I’m not good with math, you know. Just one of those humanities jerks who wants to revisit history, explain things and argue about them; find the nuances that are woven through lifetimes and distill tragedy until some kind of truth can be found. My truth, at least. But couch-lounging in front of the PGA Championships this weekend I grabbed the calculator and punched in some numbers. Next year will be the 75th anniversary. Perhaps I should do something about this….
New York’s Capital Region has very little presence on the national golf scene. Oh, sure we have a few Ross and Tillinghast and RTJ courses. Dottie Pepper’s from around here, and Laura Diaz. Most folks know that. Fewer still know that the three-generation chain of Duval family golfers started here with old “Hap,” who toiled on Depression-era courses long gone. But mention the name Tom Creavy and you’ll get mostly blank stares.
74 years ago, however, Tom Creavy was the toast of the golf world having become the second-youngest player ever to win the PGA Championship. He also got a new job, as head pro at Albany Country Club.
But here’s the weird part, some type of “mystery injury” (some say he fell, some say it was an meningitis or something like that) befell Tom within a year and he never regained the promise launched by his major win. He competed in the first Masters. He made it to the semis of the next two PGAs, but not much else, and he faded away seemingly into a respectable club pro.
It’s a mystery and I love a mystery.
Why not make it my job to find out just what happened to Tom Creavy… at least in time for next year’s PGA. It’s the least I can do for the only major champion to ever call Albany home.
I’ll let you know what I find out.
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