MINNEAPOLIS — There was a time when the late Eddie Manderville couldn't get into the clubhouse chalet at Theodore Wirth Golf Course because of his race.
As of this week, that facility bears his name.
The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board Thursday formally named the clubhouse the Eddie Manderville Chalet in what was the culmination of a three-year effort by his friends and admirers to find a way to honor Eddie's legacy.
"He proved things were possible and he opened the doors for Black and Brown golfers throughout our state and throughout the country," Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Al Bangoura told the audience and reporters. "He was a monumental figure in sports integration in our city. Eddie was really instrumental in desegregating this clubhouse. He helped grow the game to a more inclusive sport for people of all backgrounds."
Manderville worked as a Minneapolis city inspector and ran Northside Neighborhood Housing Services, an agency that helped people rehabilitate and weatherize homes.
But his passion was golfing and teaching the sport to others.
"I met him because he was doing golf training at Atwatin School, and we just kind of hit it off there," Martha Arradondo told KARE.
Arradondo is part of a group of golfers who've taken on the name of BWOC, Black Women On Course.
"He gave us lessons. He would get us in tournaments. He was just a really strong supporter of African American women playing golf, because it’s such a unique thing," Arradondo explained.
She said even while he was in hospice care near the end of his life, her mentor was still giving her tips on how to grip various clubs. Arradondo launched the campaign to name the chalet after Eddie Manderville in 2021, the year after he died.
"Seeing his name on that sign just fills my heart. It's long overdue. Long overdue."
Shauntel Manderville thanked the Parks Board for honoring her father in this way.
"I mean he’s just here. His spirit’s here, all the work he did for this place, as well as golf, for the history of the whole thing. It’s just a precious, wonderful dedication!" said Manderville.
She said her dad's journey from exclusion to inclusion is something that's hard to fathom in this day and age, but it was very real. He used his golf game and his persistence to earn the respect of those in charge.
"As a Black man it was hard because he tried to golf here, but they told him, 'No," Sometimes you've got to go through the backdoor to get to the front door. And that’s what he did."
Manderville made the news in 2013 when, at the age of 81, he hit two holes in one during the same outing on the Wirth's par 3 course, sinking the ball on both the 7th and 8th holes.
"I've been around for a while and I've been blessed with a good golf game," Eddie told KARE at the time.
In the same story, a golfing companion said he doesn't dare play Manderville for money. Eddie can be heard saying, "I want ALL the money!"
After the dedication ceremony, some of Manderville's old golfing buddies gathered in his honor at the putting green to talk about old times playing for quarters.
"I’m very happy for a man that spent 50 years, maybe 60 years of his life here, teaching people how to play the game and having a smile for them," Kevin Stucki, who knew Manderville for more than 35 years, told KARE.
"I learned an awful lot, not only about golf but about life from Eddie."
Manderville was inducted into the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame in 2023, three years after he passed away.
According to the Hall of Fame citation, his competitive achievements included the 1988 MGA Senior Amateur Championship and the 1987 MGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Manderville also qualified for the 1986 U.S. Senior Open and the 1991 U.S. Senior Amateur Open.
But the Hall of Fame also noted his work teaching and mentoring golfers of all ages.
"Toward the end of his life, I was at his house. I remember I said, 'Eddie, would you like it if I tried to get you in the Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame'?" Stucki recalled.
"I can see that smile right now. I see that tear in his eye, the twinkle in his eye. And he said, 'You think so'?"
Two years ago, the Minneapolis Parks Board named the clubhouse at Hiawatha Golf Course for pioneering Black professional golfer Solomon Hughes, who worked to integrate that building and PGA tournaments.
Shauntel Manderville said her father knew Hughes and golfed with him many times.
"I wasn't there, but to hear dad speak, he was pretty good."
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