Shots Heard 'Round the World

Home run hero Bobby Thomson's famous hit was only one of many shots deemed globally audible.

Remembering PGA pioneer Charlie Sifford

We're remembering pro golf pioneer Charlie Sifford, the first African-American to earn what is now called a PGA Tour card.

Arnold Palmer (1929 - 2016), golf legend

Palmer won 62 titles on the PGA Tour between 1955 and 1973. Part of the “Big Three” alongside Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, he helped popularize and commercialize professional golf as a televised sport.

Dawn Coe-Jones (1960 - 2016), Canadian professional golfer

Dawn Coe-Jones, a Canadian professional golfer, died Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, after a battle with brain cancer, according to multiple news sources. She was 56.

Remembering Althea Gibson (video)

has been called the of tennis. She broke through the color barrier in 1950 and within a few years became a dominant force, winning back-to-back Wimbledon and U.S. National Championships. She is regarded as one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time. Because tennis was an amateur sport, she never made much money playing it, so she turned to golf and repeated her pioneering achievement, becoming the first Black woman on the LPGA tour. Today she’s remembered for inspiring and paving the way for other Black tennis greats like and Venus and Serena Williams.

Thomas Forkner Sr. (1918–2017), Waffle House co-founder

Co-founder of the Waffle House restaurant chain.

Roberto De Vicenzo (1923 - 2017)

Argentine golf legend won the 1967 Open Championship…

Doug Ford (1922 – 2018), 1957 Masters Champion

World Golf Hall of Fame member was the oldest surviving Masters champion...

Carol Mann (1941 – 2018), won 38 LPGA Tour titles

Two-time major champion won the U.S. Open in 1965…

Peter Thomson (1929 – 2018), Australian golfing legend

Five-time British Open champion…

Hubert Green (1946 – 2018), Hall of Fame golfer

Won the U.S. Open in 1977…

Gene Littler (1930 - 2019), former U.S. Open golf champion

Gene Littler was a Hall of Fame golfer who won the 1961 U.S. Open among his 29 career victories on the PGA tour. The San Diego native claimed his first tour title in 1954, winning the hometown San Diego Open as an amateur. He recovered from a cancer diagnosis in 1972 to win four more titles including 3 in 1975 at the age of 45.

Marilynn Smith (1929–2019), LPGA founder

The pro golfer was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Mickey Wright (1935–2020), LPGA legend who won 13 majors

Mickey Wright was a professional golfer who is widely considered one of the best in LPGA history. Playing professionally from 1955 until her 1969 retirement, Wright won 13 major championships and 82 LPGA Tour events, including winning four consecutive majors in 1961 and 1962. She was known for her fluid and powerful swing, which some called the best they’d ever seen from any golfer, male or female.

Bill Wright (1936–2021), first Black golfer to win a USGA title

Bill Wright was the first Black golfer to win a United States Golf Association (USGA) event, 1959’s Amateur Public Links Championship in Denver.

Lee Elder (1934–2021), first Black golfer to play in the Masters

Lee Elder was a pioneering golfer who was the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters when he played in the tournament in 1974.

Bob Goalby (1929–2022), won Masters on a scorecard error

Bob Goalby was a PGA golfer who won the 1968 Masters after an infamous scorecard error involving Argentinian golfer Roberto De Vicenzo.

Joan Joyce (1940–2022), softball legend and LPGA record-holder

Joan Joyce was the longtime head softball coach at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), as well as a record-setting golfer and basketball player.

Shirley Spork (1927–2022), LPGA co-founder

Shirley Spork was a golfer and teaching pro who co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950.

Tom Weiskopf (1942–2022), former British Open golf champion 

Tom Weiskopf was a pro golfer who won 16 PGA Tour titles including the 1973 British Open and then became a prominent golf course designer.

Herb Kohler Jr. (1939–2022), Kohler Co. billionaire and golf patron

Herb Kohler Jr. was the former CEO of Kohler Co., known for their plumbing products.

Dow Finsterwald (1929–2022), 1958 PGA Champion  

Dow Finsterwald  was a legendary pro golfer who won the 1958 PGA Championship the first year the tournament used stroke play.

Kathy Whitworth (1939–2022), winningest pro golfer in history

Kathy Whitworth was a legendary golfer who set the record for the most tour victories in history with 88.

Jim Ferree (1931–2023), PGA Tour champion

Jim Ferree was a PGA Tour champion and the model for the first Senior PGA Tour logo.

Dick Groat (1930–2023), World Series champ with Pirates, Cardinals 

Dick Groat was a baseball and basketball player who won two World Series, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Don January (1929–2023), champion pro golfer 

Don January was a pro golfer who won the 1967 PGA Championship.

Marlene Hagge-Vossler (1934–2023), last surviving LPGA founder

Marlene Hagge-Vossler was one of the 13 women who co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950, the last of the group to survive.

Andy Bean (1953–2023), 11-time PGA Tour winner 

Andy Bean was a professional golfer who won 11 PGA tour events and was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

Ivor Robson (1940–2023), golf’s Voice of the Open 

Ivor Robson was a golf announcer best known for his long association with the British Open. 

Betsy Rawls (1928–2023), LPGA champion

Betsy Rawls was a professional golfer who won the U.S. Women’s Open four times, among dozens of other career wins on the LPGA Tour.

Eddie Merrins (1932–2023), golf instructor to the stars 

Eddie Merrins , nicknamed “The Little Pro,” was a professional golfer and instructor who taught both future pros and Hollywood stars, making a big impact on the Los Angeles golf scene in the process.

Jack Burke Jr. (1923–2024), two-time major-winning golfer 

Jack “Jackie” Burke Jr. was a PGA Tour golfer and winner of both the Masters and PGA Championship in 1956 who won 16 PGA Tour events overall during his career.

Stephanie Sparks (1973–2024), golfer and The Big Break host

Stephanie Sparks was an amateur golf champion who hosted TV shows on the Golf Channel, such as the reality competition series “The Big Break.”  

Peter Oosterhuis (1948–2024), PGA golfer and broadcaster 

Peter Oosterhuis was a PGA golfer who won the 1981 Canadian Open and went on to greater fame as a golf analyst for CBS Sports.

Grayson Murray (1993–2024), two-time PGA Tour winner

Grayson Murray was a professional golfer and two-time PGA Tour event winner who was ranked 58th in the world.

Dave Loggins (1947–2024), Please Come to Boston singer-songwriter

Dave Loggins was a singer and songwriter best known for his 1974 soft rock hit “Please Come to Boston” and the theme song to the Masters Golf Tournament.

Mark Carnevale (1960–2024), PGA Tour golfer and commentator

Mark Carnevale was a professional golfer who won Rookie of the Year in 1992 after winning the Chattanooga Classic, and he later became a commentator for Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio.

Chi Chi Rodriguez (1935–2024), PGA superstar

Chi Chi Rodriguez was a World Golf Hall of Famer who won eight PGA Tour events and became known for his antics on the course.

Susie Maxwell Berning (1941–2024), Hall of Fame LPGA golfer

Susie Maxwell Berning was a Hall of Fame golfer on the LPGA tour best known for her four Major Championship victories.0

Kultida Woods (1944–2025), Tiger Woods’ mother

Kultida Woods was the mother of golf legend Tiger Woods, known for being one of his most prominent supporters and for urging him to adopt red as his Sunday color.

John Feinstein (1955–2025), sportswriter and commentator

John Feinstein was a sportswriter and commentator best known for his long tenure as a Washington Post columnist, as well as the author of such books as “A Season on the Brink,” which chronicles a year of the of Indiana University's men's basketball team and its volatile coach, .