"THE JACKIE ROBINSON OF GOLF": FIRST EDITION OF JUST LET ME PLAY, INSCRIBED BY CHARLIE SIFFORD

(GULLO, James) SIFFORD, Charlie. Just Let Me Play. The Story of Charlie Sifford. The First Black PGA Golfer. (Latham, New York): British American Publishing, (1992). Octavo, original half blue cloth, original dust jacket. $250.

First edition of the powerful account of Sifford's long battle against racism, the man honored by Tiger Woods as a "pioneer for black golfers," inscribed by Sifford, "Best of Luck, Charlies Sifford."

Charlie Sifford, who died in 2015, is famed as "the Jackie Robinson of golf… the first person of color to compete in PGA-sanctioned events following the demise in 1961 of the 'Caucasian-only' PGA of America membership clause." When President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Sifford said it 'felt different than anything else'… referring to his 2004 induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame and a 2006 honorary doctorate from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland" (PGA). Sifford closes this dramatic story of his long struggle for equality by saying: "Just let us play. That's all we want to do. Give us an equal shot out there." To Tiger Woods, Sifford's long struggle as a "lonely pioneer for black golfers on the PGA Tour will never be forgotten by me." With foreword by Arthur Ashe; featuring 16 pages of illustrations.

A fine inscribed copy.