The Ryder Cup In North Carolina

This is another interesting button from the Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection. In 1951, the Ryder Cup, a biennial golf match between the United States and Great Britain (now a team made up of Europeans), was held in Pinehurst—the first and only time this event has been held in North Carolina. The U.S. team, captained by Sam Snead, defeated the British after play was suspended on Saturday afternoon to allow golfers from both teams to attend the Tennessee-UNC football game at Chapel Hill. [Unfortunately, the golfers witnessed a trouncing (0-27) of the Heels by the eventual national champion Volunteers.]

4 thoughts on “The Ryder Cup In North Carolina”

  1. I can’t take much credit for this one (I just added the score of the UNC vs. UT game). The inspiration, facts, and, well, pretty much everything else came from Lew Powell—-who, by the way, is contributing for our blog now

  2. Who is this Lew Powell and how does he know so much about our state? You’d think he was some noted newspaperman or something. Or, you’d think might have written a fun book or two about North Carolina. You know, something along the lines of _On This Day in North Carolina_ or _Carolina Follies: A Nose-Tweaking Look at Life in Our Two Great and Goofy States_, or _The Ultimate North Carolina Quiz Book_ You’d think that he might have been responsible for those great New Year’s Day reflections on the news . . . I hope somebody gives this Lew Powell a metal button to wear, one sporting a slogan along the lines of, “Ask me about my political memorabilia collection . . . ”

    Thanks for joining the blog crew, Lew!

  3. Kevin, thanks so much for the generous bio. Since my tenure at the Charlotte Observer skidded to an end (in April, after 34 years), the Miscellany has provided me a platform for playing shade-tree historian. I hope to add some worthwhile posts, especially about pinback buttons and other memorabilia in the collection, as well as learning daily from the contributions of the better informed. (It took me 30 years to land in North Carolina, so I’m still catching up!)

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