Ed Oliver

Ed Oliver
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Edward Stewart Oliver, Jr.
Nickname Porky, Pork Chops[1]
Born (1915-09-06)September 6, 1915
Wilmington, Delaware
Died September 21, 1961(1961-09-21) (aged 46)
Wilmington, Delaware
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 240 lb (109 kg; 17 st)
Nationality  United States
Spouse Clara E. Hee[2][3]
Children 3 sons, 1 daughter[4]
Career
College none
Turned professional 1940
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 8
Other 7
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament 2nd: 1953
U.S. Open 2nd: 1952
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship 2nd: 1946

Edward Stewart "Porky" Oliver, Jr. (September 6, 1915 – September 21, 1961) was a professional golfer from the United States. He played on what is now known as the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Oliver started as a caddy at age 11 at Wilmington Country Club and turned pro at age 18.[1][3] He earned his nickname because he stood 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) but weighed 240 pounds (109 kg). He won eight times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. Oliver was well known for finishing second in several major championships, but not letting it get him down. He lost to Ben Hogan in the finals of the 1946 PGA Championship, was runner-up to Julius Boros in the 1952 U.S. Open, and to Hogan at the 1953 Masters. Oliver also finished in a tie with Lawson Little and Gene Sarazen at the 1940 U.S. Open, but was disqualified for teeing off 30 minutes early over weather concerns (under current rules, tournament directors reserve the rule to advance round start times, group players in three, and using both the first and tenth tees in case of approaching weather).[5] He was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier of the PGA Championship in 1954, but lost in the third round to eventual champion Chick Harbert. Because of his positive attitude, Oliver was a popular player on tour.[4]

Oliver played on three Ryder Cup teams (1947, 1951, and 1955). He lost several years of playing time while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II,[2] and suffered from the after effects of a 1948 automobile accident that injured a kidney.[6]

Cancer

Oliver was diagnosed with cancer in 1960 and had part of a lung removed in late May in Denver.[7] Remarkably, he played a tour event that September in Utah, but missed the cut by two strokes.[8] Oliver was an advocate for cancer research, traveling the banquet circuit while battling the disease.[4] He died the following September at age 46 at Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.[1][3]

Legacy

In 1976, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. The course of the Wilmington Country Club where he caddied as a teenager has been redesigned and is now the Ed Oliver Golf Club.[9] He and his wife Clara (1915–2010) are buried in All Saints Cemetery in Wilmington; they had three sons and a daughter.[4]

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (8)

Other wins

this list may be incomplete

Results in major championships

Tournament 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament DNP T19 DNP DNP NT NT NT T37 T8 DNP DNP
U.S. Open T29 DQ DNP NT NT NT NT T6 T3 CUT DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP NT DNP DNP 2 R16 R16 R64
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
Masters Tournament DNP DNP T30 2 T22 T53 DNP DNP DNP T14 T20
U.S. Open DNP T24 2 T58 DNP CUT T41 T22 DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP R32 DNP R64 R16 R64 DNP DNP T8 T11 DNP

Note: Oliver never played in The Open Championship.
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 1 2 6 9 9
U.S. Open 0 1 1 2 3 5 11 8
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 1 0 1 5 7 10 10
Totals 0 3 1 4 10 18 30 27

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cancer takes Porky Oliver". Meriden Journal. Connecticut. Associated Press. September 21, 1961. p. 4.
  2. 1 2 "Ed Oliver, golf ace in Army". San Jose News. California. Associated Press. February 24, 1942. p. 6.
  3. 1 2 3 "Golf's Porky Oliver Dies". Nashua Telegraph. New Hampshire. Associated Press. September 21, 1961. p. 2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Porky eyes miracle". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. March 22, 1961. p. 6-part 2.
  5. ↑ "Jack Bell's Sports Desk". Miami Daily News. June 17, 1940. p. B1.
  6. ↑ "Oliver sets PGA pace with 5-under 66". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. July 22, 1954. p. 17.
  7. ↑ "Porky recovering". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. June 5, 1960. p. 11.
  8. ↑ "Finsterwald gains lead in Utah Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. September 11, 1960. p. 2B.
  9. ↑ "Welcome". Ed Oliver Golf Club. Retrieved December 3, 2013.

External links

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