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A Brief History of the CBHS Golf Team
History of
CBHS Golf
When one
wonders
who would
bear the
title of
the Father
of CBHS
Golf, the
answer
would
certainly
be none
other than
Howard
Handwerker.
In 1938,
Howard, an
accomplished
golfer in
his own
right,
went to
Principal
Brother
Theodore
Voelker to
ask about
the
possibility
of forming
a golf
team.
While
Brother
Theodore
eventually
granted
permission,
the
permission
came with
one
stipulation:
“It is
okay as
long as it
does not
cost the
school
anything.”
Howard
agreed and
then
turned his
attention
to
recruiting
players
for the
golf team.
He found
two very
capable
players in
John
Joplin and
Thomas
Cook.
Continuing
to scout
around for
the fourth
player who
would
complete
the team,
Howard was
informed
that a new
arrival at
CBHS could
play a
little
golf. His
name was
Cary
Middlecoff,
who would
go on to
play for
the
Brothers
and
graduate
from CBHS.
As to his
golfing
prowess,
he would
also go on
to play in
the State
Amateur
and win
the event
four years
in a row:
1940,
1941,
1942, and
1943! In
addition,
however,
little did
anyone
realize at
the time
that
Middlecoff
would
become a
dentist
who would
only
practice
dentistry
in the
Army but
then later
become one
of the
foremost
players in
PGA
history.
When he
was asked
one time
when he
believed
that he
could
actually
play on
the tour,
he
responded
by saying:
“I was
granted a
pass from
the Army
and I
qualified
for a PGA
Tour
event. I
not only
qualified,
but I also
won the
tour
event.
That’s
when I
knew I
could
play.” In
fact, Golf
Illustrated
listed Dr.
Middlecoff
as one of
the top
five
players
ever to
play on
the PGA
Tour. At
the same
time,
however,
no one
could ever
possibly
visualize
the
magnitude
of
accomplishments
that CBHS
golf teams
would
achieve in
future
years from
those
rather
modest
beginnings
that
Howard
Handwerker
instigated
in 1938.
But with
such four
stalwarts
playing
golf and
representing
CBHS,
Howard,
Cary, John
and Thomas
provided a
rock solid
foundation
upon which
the future
of CBHS
golf could
be built
and in the
process,
they cast
a
prophetic
glance
into the
future as
to the
perennial
powerhouses
that CBHS
golf teams
would
experience
through
the years.
While
prophetic
glance may
seem
inappropriate,
one only
needs to
look at
the CBHS
Golf Facts
to get a
clearer
picture of
how the
golf teams
have
progressed
since
then. If
you ask
yourself
why those
four never
won a
state golf
tournament,
the answer
is simple:
There were
no high
school
state golf
tournaments
back in
1938. City
Championships
were the
rule of
the day.
If you ask
yourself
whether or
not the
Brothers
ever won a
City
Championship,
the answer
would be
yes, of
course,
but not in
1938.
Although
Howard
graduated
in 1939
without
capturing
the City
Championship,
his team
set the
stage for
Howard’s
brother
and his
brother’s
teammates
to capture
the
elusive
City
Championship
that had
eluded the
1938 team.
There
would be
others to
follow.
Those
titles
would
blossom
into TSSAA
State
Championships,
beginning
in 1949
and
carrying
forth into
1998 for a
total of
eight
State
Titles---second
highest in
TSSAA
history,
and only
one title
behind
Baylor
High
School in
Chattanooga.
CBHS can
also boast
of eight
State
Individual
Champions.
Two
players,
Shaun
Micheel
(Indiana
University)
and Bobby
Cochran
(Florida
State)
also
became
first team
All-Americans
during
their
collegiate
playing
days.
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1949:
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1966:
-
Bob
Wilson
-
Will
Kelly
-
Eddie
Charlton
-
Charles
Quinn
-
Mr.
Nafe
David,
Coach
-
Score:
606
(36
holes)
-
Site:
Harpeth
Hills
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1969:
-
Ken
Walsh
-
David
Hallford
-
Randy
Sharp
-
Alan
Nathanson
-
Mr.
Nafe
David,
Coach
-
Score:
625
(36
holes)
-
Site:
Harpeth
Hills
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1975:
-
(Won in
Playoff)
-
John
Farris
-
Lee
Cheairs
-
Scott
Fleming
-
Andy
Welsh
-
Mr.
Nafe
David,
Coach
-
Score:
635
(36
holes)
-
Site:
Harpeth
Hills
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1984:
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1990:
-
Jason
Walters
-
Jay
Collard
-
Gavin
Fechter
-
Sonny
Moore
-
Dr.
Bob
Gossett,
Coach
-
Score:
608
-
Site:
Henry
Horton
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1997:
-
Members
of the
State
Championship
Team of
1998:
*If you
have any
additional
information
concerning
the
history of
the CBHS
teams for
this web
page,
please
e-mail Dr.
Bob
Gossett:
rgossett@cbhs.org
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