How He Played the Game: Ed "Porky" Oliver and Golf's Greatest Generation - Softcover

Riley, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0578322501 ISBN 13: 9780578322506

Publisher: Riley Publications LLC, 2022

Synopsis

Finalist for the USGA's 2022 Herbert Warren Wind Award!

During the Great Depression, Ed Oliver rose from the caddie ranks to become one of the leading professional golfers in the world. Provided an initial stake by three country club members who saw his potential, he found himself facing golf legends like Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen. Within a few years he was beating the best of a new younger wave of professionals led by Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, and Jimmy Demaret.

Then, just weeks after overtaking Hogan and Nelson to win the prestigious Western Open, he was suddenly pulled into the U.S. Army with an early draft call, long before his golf tour competitors joined the war effort. He served longer than all of them, losing more than four and a half of his best athletic years. Following the war, he rebuilt his game and drove from coast to coast battling to make a living and support a family of six against the now dominant Snead and Hogan and a new wave of champions like Lloyd Mangrum, Cary Middlecoff, Julius Boros, Billy Casper, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.

Although his long absence took its toll, Oliver still regained his standing among the best and was named to three Ryder Cup teams. He drew large galleries wherever he went, and in 1957 a Sports Illustrated article called him “the most popular player on the circuit.” Loved by fans and fellow professionals alike, with his body racked by cancer and facing his final days, he was named honorary captain of the 1961 Ryder Cup team. He died at age 46, just three weeks before they played.

This book is more than Oliver’s story. It is also the story of the many professionals who rose up from the caddyshacks, survived the Great Depression, served their country in wartime, then came home and built the modern golf tour. They could be called, “Golf’s Greatest Generation.”

About this title

About the Author

John Riley retired in 2016 after leading government relations for two global corporations. In 2017 he joined former Philadelphia Eagle Kevin Reilly as co-author of his book, Tackling Life and followed that success with his award winning book: Delaware Eyewitness: Behind the Scenes in the First State. 
 
Active in golf for many years, Riley turned his attention to the story of one of the game's forgotten heroes, three time Ryder Cup team member, Ed "Porky" Oliver. How He Played the Game focuses on Oliver and the other pros who served their country during WWII and built the modern golf tour.
 
Riley is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where he captained the golf team. He is a past recipient of the annual award of the Delaware State Golf Association for contributions to the game of golf. John and his wife Sharon live in Wilmington. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Edition details

• Publisher: Riley Publications LLC
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0578322501
• ISBN 13: 9780578322506
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 378