The Candy Man: Henry J Brown, the 1975 Masters and Beyond.

By: David Stone

There was something truly special about the caddies at Augusta National Golf Club. It wasn’t just the distinctive white jumpsuits and green caps adorned with the Augusta National logo that set them apart from other tour caddies. Ask any one of them and they’ll tell you. They were the best caddies in the world. There was a fierce pride in being a caddie at Augusta National. These men didn’t just carry a golf bag. That was like saying Michelangelo carried a paint brush. They challenged one another on who could read greens the best or who could pull clubs the best. They took it personally if their guy wound up in the water or, God forbid, four-putted a green.

Over the course of history, some Augusta caddies have become better known than others. There was Jim Dent, who rose from the caddie ranks to play on the PGA tour and later recorded 12 career victories on the Champions Tour. Sidney Walker, better known as Beau Jack, went on to become the nation’s lightweight boxing champion. Nathaniel “Iron Man” Avery caddied for Arnold Palmer in every one of his four Masters championships, and Carl Jackson forged such a tight bond with Ben Crenshaw that–even after the rules changed in 1983 and pros could bring their regular tour caddies–Crenshaw kept Jackson on the bag. He was with Crenshaw when he won in 1984 and when he won the second time in 1995.  Finally, there was Willie “Pete” Peterson, who caddied for Jack Nicklaus in five of the six times he won at Augusta, including his fifth Green Jacket in 1975.

But there was another caddie who made history in 1975, and the start of this year’s Masters Tournament on April 10 will mark the 50th Anniversary of that milestone. On that day, Henry Jeremiah Brown, a thirty-six year old caddie who split time driving a taxi for a living, did something that no other Augusta National caddie had ever done before. On April 10, 1975, Henry Brown stood on the first tee in the first round of the Masters Tournament, reached into a golf bag, and handed a driver to a golfer who shared the color of his skin. Now driving, Mr. Lee Elder. Fore please!

This wasn’t Brown’s first brush with Masters history. He was on the bag for Roberto De Vicenzo in 1968, the year De Vincenzo signed an incorrect scorecard and wound up missing a playoff with Bob Goalby by a single stroke. The error occurred at the 17th hole during the final round, when De Vicenzo put his approach to within three feet and made the short putt for birdie…only his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, put him down for a par. Convinced Aaron did it on purpose, Brown was so angry after the incident that he had to be restrained. “I couldn’t believe that Aaron put down a 4 when Roberto knocked it that close,” he told John Fineran years later. “I almost leaped a couple of cars trying to get at him afterwards.” 

Fred Bennett, who served as caddie master during Brown’s time there, could only laugh. “Oh, I don’t believe that,” he said. “That’s just Henry talking.” Just Henry being Henry. He was a bona fide character. As Bennett put it, “a good guy, just a little wild…a piece of work.”

Brown had been a caddie since the age of nine, when he and his buddies would skip school to make $3.50 a bag looping at Augusta Country Club,  just a two block walk from his home on Gardner Street. In 1952, at the age of thirteen, he graduated up to The National, and he had been there ever since. Not only could Brown carry the sticks, he knew how to swing them as well. He played with a cross-handed baseball grip and could hit a 300 yard drive from either side of the ball. He played to a one handicap at the local municipal course the caddies called the “Patch,” and claimed to have shot a 68 at Augusta National one year on Caddie Day. Like many of the Black men and boys raised in the Sand Hills district of Augusta, golf ran deep in Henry’s blood.

The ‘75 Masters was Brown’s twelfth. He caddied for De Vicenzo in eight of his Masters appearances, and the two developed a close rapport. “He knew when I handed him a stick that it was the club to hit,” said Brown. He liked the Argentinian pro, and would have caddied for him longer, but as De Vicenzo slid farther past his prime, he encouraged Brown to find a younger guy. Brown took his advice and worked for Art Wall in the ‘74 Masters, then destiny stepped in the very next week when Lee Elder won the 1974 Monsanto Open down in Pensacola, Florida.

When Brown first started working at The National in 1952, heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis had just become the first African-American to play in a PGA-sanctioned tournament. After that first break in professional golf’s color barrier, it was another nine years before Charlie Sifford became the first Black pro to receive a PGA tour card, but his two tour victories–at Hartford in ‘67 and L.A. in ‘69–did not rate an automatic invitation to the Masters. When Clifford Roberts and the tournament committee changed the rules in 1972 to award automatic bids to all PGA Tour winners, Brown knew which horse he would be betting on. 

Every year since, Brown had lobbied to get Elder’s bag should he ever get an invite. “I’d been watching the newspapers and the television,” he said.  “I knew which Black players were doing well on the tour, and I figured back then that Lee Elder was going to be the first one to make the Masters.” As the caddies lined up in front of the clubhouse to watch Elder make his historic first trip up Magnolia Lane, none wore a bigger smile than the man wearing Number 68. 

Please check out David Stone’s blog to finish this remarkable story. Here is the link for your convenience: 

https://www.persimmonsandblades.com/post/the-candy-man-henry-j-brown-the-1975-masters-and-beyond

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE MASTERS

If you haven’t listened to our latest podcast, I promise it will be worth your while. Our latest podcast does a deep dive into some of the unknown golf artifacts within the collection of Augusta National. 

There are artifacts in this podcast that I would all but guarantee some of their members aren’t aware of. 

Click the link below to download and listen for free: 

https://talkingolf.fireside.fm/130

Masters Raffle

The Founder of Kent Kustoms Golf has Reno-Restored this amazing Scotty Cameron Putter with the inspiration of the Azaleas of the Masters. We are raffling off this very putter for $10 a ticket. The winner will be chosen the Masters Friday after 7PM Eastern. Shoot me an email if you are interested: [email protected]

Polished, torched, oiled, hand painted, reshafted with a leather green golf grip. I will also be buying a Masters Putter Cover for the winner.

Best of luck in the raffle!

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you enjoyed it, please share with your friends and family. If you have ideas for future newsletters or podcasts please let me know. Until then…

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T. Lewis