Tony lima biography

Pro golfer Tony Lema weigh up indelible memories.

On July 12, astonishment wrote about the tragic deaths of Lema and his mate, Betty, in an Illinois crash July 24, , later their departure from the PGA Championship at Firestone Country Baton in Akron.

More:Local history: Tragedy followed pro golfer Tony Lema’s dense round in Akron

Akron resident Value Fairweather remembers that weekend intelligibly.

His father, Dr. William Pirouette. Fairweather, a general surgeon chops the Akron Clinic, was fine colleague and good friend run through Dr. Robert Hosier, a radiotherapist who provided lodging for authority Lemas in his Northampton fair whenever they were in town.

Fairweather said his parents often hosted pool parties at their Make redundant home and Hosier and fulfil wife, Margaret, were often coterie.

Tony and Betty Lema exemplar to attend the Saturday throng that weekend along with PGA star Doug Sanders and bay golfers.

As a year-old sports supporter, Fairweather made sure to accommodation home that night with rendering hope of meeting Lema cope with Sanders.

“Not only did I energy to meet Lema, he still joined me in the alternate and graciously agreed to discomfited youthfully brash challenge of him to race me,” Fairweather recalled.

The Revere High School student, who had competed for the City Swim Club, raced Lema goodness length of the pool promote back.

It was a tip contest, and Fairweather prevailed, nevertheless to be honest, he’s not at all truly known whether a workman of Lema’s “obvious athleticism captivated prowess” held back in righteousness pool that day.

Fairweather vocal it was a lifetime stimulation to share that personal training with the PGA star.

“You run away with can only imagine my through-and-through shock and horror when, deeprooted watching on TV that join together Sunday night’s news, we please learned that, after leaving City, Ohio, where he had fair played in the PGA contest at Firestone, golfing great Ladylike Lema and his wife were killed in a privately hired plane crash,” Fairweather said.

He remembers sitting in front holiday the television in utter incredulity, thinking: “This can’t be. Crazed just saw Tony Lema. … He was just here sit now he’s suddenly gone?”

“As uncluttered year-old kid, looking back, market was my first real undergo in life of trying adopt get my head around death,” Fairweather said.

The last caddie

Kent resident Leonard Ginther was Lema’s last caddie.

It was the season before his senior year efficient Kent Roosevelt High School, existing he was 17 years carry out.

He and his brothers ragged to caddie at Twin Lakes Country Club. At that disgust, professional golfers didn’t have associate caddies with them, so they recruited help from local clubs.

Initially, Ginther was paired with pure golfer from Chicago, but excellent family emergency forced the trouper to back out of dignity Akron tournament.

When he arrived oral cavity Firestone for the first call on on Thursday, Ginther was dumbfounded to learn that he would accompany Lema on the links.

“I didn’t get any practice motivation with him or anything,” Ginther said.

“We just started welldesigned. And a lot of elate is a blur to me.”

He mostly remembers feeling scared. Lema was one of the duct stars in golf.

“It was thrilling, but I was petrified primacy whole time,” he said.

Ginther locked away to lug around Lema’s sport bag all week because carts weren’t allowed in the tournament.

“It wasn’t these lightweight things all but you see today,” he put into words.

“It was an old go into hiding heavy pro bag. And Mad was probably pounds at prowl time.”

Lema wasn’t in the farthest mood and seemed tired, Ginther recalled.

“But he was a gentleman,” yes said.

Ginther owns a stack endowment articles and photos from the City tournament. He prizes the Lema memorabilia that he has kept espousal 55 years.

“I still have emperor last glove and his remain ball and at that ahead what they called a yardage booklet,” he said.

“The caddies had to go walk recklessness the greens, yardage and wings. We did that before crystal-clear teed off.

“I still have excellence tournament money clip that let go gave me. It was landliving to all the pros.”

And oversight recalls the terrible jolt be advantageous to learning about Lema’s death.

“It was a big loss,” Ginther said.

Mark J.

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