Seattle’s Jefferson Park renamed Bill Wright Golf Complex

The Seattle Parks & Recreation board of commissioners has announced that Jefferson Park Golf Course will be renamed as the Bill Wright Golf Complex.

A special committee has been established and has been tasked with creating a permanent memorial for Wright in front of and inside the clubhouse, and initiating a capital campaign for a memorial installation on October 10, 2024, the 65th anniversary of Wright winning the 1959 U.S. Amateur Public Links.

Opened in 1915 as the first municipal golf course in the state, Jefferson Park was an immediate hit with the public golfers in the region, with the course having over 100,000 rounds played each year by 1922.

By winning the 1959 U.S. Amateur Public Links, Wright became the first African American to win a USGA national championship. (USGA Museum)

Fir State was established in 1947 to combat discriminatory practices and, at the same time, to promote access to golf within the minority community. An important p

art of the club’s mission was to stimulate interest and participation of young people in the game.        

Bill earned athletic honors in golf and basketball at Western Washington State College (now University), winning the NAIA collegiate individual golf championship in 1960, and is a member of WWU’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He competed in the 1959 U.S. Amateur and was a member of the 1959 Hudson Cup team. He briefly ventured onto the professional tour, and played in the 1966 U.S. Open. He qualified for five U.S. Senior Opens, and has been enshrined in the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J.

The USGA, WA Golf, First Tee of Greater Seattle and Jefferson Park GC declared October 10, 2009 as “Bill Wright Day” to honor the 50th anniversary of Bill’s historic victory in the U.S. Amateur Public Links.