a teenager, had to be convinced to come. He was a late commitment, and Price after 'the King's' win in the first Heritage Golf Classic wrote eloquently about Palmer's triumph " a shot heard 'round the world for Sea Pines". Price also knew how to interest other writers who would tell the story of the new tournament and resort, like Furman Bisher from the Atlanta Journal and Dan Jenkins from Sports Illustrated. In part for this work in the infancy of the event, Charley Price received a Heritage Classic 1786 plaque in 1978. The plaque reads as follows:
Presented to
Charles Price
In grateful recognition of ten years volunteer service as a chairman of Heritage Tenth Annual Heritage Golf Classic march, 1978,
The plaque measures 9 1/4" x 7" x 3/4" and remains in displayable condition.
The Charles Price Collection
If golf had a Renaissance man, surely it was Charles Price. For nearly 50 years he touched the golf community with his flair for writing, a Hemingway of the fairways. Over that span his stylish writing was combined with an intimate players knowledge of the game based on his 1947-48 appearances as an amateur on the PGA Tour. This provided Price with a unique skill set to relate to players not found among his fellow golf scribes. He was highly respected by Bobby Jones as a writer and friend with the two visiting often for one-on-one conversations. He became a historian of the game through his time living with Walter Hagen, traveling with Gene Sarazen on "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf", competing with Ben Hogan & Sam Snead and writing about the careers of Jack Nicklaus & Arnold Palmer since they were college age players . Among his 17 books authored, co-authored or contributed to were "A Golf Story" (about The Masters, Augusta National and Jones); along with "The World of Golf: A Panorama of Six Centuries of the Game's History", and "Golfer-at-Large" all considered classics in golf literature.
The founding editor of GOLF Magazine in 1958, Price formulated the model for the game's contemporary magazines, and through columns for "Golf" and later "Golf Digest" where he spent his last dozen years his thoughtful analysis and retrospection presented the game.
He was the first golf director at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island and is largely responsible for establishing the Heritage Classic in 1969, one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour. These accomplishments led to countless far ranging awards in the golfing community which included 1988 recognition as one of the 100 Heroes of the First Century of Golf, the 1987 Donald Ross Award from Golf Course Architects and in 1985 he was elected by the Golf Writers Association of America to receive its tenth Memorial Gold Journalism Award, sponsored by Jack Nicklaus. His first place writing competition awards from the G.W.A.A. are too voluminous to list in this short space.
We at The Golf Auction would like to thank Charles Price's widow Laurie Rider for entrusting us with Charley's life-long golf acquisitions, and are appreciative of her desire to allow the collecting public to share in his love of the game.
Please note: This auction will end at 5:00pm EST Sunday, November 18th, with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (up to 9pm EST, then countdown clock will adjust to 5min time period). There is a buyer's premium of 17.5% for all items. All lots are free to be bid on until extended bidding has ended.
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