NY Times · Feb 25, 2021
Bill Wright, Who Broke a Color Barrier in Golf, Dies at 84
Bill Wright in the Amateur Public Links Championship in Denver in 1959. His victory there was a singular moment for Black golfers at a time when the P.G.A. bylaws still had a “Caucasians-only” clause.Credit...Denver Post, via Getty ImagesBill Wright, the first Black competitor to win a United States Golf Association event in an era when African-Americans were not welcome either in segregated country clubs or in the top amateur and professional ranks, died on Feb. 19 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84.
His wife and only immediate survivor, Ceta (Smith) Wright, confirmed the death, saying he had a stroke in 2017 and had Alzheimer’s disease.