Iowa City once hosted its own ‘Masters’

Editor's note: This is a continuing series of Eastern Iowa sports history 'Time Machine” articles. Mark Dukes worked at The Gazette from 1973 to 1998, the last 14 years as sports editor.

By Mark Dukes, correspondent

The event attracted a former United States President, baseball Hall of Famers, college basketball coaching legends and entertainment stars. Oh, and, some of the greatest players in golf history.

The Amana VIP was conceived during a conversation on a Florida golf course and grew to become 'The Masters of the Pro-Ams.” For 23 years, the event was played on the University of Iowa's Finkbine Course and was a summer staple for Iowa spectators.

The tournament was the brainchild of Amana Refrigeration Inc. founder George Foerstner and PGA Tour veteran Julius Boros. They discussed the idea after a round of golf in Bal Harbour, Fla. The plan was to bring together golf professionals, entertainment industry stars and Amana distributors and dealers who excelled in salesmanship.

The first Amana VIP was held in 1967 at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., before no spectators. Participants complained after the inaugural event about the difficulty in traveling to West Virginia. At the suggestion of former Iowa football coach and athletics director Forest Evashevski, the tourney was moved to Iowa City in 1968 and until 1990.

Typically held the Monday after the U.S. Open, VIP officials routinely attracted headliners. Baseball Hall of Famers Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, along with one-time single-season home run king Roger Maris, were guests. Dinah Shore, Glen Campbell, Ernest Borgnine, Charlie Pride, Roy Clark and George 'Goober” Lindsey made appearances. As did basketball coaches Bob Knight, Johnny Orr, Lute Olson and Tom Davis.

And, the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford.

He played in three VIPs, the last in 1981 before an estimated 20,000 fans. NBC announcer Joe Garagiola and LPGA star JoAnne Carner played in the same group. Ford's caddie was former Gazette sportswriter Bob Denney, now a PGA of America historian.

'My Boss for the day carried a 12 handicap at home in Palm Springs, and despite those well-publicized reports of his wayward drives bopping spectators, Ford's game was well within the ropes this day,” Denney wrote in a story last year. 'He posted a 90, but he displayed enough game to prove that he was a far better golfer.”

Lou King, former Iowa quarterback and later Amana senior vice president of marketing, ran the tournament and was an integral part of its success. Denney wrote about a King recollection of the 1979 VIP.

Billy Martin was a guest in 1979 and during his round, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner called the Finkbine clubhouse and demanded that King pull Martin off the course so he could be re-hired as the New York manager.

'Mr. Steinbrenner, you'll have to wait until he has at least made the turn,” King recalled in Denney's story. 'We'll get the word to him.”

Martin eventually was taken off the course on the 13th hole and was delivered to a helicopter and eventually to the Big Apple.

Countless stories developed at the VIP but some of the best might have gone untold from the gala that preceded the tournament. The party often extended into the wee hours of the morning for celebrities and media alike. One year, Roy Clark was holding court as late as 2 a.m. He had a 7 a.m. tee time the next morning and apparently came down with pneumonia.

A celebrity softball game was added to the festivities in 1979. The Oak Ridge Boys often wrangled up softball games on their tour and in '79, the country group challenged the Iowa wrestling team to a game.

The Oak Ridge Boys named 'Goober” Lindsey of 'The Andy Griffith Show” as the team's captain. Goober said he not only wanted to play softball, but also challenged Iowa coach and Olympic gold medalist Dan Gable to a wrestling match. Goober and Gable clashed between second and third base, each stripping their ball uniform down to a singlet. It was a matter of seconds before Goober was slammed to his back, and scurried off the field.

PGA Tour professionals welcomed invitations to the VIP. Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson were among the luminaries, but most of the top players from two decades participated. Watson, one story went, once hit his opening tee shot on the par-4 10th hole into the driving range and couldn't find the ball. He went on to reportedly play the last 17 holes 12- or 13-under par.

Proceeds from the VIP went to the Iowa scholarship fund, a relationship fostered by Foerstner and then-Iowa athletics director Bump Elliott. Amana benefitted greatly as well from a marketing standpoint. Several PGA Tour players wore Amana caps on the circuit, among them Masters champion Bob Goalby.

'I don't know who coined it ‘the Masters of the Pro-Ams,'” Goalby once said. 'But that was not an exaggeration for the Amana VIP.”

l Contact Dukes at markdukes0@gmail.com with your thoughts and ideas