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St Albans - Home of the Ryder Cup
The "Unofficial Matches"
In 1926 came an event which gave Ryder's name a lasting place in the history of golf - an unofficial match at Wentworth between American professionals (here for the Open) and a British team who won by thirteen matches to one with one halved. The second leg had been played on the newly-opened East course at Wentworth and this was to be the venue in June 1926 for a match between the professionals of Britain and America which was to be the forerunner of the Ryder Cup. The suggestion for the match had come from Sam Ryder supported by his brother James, confirmation of their initiative coming from Daily Telegraph golf correspondent George W Greenwood, who in an article in July 1925, described the brothers as 'two keen golfers and enthusiastic sportsmen, who originated the idea of an annual match between American and British golfers of front rank'. In April 1926, The Times reported "Mr S Ryder, of St Albans, has presented a trophy for annual competition between teams of British and American professionals. The first match for the trophy is to take place at Wentwort on June 4 and 5". The Herts Advertiser on May 1st also carried a similar statement, while Golf Monthly magazine, commenting that Mr Ryder "had done much to further the interests of professional golf during the last few years", said that he had presented a valuable trophy for a contest between the two nations to be played alternately in Britain and the US at the time of the Open Championships in the respective countries. Why the 1926 match at Wentworth was ultimately to be classed as 'unofficial' and not the inaugural Ryder Cup contest was only made clear after the match. With Ted Ray as British captain and the flamboyant Walter Hagen leading the Americans, the match followed the pattern of the only other unofficial match between the countries at Gleneagles in 1921, which Britain won 9-3. Abe Mitchell and George Duncan led the way with a crushing 9 and 8 win over Hagen and Jim Barnes in the foursomes, which Britain won 5-0. Mitchell repeated his Verulam victory over Barnes this time by 8 and 7 and Duncan beat Hagen 6 and 5, while Arthur Havers, winner of the Heath and Heather Tournament in 1923, beat Fred McLeod 10 and 9. The final score: Great Britain 13, United States 1, with one halved. Ryder, accompanied by his youngest daughter Joan, watched much of the play, particularly that of his private professional Mitchell. He produced no cup to present to winning Captain Ted Ray - his gold trophy was to make its first appearance at Verulam a year later when he entertained the Great Britain team before they left for the first Ryder Cup match in America. When the American Team was announced it was realised that five of the ten players were not American born, though living and playing in the States. Bares was Cornish, Tommy Armour and Fred McLeod were Scots, Cyril Walker from Lancashire and Joe Kirkwood Australian. As a result, the match was regarded as 'unofficial'. In a clubhouse discussion afterwards, involving Ryder, Duncan, Mitchell and Hagen, it was agreed that the matches should continue on a biennial basis. The first for the Ryder Cup should be played the next year 1927, in America, with the players in both teams native born of the two countries. Over the years, different versions have surfaced of the discussions after the match. Joan Ryder, then aged 20, who never missed a match in Britain and when 78 flew to America for the first time in 1983 for the match in Florida, tells of her father giving a champagne party and being persuaded by Duncan, Mitchell and Hagen to give a trophy for regular matches between the two countries. Ryder, however, had promised a trophy two months before, so her memory of the events was not strictly accurate. What is clear is that Ryder confirmed his commitment to give a trophy and that he would present it for the match in America in 1927. Ryder Trust Deed(s)
Tom Anderson Davis was the Solicitor who drafted the Ryder Trust Deed - or more accurately, the Ryder Trust Deeds - for there were two. He was also Sam Ryder's nephew, (his mother being Sam's youngest sister, Marie). His father, C G Davis was Sam's Manager of the seed business. Tom was one of the most popular members of the Verulam Golf Club. His character could well be described as "ebullient". This is well brought out by the photograph reproduced. He was a member of Verulam Golf Club since 1914 (when he was 16 years of age). He was Captain in the year 1939 and elected later to be Vice-President of the Club. This was from 1979 until his death on 2nd April 1986, aged 88 years. He served in the 1914-18 war first as an infantryman when he was wounded at Passchendale in 1917 (aged 19). He was then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a Captain, serving on Courts-Martial. This no doubt led him to study law and he qualified as a Solicitor and started his own practice in St Albans in 1924. He was still practising sixty years later, having been part-time Clerk to the St Albans and Hatfield County Justices from 1934 to 1968. His is the only Ex-Captains' photograph in the Clubhouse in uniform. He had a reputation for losing his temper when his ball did not go where he intended, which is not unusual, but he also could tell a good story It seems a shame to question Tom's draughtsmanship when he is not here to respond to the challenge. The question one would like to put to him is "How do you justify two Trust Deeds - one in 1927 and one in 1929? " Why did you not revoke the first before getting the same parties to execute another?" also, "How can you give a Trophy twice?" One thing that can be said with certainty is that Tom would have the answer. He had only been in practice