It’s More than a Participation Trophy

I would like to take a moment to thank David Tenneson of College Golf Book for turning me on to the artifact we will be discussing in today’s SOCIETY Newsletter.

David has a wonderful golf history newsletter called the 5count4 that you can subscribe to by clicking the link below:

https://5count4.substack.com/p/mens-championship-series-10-1920

Last week David sent me a DM about an artifact up for auction. It was old, but only in the sense of golf in America, and it represented something that was more than what it appeared to be.

On the face of it, this third place medal was from the 1896 St Andrews Cup. It’s made of silver, for whatever that is worth, but its value should be measured in history more so that it’s weight in sterling.

The winner of this third place trophy wasn’t a household name, and yet there is more to this story. According to one news article from 1896, the St Andrews Cup claimed to be the oldest golf tournament in the United States.

The Format:

The St Andrew’s Cup invited amateur golfers from across the United States to play for its championship cup. Participants would have to qualify via a stroke play, with the final field cut to 16 players. The 16 players would play head to head in match play to identify the St Andrew’s Cup champion.

Historical Perspective:

The 1896 St Andrews Cup was played a mere two years after St Andrew’s Golf Club hosted the first (pre-USGA) US Open in 1894 and just a year after St Andrew’s became a charter member of the USGA.

The age of this medal, the competition and its connection to the founding of the USGA is great, but believe it or not there is more to this story. St Andrew’s, as I mentioned, was the host of the first ever (pre-USGA) US Open which was won by Willie Dunn. What is really remarkable about this artifact, is the actual medal (see image below).

This artifact shares a direct lineage to the 1894 US Open. This 1896 medal, as well as the 1894 US Open medal, were made by John Frick of New York and this 1896 medal just so happens to be the exact same medal that was made specifically for the 1894 US Open.

See top line in the advertisement below, “Makers of the First Golf Medal made in the United States Official Medals.”

The photograph below is Charles Blair Macdonald’s second place medal in the 1894 (pre-USGA) US Amateur played the same day as our first (pre-USGA) US Open. The medal, the golfer on the medal and the inscription are all identical to the 1896 St Andrews Cup Medal.

What is the importance of the 1896 St Andrew’s Cup Silver Medal? Well to this Golf Historian, it’s like having the a duplicate of the Open Championship’s original Challenge Belt. It’s an artifact from days gone by and a U.S. Open that some say never happened.

The 1896 St Andrew’s Cup Medal is a piece of golf history that is connected to the first ever U.S. Open, that just so happened to be played at the same club. A US Open that has been struck from the record books… a lost medal for a lost major.

Do you enjoy stories like this one? If you do and do not listen to the TalkinGolf History Podcast, you are missing out.

Here is a link to the podcast. This week we will be releasing: “THE HISTORY OF SCOTTY CAMERON.”

Do you have a story that you think would make a great newsletter? If so I would love to hear about it. Shoot me an email: [email protected].

As always thank you for reading this newsletter and sharing it with your friends. It is my pleasure to share these little sometimes unknown stories with you.

Until next time…

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T. Lewis