John L. Bredemus

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John L. Bredemus (November 20, 1884 - May 8, 1946) was a track and field athlete, teacher, principal, and golf course designer from the United States.[1] He finished second in the 1906 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) all-around competition, won in 1908,[2][3] and lost to Olympic star Jim Thorpe in 1912, but was subsequently declared champion after Thorpe's stints playing semi-professional baseball were reported and rulings determined Thorpe ineligible for the amateur status then required at AAU and Olympic competition. He graduated from Princeton University in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering and moved to New York City where he worked as a teacher. Bredemus went on to a career designing golf courses in Texas and Mexico.[2][1]

Bredemus was born in Flint, Michigan. He went to Phillips Exeter Academy.[2]

Bredemus moved to New York City after graduating from Princeton and learned to play golf at Van Cortlandt Park. In 1919 he moved to Texas for a job as principal.[2] Bud Shrake wrote Bredemus into his golf themed novel Billy Boy.[2] Bredemus was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.[1]

He designed which hosted some golf greats and was home to the Houston Open from 1951 to 1963. He is credited with designing many other courses as well.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "John Bredemus". Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Utley, Dan K.; Graves, Stanley O. (15 August 2018). Links to the Past: The Hidden History on Texas Golf Courses. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781623496432 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "The World Almanac and Book of Facts". Newspaper Enterprise Association. 14 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "John Bredemus - gatx". GATexas.
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