?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(SPORTS--GOLF.) Trophy presented by the United States Colored Golf Association to pioneer golfer Jack Shippen. Trophy, 9 inches tall, on 4 1/4 x 2 3/4-inch base, in three parts attached by screws (figure of a woman reading "Triumph", base, and plaque); apparently missing at least one part (a golf club?), base loose, finish worn and in need of polishing. Np: W.B. Manufacturing Company, 7 September 1927
John Matthew "Jack" Shippen Jr. (1879-1968) was one of the first American professional golfers--and the only Black golfer to compete in the U.S. Open before 1948. Born in Washington, DC, he went north as a boy with his father, who in the 1880s became minister to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Southampton, Long Island, NY. There young Jack learned to caddy and golf. When the second U.S. Open was held in Shinnecock Hills in 1896, he was allowed to register (as an Indian), and finished 5th in the tournament. He also finished 5th in 1902. After that, the informal color line shut him out of the professional tournaments, and he made a living as a golf instructor in Washington.
The United States Colored Golf Association was founded in 1925 and persisted as the United Golfers Association until the integration of the Professional Golfers Association in 1961. Shippen was well past his prime when the USCGA was founded, but was still one of its best golfers. Their second tournament was held at the Mapledale Links in Stow, MA on 4 and 5 September 1927. At the age of 47, Shippen placed second in the tournament with a 313 over 4 rounds, winning the $75 second prize. Finishing 11th was his son John Jr. (see the Boston Globe of 6 September 1927).
Offered here is a trophy presented to Shippen for this tournament two days later. The plaque reads "Presented by Betram Barker, U.S.C.G.A., won by Jack Shippen, Sept. 7, 1927." It is a rare relic of golf's pre-integration era.
