On this day in Alabama history: Blind golfer Charley Boswell shoots world record
Birmingham native Charley Boswell was a national and international blind golf champion. His efforts helped raise the popularity of golf among vision-impaired athletes. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame)
October 5, 1956
Birmingham native Charles A. “Charley” Boswell shot an 81 at Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham – a world record for a blind golfer. Permanently blinded by a tank explosion in Germany during World War II, Boswell became an international golfing icon and committed advocate for the blind. Throughout his career, he won a remarkable 16 national championships and 11 international championships. He served as the president of the United States Blind Golfers Association from 1956 to 1976 and founded the Charley Boswell Celebrity Golf Classic to raise money for Birmingham’s Eye Foundation Hospital. Boswell was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Alabama Hall of Fame.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
Charley Boswell gained the support of golfing celebrities such as Bob Hope, shown with him here, in promoting his fund-raising golf tournament. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame)
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
