SNEAD, Sam(uel Jackson) 1912-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 27, 1912, in Hot Springs, VA; died May 23, 2002, in Hot Springs, VA. Professional golfer and author. Snead was one of the best golfers of his generation, earning eighty-one tour victories (135 counting non-PGA tournaments), including three Masters touraments, the British Open, three PGA championships, five World Senior Professional championships, and a Legends of Golf championship. An excellent athlete since high school, Snead originally tried his hand as a boxer, but only fought in one match. Taking a job in a restaurant, he quit in 1935 to become an assistant pro at the Greenbriar resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. By the next year he was making news when he shot a 61 in the West Virginia pro tournament. After that, Snead was a major player well into the 1960s, becoming famous for his picture-perfect golf swing and earning the nickname "Slammin' Sammy." He went into semi-retirement in 1979, but continued to play the Senior PGA tour, which he cofounded, until 1987; he did exhibition tours well into the 1990s. Snead also wrote several books about golf, including Golf Lessons from Sam Snead (1964), Sam Snead Teaches You His Simple "Key" Approach to Golf (1975), and Golf Begins at Forty (1978).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Crystal, David, editor, The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia, second edition, Cambridge University Press, 1998.

The International Who's Who, 63rd edition, Europa Publications (London, England), 2000.

Legends in Their Own Time, Prentice Hall (New York, NY), 1994.

Who's Who in America, 52nd edition, Marquis (New Providence, NJ), 1997.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2002, pp. A1, A26.

New York Times, May 24, 2002, p. C11.

Washington Post, May 24, 2002, pp. D1, D2.