Powell died in Canton, Ohio, on New Year's Eve, 2009, following complications from a stroke. Īs of the 2000s (decade), Clearview was the only course in the United States designed, constructed, owned and operated by an African American. In 1978, he expanded the course to 18 holes and earned a national-historic-site designation in 2001. Two years later, in 1948, he opened the integrated Clearview Golf Club. With financing from two African-American doctors and a loan from his brother, Powell bought a 78-acre (320,000 m 2) dairy farm in East Canton, Ohio, and with his wife, Marcella, did most of the landscaping by hand. Due to racial segregation, he was banned from all-white public golf courses and was rejected for a bank loan to try to build his own. Īfter serving in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II in England, he returned to the Canton, Ohio-area near Minerva in 1946, and began work first as a janitor and later as a security guard for the Timken bearing and steel company. Later, at the state's historically African-American Wilberforce University, he played on the golf team. In high school there, he played golf and football. During his youth, Powell moved with his family to Minerva, Ohio. Powell was the grandson of Alabama slaves and was born in Greenville, Alabama. Powell was fond of saying "The only color that matters is the color of the greens". He was also the first African American to design, construct and own a professional golf course in the United States. William James Powell (November 22, 1916 – December 31, 2009) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and pioneering golf course owner who designed the Clearview Golf Club, the first integrated golf course, as well as the first to cater to African-American golfers. Businessman, golf course owner, and entrepreneur
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