1957 British Amateur 2nd Place Sterling Silver Medal - Harold Ridgely w/ Box & Letter from Son
This rare beautiful and ornate sterling silver medal was given to “Reds” for finishing second in the 1957 British Amateur. The medal is housed in its seldom seen original box and the medal is appropriately hallmarked from R&A silversmiths - Walker & Hall Ltd of Sheffield & Birmingham. A copy of Harold’s son’s letter attesting that this medal belonged to his father will accompany this lot. This historic medal will be a splendid addition to any fine high end golf medal collection. Measures 1 3/4" x 1 3/4"
Harold Ridgely learned the game of golf as a caddy. Nicknamed ‘Reds’, Ridgely caddied for Harry “Lighthouse” Cooper at Merion during the 1934 US Open. The 20 year old Philadelphian was also playing golf with anyone that he could. Into his late 20’s Ridgely found himself in money games with the likes of George Fazio and Billy Hyndman, noted as some of the best golfer’s in Philadelphia and the US. Just before his 30th birthday ‘Reds’ was drafted into military service during World War II. While stationed in England, it was during his 23rd mission that his plane was unfortunately shot down over Germany. A B-17 tail-gunner, Ridgely parachuted to safety only to be captured by the enemy forces and spent the remainder of World War II in a POW camp. Once the war was over, he was sent to Atlantic City in 1945 in order to complete some rehabilitation. Not wasting any time to get back into the swing of things, ‘Reds’ won the Bright Memorial Tournament that summer at Wildwood, and then followed that up with a reenlistment in the Army. While returning to England during his enlistment, Harold began taking aim at local and military tournaments and achieved many victories. ‘Reds’ then tried his hand at the British Amateur. He won 3 matches one year, and 5 another, but in 1957 he would go on to make his mark.
In 1957 Harold made it the finals of the British Amateur, only to then lose a close battle to Reid Jack, 2&1. A final run at the Amateur in 1959 saw Ridgely play against his old friend Hyndman in the 5th round. Upon retirement, Ridgely moved down south to Ft. Lauderdale where he would join the Rolling Hills Country Club. An interesting note to cap off an intriguing list of accomplishments and accolades for Ridgely was still to be had. The infamous golf movie ‘Caddyshack’ was filmed at Rolling Hills Country Club, and since Rodney Dangerfield was a far superior actor than golfer, Harold played all of Rodney’s golf shots seen in “Caddyshack”.
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