The Babe w/ Graffis & Winchell?

[Dan Kelly]

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19520215&id=mFouAAAAIBAJ&sjid=utkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3546,5835290&hl=en gives us the format of this tournament:

Cross-country, four stops, 36 holes at each stop -- for a purse of $17,000 (in 1952).

Wonder if today's PGA/LPGA Tourists would go for a thing like that?

[DMoriarty]

Maybe I missed this but, aren't the names/initials written on the back of the photograph in pencil?  Second one looks like "Babe," third one looks like "Winchell," and the first one looks like either CH, GH, or AH.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Great sleuthing guys!

Would the type of trees in the background help to narrow down the location?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Wayne,
The only Weathervane event that Babe won where the temperature caused the need for coats was at Pebble Beach in 1950. It was 59 and 54 degrees on the two days of the tourney.

[Neil Regan]

Neil -- You might be right -- but I wonder:

Why would the date 3/23/51 be on the back of the picture? The date on the back of the picture would generally be either (1) the date it was taken, or (2) the date it was to be published. March 23, 1951 doesn't line up with either of those things, according to your analysis.

That issue of The Golfer intrigues me. It's the most gender-mixed golf-magazine masthead (and Table of Contents) I've ever seen.

It intrigued me enough to buy the magazine. If I find other things to share, I will do so after it arrives.

Dan

Dan,

  Just a guess about The Golfer magazine, but the date could be logical, if the April Issue went to bed the last week in March.
I'd say a better guess would be along the same lines: a press photo published in some newspaper(s) prior to the tournament.
I have lots of press photos, and they often have dates on the back that correspond to publication and not the date of the picture.

[Peter Pallotta]

Fyi, here's the text of the letter I've mentioned, from George Zaharias to Fred Corcoran, dated January 29 1951 (on the letter head of the Tampa Golf and Country Club):

"Dear Fred, Received your letter about the Walter Winchell Open, I talked with Babe and she will play in it, she also challenges him to a contest of the manner you spoke of. Best regards to all, and Babe will be there on time."

As mentioned, I think the WW Open is probably the Damon Runyon charity event.

Peter

[john_stiles]

It is definitely AH,  the owner of Weathervane (womans clothing).

A photo from 1950, printed/cropped in March (maybe),  as the lead article for the new LPGA season, whose leading sponsor was Weathervane, featuring the leading female athlete of the era.

The 144 hole Weathervane 1st place would have been awarded when the New York White Plains event ended.  In May 1950 the lows were in the high 30s.

The grand size of the bowl strikes me as the grand prize for the 144 hole winner in White Plains awarded late in the day.

The 144 hole winner received $5,000,  more than twice that of any other LPGA event.  

The 144 hole Weathervane 1st place prize was 4 times as much as US Open in 1950.

[Jim_Kennedy]

John,

It was 75.9 degrees w/clear skies at 7:00 pm on May 21, 1950, in White Plains, NY. Not coat weather.

[Peter Pallotta]

John,

It was 75.9 degrees w/clear skies at 7:00 pm on May 21, 1950, in White Plains, NY. Not coat weather.

Jim - as a friend, I have to tell you: you're getting quite peculiar. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you, but you do know that being interested in what the temperature was in White Plains in May 1950 is a bit strange, don't you? Just checking...

Peter

[Jim_Kennedy]

John,
It was 75.9 degrees w/clear skies at 7:00 pm on May 21, 1950, in White Plains, NY. Not coat weather.

Jim - as a friend, I have to tell you: you're getting quite peculiar. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you, but you do know that being interested in what the temperature was in White Plains in May 1950 is a bit strange, don't you? Just checking...

Peter

 

Gee, thanks Peter...     
 

[john_stiles]

The big trophy

It is not, IMO, the trophy for the winning a 36 hole event (each 36 was a separate tourney) with a $750 check for 1st place.

It is the trophy for the 144 hole big event

The big presence of The Babe, the HUGH check of $5,000 in 1950 , and AH is there with Winchell (aka NY columnist ) who probably had to be in NYC for his famous Sunday night broadcasts.

It was the promo teaser article / photograph for the new 1951 Weathervane events using the best image they had for the tease, last year's famous champion.

It was a windy day if low temps were in the high 30s.

[Anthony Gholz]

Gentlemen, and I use that with all due respect to the brainpower on this site:

This has been wonderful to watch.  gca has the best bunch of detectives around.  I'm now convinced regarding the The Babe, Winchell, and Alvin H. and the 144 hole trophy.  Where was the photo taken then?  at PB where she won the second half?

Thanks to all.
Anthony

[Bryan Izatt]

I think you can rule out Pebble Beach in either 1950 or 1951.  Here are two photos from the Pebble Beach history of Babe and the trophy in 1950 and 1951.  The trophy certainly appears to be for the individual events - they probably added the winners names to the base.  Babe is not dressed similarly to Anthony's picture in either these pictures.  The trees in the background are what I'd expect to see at PB, not like the background trees in Anthony's picture.

The trees in the background of Anthony's picture would be more consistent with those in Cleveland.  At the left edge of the picture is some kind of pine with it's candles growing which would be consistent with Cleveland in May.  The weather on the day of the tournament was high in the day and cold at night and rainy.  The coats could have been for the rain or because the photo was from late afternoon when it had cooled down.  Also, Babe isn't dressed all that warmly.








The trees in the picture look more like what you see at the Ridgewood in Cleveland.