three years when he was called upon to draft the Deed of Gift of 25th July 1927 at the request of his uncle. The Deed envisaged annual matches between teams from Great Britain and the USA. The matches were to be on two consecutive days. The first competition was to be in the USA. Samuel Ryder, John Henry Taylor, James Braid and Joshua Taylor executed the Deed. Tom witnessed Sam Ryder's signature. The first match was played in America in 1927 (a month before the Deed was dated) and was a victory for the USA. The next match was at Moortown on 26th and 27th April 1929 and was a British victory. The second Trust Deed was not entered into until after this match and was dated 9th December 1929. It seems that the Solicitor for the PGA had amended Tom's Deed, redrafted it then sent it to him to be re-executed. The important differences between the two Deeds (which were executed by precisely the same parties - though the witnesses were different) appear to be: (a) The matches were to be biennial not annual (b) The players had to be resident in the country they represented and to have been born there (c) The first competition was stated to have already been played in Great Britain in 1929 and the next was to be in America in 1931. Tom was justly proud of his connection with the Ryder Cup and was honoured at the 25th anniversary match at the PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida in 1983. Sponsoring the first match
In the aftermath of the unofficial match at Wentworth it was realised that one vital factor in sending a team to America had been overlooked - who was to pay for the trip! No doubt the players hoped Ryder would fund the venture but after ploughing a great deal of money into the professional game, he felt it was expecting too much of him. Help came from Golf Illustrated magazine whose editor, George Philpot, launched an appeal for £3,000 to cover the cost. Ryder and the magazine started the fund with donations of £100 each and the R and A with £50 and PGA with 20 guineas followed. The biggest sum came from the Stock Exchange Golfing Society with 200 guineas. Verulam gave 10 guineas, the Herts Golf Union gave 5 guineas, the Herts Alliance £5 and most Hertfordshire Clubs contributed. With Philpot taking on the responsibility for raising the money and the PGA having sanctioned the match, Ryder commissioned his trophy from Mappin and Webb at a cost of £450 and in September 1926 invited four of Britain's legendary golfing heroes - the Great Triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and J H Taylor and Alex (Sandy) Herd to Verulam to re-enact a historic match involving the four which had been played 21 years earlier as a Scotland v England contest. For the first Ryder Cup match in America in 1927, the PGA had asked Vardon, Braid and Taylor to select the Great Britain team and to Ryder's satisfaction, Mitchell was named captain, the other chosen being Ted Ray, George Duncan, Arthur Havers, Fred Robson, Aubrey Boomer, Archie Compston, Charles Whitcombe and George Gadd, with George Philpot appointed team manager. The Golf Illustrated appeal had failed to reach its £3,1000 target and Philpot condemned "the indifference or selfishness of the multitude of golfers" with only 216 out of 1,750 golf clubs approached having responded. Philpot wrote: "We have a team that carries confidence, led by one of the greatest players the world has ever known, Abe Mitchell, but on this rare and distinguished occasion, it is a sorry circumstance that the nation has for the most part been so lacking in encouragement and generosity." It was Ryder, not surprisingly, who made up the difference of the few hundred pounds needed. The British team prepares for the first official match
A couple of weeks before the team were due to sail for New York on the Cunard liner Aquitania from Southampton on May 21st, 1927 Mitchell kept his and the team's confidence high with a fine victory in the Daily Mail £1,000 tournament at Wentworth, beating team-mate Fred Robson by three strokes and winning £300. It was, reported the Mail, "an inspiring performance on the part of the man who is to lead the British expedition". A week after the tournament, Mitchell gave the shock news that he would have to withdraw from the team suffering from appendicitis but delayed an operation until the team had sailed. He was at Verulam a few days before the sailing when Ryder invited the team to the Club and proudly displayed for the first time his glittering gold trophy, with its unique design and the figure of Mitchell on the lid. The players' praise and admiration proved almost overwhelming to the man whose support and influence in the professional game had made the Ryder Cup contests a reality. At a luncheon in the Clubhouse at which Ryder presided, the team were joined by other guests, including Harry Vardon, J H Taylor and Alex Herd who wished the team good lock. George Philpot was also present. The next day, the players took part in a 36-hole stroke play competition, with £180 in prize money from Ryder. Verulam professional Charlie Wallis took Mitchell's place in the event, which was won by Charles Whitcombe with rounds of 71, 73, Archie Compston and Arthur Havers being joint second, five strokes back. Ryder's wife Helen presented the prizes, and also handed over the Ryder Cup to the Professional Golfers Association, the trophy being accepted by George Gadd, who said how much all their members appreciated what Ryder had done and was doing for British professional golf. The team sails
