Theodore Wirth Park’s chalet-style golf clubhouse now bears the name of a man who was one of the Minneapolis golf course’s biggest fans — and one of its most influential players.
Black golfer once denied access to Theodore Wirth Park’s golf clubhouse now has his name on the building
Friends and family gathered Thursday to celebrate Eddie Manderville, a golf legend and champion of racial equity whose name is now on the Theodore Wirth Park chalet in Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
June 13, 2024 at 8:26PM
Edward “Fast Eddie” Mandervillewas instrumental in desegregating the Men’s Association at Theodore Wirth Golf Club at a time when Black golfers were prohibited from membership status at clubs across the Twin Cities. For more than 60 years, Manderville was a fixture of the club and sports community. Now, the chalet bears his name and permanently celebrates his legacy.
On Thursday, Manderville’s family and friends, along with members of the Minneapolis Park Board, gathered at the Eddie Manderville Chalet to formally dedicate the clubhouse to the Minnesota golf legend.
“He proved things were possible and he opened doors for Black and brown golfers throughout our state,” said Al Bangoura, superintendent of the Minneapolis Park Board. “He was well-known, well-loved and he was here all the time.”
Manderville died in November 2020. His memorial was hosted in the chalet’s upper level.
The name change was formally approved in a unanimous vote by the Park Board in December 2023. The clubhouse signage is now fully updated, and two interior interpretive displays highlight Manderville’s legacy, along with other Black golfers.
A longtime friend and mentee of Manderville, Martha Arradondo, submitted nomination letters to name the chalet in 2021. She said the following three years of navigating Minneapolis politics and Park Board meetings were a labor of love. But the weight of the name change didn’t set in until she finally saw the sign out front.
“I said, ‘Oh my god, this is huge,’ ” she said. “Eddie is part of history.”
In 2011, Manderville helped Arradondo found the Black Women on Course (BWOC), an organization dedicated to teaching golf skills and opening doors to Black women who might not have been introduced to the sport or its community. For years, Manderville served as an instructor and recruiter for the organization. Several members of BWOC attended the dedication, alongside Arradondo.
“He’s smiling down on us now,” said Arradondo. “Words can’t explain how proud I am to have known Eddie. I know his spirit is here now, I felt it when I came in this building.”
Manderville was competitive on the course, and proud of it. He made 12 holes-in-one in his career, including two back to back on the same day at one the Wirth par-3 course in 2013. He was inducted into the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame in May.
“He had a love for the game like nobody I know,” said Kevin Stucki, a longtime golfing buddy. “He loved sharing the game, he loved teaching, he loved putting smiles on people’s faces.”
Two years before he died, Stucki asked him what a spot in the Minnesota hall of fame would mean to him.
“He looked at me, he swallowed hard, and said, ‘That would really be a great honor,’” Stucki recalled.
Manderville believed in the potential of golf to serve as a unifying force, transcending racial barriers. Through the dedication, and distribution of Manderville’s legacy, his friends and family hope that more Black and brown athletes will be inspired to take up the sport.
“I knew I was with a legend all that time,” said Arradondo. “I can just see him looking at that sign. Eddie would have just sat there, a big smile on his face.”
As the dedication ceremony came to a close, Manderville’s putting buddies, alongside Arradondo and other BWOC members, filed out to play a few rounds on the course.
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