Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022 - 22

guy.
I've never heard anything derogatory
from him; he was always upbeat and
uplifting. Spiritually, he was grounded
in his own way, but he loved the Northside
and loved the people who played golf
with him. "
Breaking Barriers
Manderville discovered golf at age 26
when the game took hold of him, and
he quickly played it with increasing skill.
But doing so was not easy for an African
American golfer. Manderville had to
break into the game-which took courage,
determination and a winning personality.
But challenging norms was nothing
new to him; Manderville married his wife
(of 60 years), Lorraine, a white woman, at
a time when that was looked down upon.
He told his black friends he was going to
join a men's club when that, too, wasn't
done. But he ultimately was credited with
integrating the men's club at Wirth GC at
a time when most Twin Cities golf clubs
didn't allow black members.
" That speaks to the personality and
character of Eddie, " Staples said. " He's
going to walk up and he's going to smile
and he's going to talk to you. I know some
people are confrontational; he wasn't confrontational
at all. He wanted it all to be
easy-going, 'let's have a good time.' Eddie
liked to have a good time. "
Once in the door, Manderville became
a fixture at the course. And when the
other members saw him play, they were
even more impressed. Manderville had
big, strong hands that helped him hit the
ball a long way. But they were soft and
effective at " putting for dough. " And in
the game of golf, those two skills can be a
lethal combination and Manderville's golf
resume is proof:
He won the 1972 Gross Invitational with
his first sub-par round in competition, a
2-under 69. He also won the 1983 MPGA
Senior Public Links Championship and
the 1987 MGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball
Championship's senior division title with
partner Dick Bolin. Manderville qualified
and played in the U.S. Senior Open
(1986), and the U.S. Senior Amateur
(1991), he finished runner-up five out of
six years at the Upper Midwest Bronze
Amateur (1985-1991) and he won on the
MGA Senior Tour (1998).
As Manderville's golf prowess
increased, he began spreading the wealth
of that knowledge as a local instructor.
Among many of his students was Crosby,
former senior director for equity and
development for the YMCA, greater Twin
Cities (now retired), who was on hand at
the Park Board meeting in support of his
golf teacher. Though Manderville never
won the Bronze tournament championship,
Crosby felt his name is still associated
with it for other reasons.
" There were courses we couldn't even
go to golf, " Crosby said. " You hear the stories
about the Bronze, where people came
into town and they weren't allowed to stay
in the hotels. But people like Eddie were
in town, and he was able to help them
navigate. If somebody needed a place to
stay, Eddie would say 'call Miss Brown,
she's got an extra room. She can give you
a meal.' It's those kinds of humanitarian
things that people can sometimes overlook
because they don't know the history.
But we played out at Hiawatha, and we
played at Theodore Wirth and he was the
guy. It was an honor to know him; that's
why I am here tonight. "
Eddie was a trailblazer.
He brought people into the
game that traditionally would've
never gotten involved or even
expressed an interest. "
-JAMEZ STAPLES
22
MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2022
A Passion for Teaching
Manderville loved the game and soon
sowed that love as an instructor like a
local Johnny Appleseed of golf. He could
be seen at Hiawatha and Wirth or on the
Columbia GC driving
range, working
with his students.
" He would analyze our swings as we
hit the ball and would comment on how
to position ourselves with each club, "
Crosby said. " He would just kind of strip
you naked about things you were doing
wrong. And he wasn't doing it for the
money; that's not who Eddie was. He just
loved the game. "
One of Manderville's students, Martha
Arradondo, became quite accomplished
in golf. Arradondo, an event planner by
trade and an excellent racquetball player,
won the Bronze Tournament twice. But
she also, along with her friend Shirley
Hughes (daughter of another local golf
icon Solomon Hughes),
founded the
Black Women on Course (BWOC) league.
And those accomplishments would have
been difficult to achieve without the assistance
of Eddie Manderville.
" He was a dear, dear friend. I met Eddie
about 12 years ago and, at that time, I
was just learning golf and someone told
me about him, " Arradondo said. " I was
at Brookview by myself with all these old
guys golfing every morning-that's when
I met Eddie, and we just kind of clicked.
I told him I'm going to start an African
American women's golf league because I
don't know any other African American
women in Minnesota who golf. "
But Manderville did, and he made the
introductions, and soon the BWOC was
formed. Manderville conducted clinics for
the women and provided golf instruction
and the program grew. Today, Arradondo has
a database of nearly 135 women who have
played golf through the BWOC. Manderville
often attended their tournaments to see how
" his girls " were playing and was always a
great supporter of the BWOC.
" Eddie would take the ladies to 2nd
Swing to help them buy clubs, " Arradondo
said. " He would call us 'his girls.' He
was like the Charlie of " Charlie's Angels "
to us. He was so proud of us. He would
watch us in tournaments and he would
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