Mitchell was able to accompany Ryder with the team to Waterloo, and on the boat train to Southampton, on Mitchell's suggestion, Ted Ray was appointed Captain. The pair went aboard the Aquitania and waved to the team as the liner sailed. Ray, at 50, was the oldest member of the teams, and held that record until Raymond Floyd was recalled to the American team at the Belfry in 1993 at the age of 51 ~ and holed the winning putt! The British team, all Club professionals, who received scant recognition at home, were almost overwhelmed by the reception and hospitality they received throughout their visit. But on American soil, the match became almost a repeat in reverse of the Wentworth encounter, as the US team won the foursomes 3-1 and the singles 6-1, for a 9-2 victory. with one match halved. The British defeat was a big disappointment to Ryder and Mitchell, recuperating after his appendicitis operation. There was a general feeling that if Mitchell had played the team would have made more of a fight of it. While Mitchell was in hospital, Ryder dropped a note to his wife Dora at their Cunningham Avenue home, saying "I have learned to most highly esteem Abe, and the longer I know him, the more do I admire his play and his character. I trust for years we will be together. The match for my cup will be played on Friday and Saturday next. Let us hope our team will win - but it is the play without the Prince of Denmark". The team for the first Ryder Cup match in Britain at Moortown, Leeds on April 26-27 in 1929 included Mitchell, though George Duncan was named Captain. Ryder was accorded the honour of presenting his own trophy and this he was able to hand over to Duncan after victory by six matches to four, with two halved. The first match in Britain
The team for the first Ryder Cup match in Britain at Moortown, Leeds on April 26-27 in 1929 included Mitchell, though George Duncan was named Captain. Ryder was accorded the honour of presenting his own trophy and this he was able to hand over to Duncan after victory by six matches to four, with two halved. The match was notable for an astonishing 10 and 8 win by Duncan over rival captain Walter Hagen, a singles record and a defeat for Mitchell by 9 and 8 against Leo Diegel, who was in devastating form. Percy Alliss (then in Berlin where son Peter was born) and Aubrey Boomer (at St Cloud in France) were in the team at Moortown, chosen in January before the Americans ruled that only native-born players resident in the country of their birth would be eligible for the team. They raised no objection to the two playing but it resulted in a new Trust Deed bringing the British team in line with their opponents. From 1979 Europeans were included. Subsequent matches
Before the Ryder Cup match at Scioto, Ohio, towards the end of June 1931, Sam Ryder made a radio broadcast to America, in which he explained the origins of the matches and his part in them and praised the American players as "magnificent players, sportsmen and gentlemen." Of his gift of a gold cup, he said "I hope I have done several things in my life for the benefit of my fellow men but I am certain I have never done a happier thing than this." Ryder said the great and growing friendship that existed between the two great communities would be strengthened by the team's visit and went on "There is nothing like sport to join communities together. I look upon the Royal and Ancient game as being a powerful moral force that influences the best things in humanity." Mitchell was again in the team but it was weakened by the absence of Henry Cotton, who caused controversy by refusing to play because of his request to travel independently, so he could stay on in America after the match, was turned down. In temperatures of 100 degrees, the British team wilted to defeat by nine matches to three, Mitchell and Fred Robson gaining the only foursome point and Mitchell losing his singles. The match at Southport and Ainsdale in late June 1933, provided Sam Ryder with the proudest moment of his golfing life as the Ryder Cup received Royal approval, with the Prince of Wales arriving on the second day to watch the play and present the trophy. Ryder and the Prince mingled with 15,000 enthusiastic fans as the result rested on the final match on the final green, with Syd Easterbrook the hero as the holed the winning putt to give Britain victory by six matches to five, with one halved. Before handing over the trophy to J H Taylor, the first non-playing captain, the Prince, himself a keen golfer, paid tribute to Sam Ryder, saying "He has been very sick, but we are pleased that he has been able to be here. By giving his cup as an international prize, he has instituted one of the most important international sporting events of the year." It was to be the last Ryder Cup match for Mitchell, at 46 the oldest member of the team but he played a magnificent part, winning his foursome with Arthur Havers 3 and 2 and in a brilliant display crushing Olin Dutra 9 and 8 in the singles. In three Ryder Cup appearances, he won four matches and lost two. It was also the last match Ryder was to attend. Before the 1935 match in September at Ridgewood, New Jersey, he wished the British team success at a farewell banquet in London but once again the Americans triumphed on home soil, winning by eight matches with two halved. Three months later, Ryder took his family to the Langham Hotel in London for Christmas, a cold developed into pneumonia and he died on January 2, 1936. It was the 1933 Ryder Cup match, which gave Ryder the greatest satisfaction of his golfing involvement. The presence of the Prince of Wales and the enthusiasm of the 15,000 spectators confirmed for him that the matches had become established and their future was assured. Modest and unassuming, it would not have occurred to him that he had secured for himself a lasting place in golfing history. For further information about Samuel Ryder go to Sam Ryder - The Man behind the Ryder Cup Return to Home PageTHE RYDER CUP - ALL THE FACTS AND FIGURES
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