[Ohio-Talk] {Disarmed} FW: The First Blind...

Wed Jul 1 10:48:27 UTC 2020

From: The Blind History Lady <theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, July 1, 2020 6:35 AM
To: rchpay7 at gmail.com
Subject: The First Blind...

The First Blind... 

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“The First Blind…”

I was asked to give a presentation to Minnesotan’s recently and looked at my files for an interesting person to highlight. Once again I found a “first blind”, Clinton Russell, blind golfer in the United States from Duluth Minnesota. Every time I read of someone being “The First”, the doubter in me comes out. So, I had to know. 

Checking my facts, I found lots of references to blind and golfing and other blind golfers for the same era. First, let’s look at the hundreds of references to the blind and the sport before the blind were acknowledged for swinging the club.  It seems Golfing did much to create blind men and women in its first few decades.

At first, most of the references dating back to the late 1800’s was of children going blind when caddying. One of the blinded caddies was only 8 years old. Lawsuits brought changes, but only to the minimum age a child could earn a living as a caddy. There were adult golfers and spectators hit in the head or eye that also went blind from stray balls on the golf course. 

News articles around the turn of the twentieth century noted that many curious young boys wanting to know what was inside of a golf ball, opened the balls to find acid that spattered into their eyes, blinding them. Golfers hitting a ball “incorrectly” or trying to dry them out, found the balls exploding with the remnants of the balls and the acid blinding them. 

Then there were the blind who profited from golf.

John Condon, the Blind Boss of Chicago, managed the Harlem Racetrack since 1897. He purchased the racetrack outright in 1899. In 1901, he added a golf course. John made money from the track and its varied events as well as his golf course. John was said to have played golf around the turn of the twentieth century, yet I have not found concrete data to back up the belief. 

Joseph Pulitzer wanted his newspapers to be the sheet readers turned to when wanting to read about golf. In the late 1800’s, when deciding who would cover the golf tournament in the area, Pulitzer called several of his best reporters to his office. He asked them to separate into two groups; those who understood the game of golf and those who did not. Only three of his top reporters did not understand the game. Pulitzer turned to the three and said, “You three chaps will cover this tournament. I want all our readers to enjoy our story of this event and since most of them are ignorant of golf what interests you three will be sure to interest them.”

The Golfers Magazine for January of 1918, published in Chicago, noted that a Chicago sporting goods store had hired blind men to mend golf clubs. New York had a blind man who had worked in a factory for many years as a sighted man. When he went blind, he approached a sporting goods store to let him try mending golf clubs for them. His work was so good they hired him on permanently. 

Now for the Blind golfers.

According to many sources, Clinton Robbins, a Duluth businessman and avid golfer is given credit for being the first blind golfer in the United States. He was blinded in 1924.   Some say he gave up golf for five years, while other accounts state he went back to golfing in 1925. Robbins was certainly the first blind golfer to compete and be recognized nationally. 

But a young man who entered the University in Oregon in 1922 to become a journalist also took on the sport of golf and joined the school’s golf team. Here is an article from 1924 describing how the young man became a golfer before Clinton.  I find it interesting the two men have the same last name. 

“When Edward Robbins of Portland, Oregon, entered the state university at Eugene as a freshman in the school of journalism, he determined, in spite of his blindness, to participate in under-graduate activities and live as well-rounded a life as his fellows. 

With the idea of including recreation on his program, Robbins entered the golf class in the physical education department. He practiced indoors under the guidance of the golf instructor for several months, driving the ball from a mat against a heavy piece of canvas that hung at one end of the practice gallery. Able to control wooden and iron clubs accurately, Robbins is now practicing on the athletic field. 

Robbins learned what is known among golfers as the "straight-line" system. By drawing the club back from the ball on a straight line until the left arm is parallel with the ground the golfer is in a position to hit the ball fairly on the downward swing even though his eyes are closed. Trick golfers, blindfolded, can drive a ball perfectly by following this method, to the dismay of those who declare a golfer must keep his eyes on the ball. Good muscle coordination is necessary, however, to hit the ball with the eyes closed. A canvas stretched at the end of the golf gallery is marked with black disks. A good golfer will strike certain ones if he is using a mashie; others if he is "shooting'' with another club. Robbins perfected his shots by attempting to hit the right disks, the instructor informing him of his failures and successes. 

Robbins is on the staff of the Emerald, the daily student newspaper. He "covers" one of the most difficult "beats," the chemistry, physics, and pre-engineering departments. He also edits a radio column for the Emerald and directed the stringing of a 200- foot antennae across the university gymnasium. “

Blind golfers have a long history in the U. S. after WWII. You can read more about the blind and golfing online. 

Today, Jake Olson a young blind man from California wants to be the first blind golfer on the PGA Tournament.  Why not! Keep reaching for the stars. 

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