Eastern Michigan Athletics
From EMU to the LGPA, Shirley Spork Has Made an Impact on Women's Golf
2/19/2009 2:04:18 PM | Women's Golf
Graduate of then Michigan State Normal College, Spork helped found the LPGA
Click Here to Look at Photos of the Visit.
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Even though the Eastern Michigan University's women's golf team may only be in its 15th season of competition in 2009, the roots of the sport run deep in the University's history.
Shirley Spork, a 1949 graduate of then Michigan State Normal College, went on to become a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the LPGA National Golf School. She was a part-time Tour player in the 50s, 60s and 70s, participating in U.S. Opens, LPGA Championships and the Tam O'Shanter All American Open.
Despite graduating 23 years before Title IX created gender equity in sports in 1972, Spork has still been able to give back to EMU Athletics in support of the women's golf team. An endowment to the program is named in her honor to supplement the operational budget and further expand golf opportunities for women.
On EMU's recent West Coast road trip for the Lady Braveheart Classic, Feb. 9-10, head coach Sandy Wagner and her squad got the chance to spend some time with Spork at her Desert Palm, Calif. home.
"Our trip to Palm Springs was a lot of fun and meeting Shirley was definitely the highlight," said senior Stephany Fleet. "Many of us didn't know that much about her, but after a little reading and getting the chance to meet her we gained a lot of knowledge about the beginning of women's professional golf. The truth was surprising to many of us."
"She is a pretty famous lady in the golf world, but you would never know it," continued Fleet. "She is so humble about her accomplishments, but knows more about the game of golf than anyone I have ever met. She could talk about the game for hours on end and never repeat herself once, which is something I personally admired. Most golfers know the basics, but the facts she knows are incredible."
"It was really interesting to hear about what it was like to found the tour," mentioned senior Courtney Aili. "The winnings were so small, and with all the expenses, like travel, it was tough to make a profit. I hope to be a member someday, and it made me really appreciate all that they had to go through to start something from scratch and for it to become the success it is today. It was also really cool to see all the old golf clubs she had in her home. She had Babe Zaharias's driver and we all got to hold it. She also had one of the first clubs ever made. Most of the clubs were wood shafted and some of them were very strange looking. She had one of the first sand wedges and it looked like a scoop on the end of a pole."
Spork, the first female inducted into the E-Club Hall of Fame in 1981, began her golf career early in life. She started playing with one club, a putter, at age 10 when she lived near Bonnie Brook Golf Course in Detroit, Mich. Throughout high school, Spork would participate in the annual City Championship at Palmer Park Municipal, which was only a nine-hole event. While attending MSNC, Spork won the Women's District Match Play Championship three times in four years. In 1947, she was the winner of the first-ever National Collegiate Championship held for women's athletics, plus she was the victor of the 1949 Michigan Amateur.
After graduation, Spork became a teacher in the Detroit public schools, but realized she would much rather be playing golf. She turned professional in 1950 and played the tour but along the way, realized she still was a teacher and in 1959 along with Marilynn Smith, Betty Hicks and Barbara Rotvig, she founded the LPGA's Teaching and Club Professional Division.
Spork was the first LPGA professional to conduct golf clinics in foreign countries and was a two-time LPGA Teacher of the Year (1959, 1984). She was the chairperson of the LPGA T&CP Division from 1960-66, and received the Meritorious Service Award in 1989 and the Byron Nelson Award in 1994.
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Even though the Eastern Michigan University's women's golf team may only be in its 15th season of competition in 2009, the roots of the sport run deep in the University's history.
Shirley Spork, a 1949 graduate of then Michigan State Normal College, went on to become a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the LPGA National Golf School. She was a part-time Tour player in the 50s, 60s and 70s, participating in U.S. Opens, LPGA Championships and the Tam O'Shanter All American Open.
Despite graduating 23 years before Title IX created gender equity in sports in 1972, Spork has still been able to give back to EMU Athletics in support of the women's golf team. An endowment to the program is named in her honor to supplement the operational budget and further expand golf opportunities for women.
On EMU's recent West Coast road trip for the Lady Braveheart Classic, Feb. 9-10, head coach Sandy Wagner and her squad got the chance to spend some time with Spork at her Desert Palm, Calif. home.
"Our trip to Palm Springs was a lot of fun and meeting Shirley was definitely the highlight," said senior Stephany Fleet. "Many of us didn't know that much about her, but after a little reading and getting the chance to meet her we gained a lot of knowledge about the beginning of women's professional golf. The truth was surprising to many of us."
"She is a pretty famous lady in the golf world, but you would never know it," continued Fleet. "She is so humble about her accomplishments, but knows more about the game of golf than anyone I have ever met. She could talk about the game for hours on end and never repeat herself once, which is something I personally admired. Most golfers know the basics, but the facts she knows are incredible."
"It was really interesting to hear about what it was like to found the tour," mentioned senior Courtney Aili. "The winnings were so small, and with all the expenses, like travel, it was tough to make a profit. I hope to be a member someday, and it made me really appreciate all that they had to go through to start something from scratch and for it to become the success it is today. It was also really cool to see all the old golf clubs she had in her home. She had Babe Zaharias's driver and we all got to hold it. She also had one of the first clubs ever made. Most of the clubs were wood shafted and some of them were very strange looking. She had one of the first sand wedges and it looked like a scoop on the end of a pole."
Spork, the first female inducted into the E-Club Hall of Fame in 1981, began her golf career early in life. She started playing with one club, a putter, at age 10 when she lived near Bonnie Brook Golf Course in Detroit, Mich. Throughout high school, Spork would participate in the annual City Championship at Palmer Park Municipal, which was only a nine-hole event. While attending MSNC, Spork won the Women's District Match Play Championship three times in four years. In 1947, she was the winner of the first-ever National Collegiate Championship held for women's athletics, plus she was the victor of the 1949 Michigan Amateur.
After graduation, Spork became a teacher in the Detroit public schools, but realized she would much rather be playing golf. She turned professional in 1950 and played the tour but along the way, realized she still was a teacher and in 1959 along with Marilynn Smith, Betty Hicks and Barbara Rotvig, she founded the LPGA's Teaching and Club Professional Division.
Spork was the first LPGA professional to conduct golf clinics in foreign countries and was a two-time LPGA Teacher of the Year (1959, 1984). She was the chairperson of the LPGA T&CP Division from 1960-66, and received the Meritorious Service Award in 1989 and the Byron Nelson Award in 1994.
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