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Local legend was too early to be golf’s Jackie Robinson; still his legacy lives on

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Local legend was too early to be golf’s Jackie Robinson; still his legacy lives on

If you knew Jimmy Woods – if you had ever seen him play at Avon Fields, Sharon Woods or any of the other courses around Cincinnati and the Midwest, you knew not to bet against him.

Even if he was playing lefty the last time you saw him, but this time he was on the other side of the ball (Woods could shoot under par both righty and lefty), you knew not to set your hard-earned dollars alight by wagering them against him.

“I truly believe he would have been golf’s Jackie Robinson.”

Woods, a black man, was not permitted on the PGA Tour during his prime due to the organization’s “Caucasians only” clause, which was only removed in 1961. He was one of the first black men allowed to play at many Cincinnati-area courses; he was so good, the urge to play with him at times overshadowed even racism. Today, his legacy lives on through Reaching Out For Kids, an organization that teaches golf (among other things) to area-youth for free.

Many believe that Woods could have played on the Tour, even that he could have been a star – akin to Cincinnati heroes like Oscar Robertson and nation-wide legends like Jackie Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – if he had just been given the chance. Herschel Caldwell, who runs minoritygolfmag.com, a publication highlighting minorities in golf, says Woods is one of the best players he’s ever seen.

“He would’ve been a top 10, top 20 player in the world,” Caldwell said. “I’ve been around golf for a long time. I saw the shots he made fifty and sixty years ago. That’s how good he was.”

But Jimmy, born in 1920, was never given a chance to play on the PGA Tour. By the time the PGA dropped its “Caucasian-only” clause in 1961, Woods was already 41. Still a hell of a golfer, but past his prime.

Ron Dumas was a teenager caddying at Avon Fields Golf Course in Avondale when he met Jimmy Woods in the late 1960s. Dumas, the founder of Reaching Out For Kids and an assistant professional at Avon Fields, caddied for Woods for years and eulogized him at his funeral. He believes Woods would have been golf’s ambidextrous Jackie Robinson if given the chance.

“I watched the movie about Jackie Robinson (42), and I just thought of all the times Jimmy got called names. He never said a word,” Dumas said. “He always bit his tongue. He’d just smile and wave at them.”

“He would’ve shocked the world,” Dumas said later. “Imagine he plays the first round lefty and shows up the next day and shoots under par right-handed?”

Jimmy’s day job was on a train, working as a porter and dining car waiter. After President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s funeral in 1969, Woods tended to Eisenhower’s grieving widow Mamie as Eisenhower’s body was transported by train to Abilene, Kan. for burial. According to Enquirer reporting from 2007, Woods’ company singled him out for this task due to his gentle and likable manner.

Despite never playing professionally, the legend goes that Woods made a comfortable living swinging clubs. Challengers from around the country would travel to Cincinnati and other courses around the Midwest to put their money up against that of Woods. According to Dumas, who also believes Woods would’ve been among the top players in the PGA if he’d been allowed to play, he’d leave it up to his opponent whether he played left or right-handed – whatever people wanted to bet him.

“There were times where he’d work on the train once a month, even once a summer,” Dumas said.

One time, according to Dumas, golf legend Arnold Palmer showed up at Sharon Woods hoping to meet Woods. When Palmer showed up, Jimmy didn’t have his clubs. He borrowed a set from the club pro and the two set out, with Dumas carrying both of their bags. Woods shot two under par on the five holes the pair played together, while Palmer shot even, losing to Jimmy Woods and his borrowed clubs.

More than just a game

Dumas said that during Woods’ life, he was greatly affected by the plight of underprivileged people in Cincinnati and around the country. He formed the Jimmy Woods Foundation in 1980 to teach kids, both black and white, how to play golf. He wanted to bring together kids from Anderson and the West End, Delhi and Forest Park and everywhere in between.

“Jimmy and I would watch the news at night and the next day we’d be on the course talking about change,” Dumas said. “How can we stop the killings? The drugs? What can we do through golf to help the people in our communities?”

The Jimmy Woods Foundation folded before it got its feet all the way under it. Before Woods died shortly after his 80th birthday in 2000, Dumas told him that he would carry out his vision. Shortly after that, Reaching Out For Kids came to Cincinnati.

The organization, centered at the Avon Fields driving range, also known as the Jimmy Woods Golf Learning Center, helps hundreds of kids a year. Programming starts when school lets out and goes all the way to the end of summer vacation. This year, Dumas started scheduling curriculum three days a week instead of the usual one. He works at the course seven days a week and tells his students that they’re welcome anytime.

“They’re only with us for so long,” Dumas said. “Then some have to go home to the bad language and drugs and other things. In some cases, it’s better for them to be here.”

The students don’t just learn golf. They’re taught how to read. They learn the etiquette of the game and lessons of sportsmanship, integrity and respect designed to transcend the golf course. They and their parents are fed, for free, with food donated from Kroger. At the end of the year, kids who don’t have their own set of clubs are given one free of charge.

According to Enquirer reporting from 2023, nearly 300 kids have received scholarships to golf at the collegiate level with help from Dumas, his volunteers and Jimmy Woods.

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