Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022 - 23

be beaming. "
Arradondo and Manderville became
great friends (in fact she still takes meals
to Lorriane Manderville, who is 92 years
old). They played golf together when the
chance arose, and both were tough competitors-but
Eddie was ever the teacher.
" When we were out playing together,
they would pair us with somebody, and
he'd be coaching them, " Arradondo said.
" They would take in everything he would
say. I said, 'Eddie! They're beating us!' "
Honoring His Legacy
Arradondo recognized just how much
Manderville meant to the game and to
Wirth GC in particular, and in 2018,
worked to have a bench installed at the
edge of the Wirth course putting green in
Manderville's honor. Now, she is spearheading
the effort to emblazon his name
on the Theodore Wirth Chalet-and
Arradondo is going to see it through.
" It would have been done in six months,
but we ran into a snag, and now it's a twoyear
project, " Arradondo said. " But I am
willing to go the distance. It's for Eddie, so
it's worth it. "
Everyone who spoke on Eddie's behalf
on April 6 recalled his " 15 minutes of
fame " generated by two holes-in-one
on consecutive holes at the Wirth Par 3
course at age 81-and it's hard to tell his
story without mentioning it.
" When you see one one [next to each
other] on a scorecard that usually means
you got an 11, " Jordal said at the Park
Board meeting.
But the only 11 on Manderville's career
scorecard represents the total number of
aces he hit. So, he commemorated it on
his car license plate with " HOL-IN1. "
A Trailblazer
But that's only a part of Manderville's
story. He worked 20 years as a Minneapolis
building inspector on the Northside,
where he also served as executive director,
long-time board member and president
of Northside Neighborhood Housing
Services, working to improve housing
conditions where he grew up.
" Eddie would help people get the
money to fix their house up, " Staples said.
mngolf.org
" He would connect them with contractors,
help him find the money to fix it up
and make sure the work was done right.
He was just an all-around guy who handled
his business and treated people the
way he wanted to be treated. "
Manderville was elected to the MGA
Board of Directors in 1990, serving
three 3-year terms. During the 1990s,
he served on the MGA Mixed Amateur
Team Championship Committee and as
chair of the MGA/PGA Cup Matches in
1997. He retired as an MGA rules official
after two decades of volunteer service in
2018. He also found the time to teach the
game at the Anwatin School, over time
teaching hundreds of people to play golf.
And according to Arradondo, he was still
teaching to the end.
" On his death bed, he said if he could get
out of bed, he would show me how I could
win my next match, " Arradondo said.
Eddie Manderville loved the game of
golf-which could be said about many
golfers. But if that passion only translates
into good play on the course, that's great,
but it falls short of the example here: it
also matters what you do for others with
that love.
" Eddie was a trailblazer, " Staples said.
" He brought people into the game that
traditionally would've never gotten
involved or even expressed an interest.
He used golf to teach kids and to teach
women, and he brought blacks and whites
together. He's like the Martin Luther King
of golf. I don't have any other way to compare
it. "
Summer 2022 MINNESOTAGOLFER
23
Manderville had soft hands around
the greens, but often didn't need
them with 11 aces in his career.
Joe to add captions
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022

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