Bill Spiller

Who was Bill Spiller?

Bill Spiller was an African-American golfer. He was born in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a nine-year-old to live with his father where he quickly learned the drawbacks of being black in America. Spiller wore his indignation about race on his sleeve. He was also an excellent athlete, a two-sport star in high school. Spiller went on to enroll at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and earned an education degree.

He didn't take up the sport of golf until he was about 30. Spiller moved to Southern California to try to make a living teaching, but it wasn't enough to get by, so he worked as a railroad porter. Spiller took up the challenge of a fellow porter in Los Angeles to try golf. He started competing and winning blacks-only amateur golf tournaments during the 1940s. After being denied entry in the 1948 Richmond Open held in Richmond, California by the PGA of America, Spiller spent many years challenging the segregation policy of the PGA of America. The professional golf at the time was controlled by the PGA of America which required tournaments to give it final say over who could participate. One of its rules was that participants must be Caucasian. A golfer who was otherwise qualified could be denied tournament entry for not being Caucasian.