Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, June 29, 1994, Page 8, Image 8

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    Earning A Prestigious
Rank In The PGA
R
obert Clark, 52, has
never give up on his
dream.
T h e a s s is ta n t g o lf p ro at
H e ro n L ak e s G o lf C o u rse is th e
o n ly A fric a n -A m e ric a n a s s is ­
ta n t p ro fe s s io n a l g o lfe r in P o rt­
la n d , th a n k s to B y ro n W o o d ,
h e a d p ro fe s s io n a l at th e c o u rs e .
“ T h e r e ’s p re ssu re , b e in g th e
o n ly o n e o f a n y th in g . B u t i t ’s
s o m e th in g y o u can d e a l w ith , if
y o u w a n t it b ad e n o u g h ,” C la rk
said .
P o rtla n d h a s se e n b la c k a s ­
s is ta n t g o lf p ro s b e f o re , b u t
n o n e h a v e c o m p le te d th e rig id
r e q u ir e m e n ts o f th e P r o f e s ­
s io n a l G o lf e r ’s A s s o c ia tio n .
C la rk is o n h is w ay to o b ­
ta in in g h is C la ss A m e m b e r­
sh ip .
“ I t ’s m o re d iffic u lt th a n I
th o u g h t it w o u ld b e ,” h e sa id .
“ F irs t o f all y o u h a v e to w o rk
u n d e r a p ro fe s s io n a l. O n c e y o u
fin d s o m e o n e to w o rk fo r, y o u
c a n g e t in to th e p ro g r a m .”
O th e r re q u ire m e n ts in c lu d e
a s ix m o n th p ro b a tio n p e rio d ,
ru le s te s t, p la y e r a b ility te s t,
tw o s e s s io n s o f b u s in e s s sc h o o l
and c o m p le tio n o f the P G A w o rk
book.
C la rk sa id h e to o k u p g o lf
la te in life , a t a g e 24.
T h e T o led o , O hio n ativ e w as
a fo u r -s p o rt le tte rm a n in h ig h
sc h o o l, p a r tic ip a tin g in b a s e ­
b a ll, tra c k , fo o tb a ll a n d b a s ­
k e tb a ll.
Em ployed as a salesm an, he
m oved around a lot, including
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
and D e tro it He settled in Portland
15 years ago and operates an insur­
ance business.
H is a d v ic e to b la c k y o u n g ­
s te rs is th e s a m e fo r an y y o u th .
“ D o n ’t g iv e u p o n y o u r
d re a m , if t h e r e ’s s o m e th in g you
w a n t to d o , k e e p w o rk in g at it
a n d y o u ’ll a c h ie v e it,” h e sa id .
C la rk k n o w s w h a t p e r s is ­
te n c e is a ll a b o u t.
H e firs t w a n te d to b e a g o lf
p ro in 19 69. T h e s p o rt h a d few
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Don’t Call Them Stars,
Call Them Heroes
by
Mike Tyson where have you gone?
You were the hero I read about
And now you are in jail for rape.
I cannot, in my heart, judge you guilty
You will always be:
an inhumanely fast powerhouse at the bouts,
a boxer named “Iron Mike,”
a laughing man in a “Fresh Prince” video,
a king of the ring ruling with style and grace
and now, you will also be a professed innocent man,
in jail because a young girl’s world counted more than yours.
R obert Clark o f Portland is com pleting the requirem ents to earn C lass A m em b ersh ip in th e Professional
G olfer’s Association.
A fric a n -A m e ric a n s th e n , a n d h e
c o u ld n ’t fin d a C la s s A p ro fe s -
s io n a l to w o rk for.
T h e P G A d id n o t o p e n its
d o o rs to b la c k s u n til 1960.
C harlie Sifford w as the first
A frican-A m erican golfer to break
the barrier. A t 73, S ifford still plays
on the P G A ’s Senior Tour.
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J osh B ranch
The city of Houston finally wins their first National Basketball
Association championship. They got the win last week after beating
the New York Knicks 90-84. What made this victory so unique was
that it was at their own house, right there in Houston with hundreds
of thousands o f fans rooting them on.
As you may have saw, Hakecn Olajawon earned the Most
Valuable Player spot with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked
shots, and to go with all that, he already won the Defensive Player o f
The Year Award.
After the game was over thecourt was flooded with people, in fact
there was noting but people you could not even see the floor, the police
held off as many as they could, but that wasn’t enough as fans flooded
the gates and weren’t turning back.
“You can always imagine what it would feel like to win a world
championship, but it is nothing like the real thing,” said Kenny
Smith, point guard for the Houston Rockets.
This had to be the most exciting series yet, because all the games
of the seven-game series were decided in the last 2-3 minutes o f the
game, especially this one.
Houston led most of the game with the Knicks blazing right
behind them the whole way, 22-21 after the first quarter and 63-60
after the third.
‘Tt has been a very long year. 1 remember the first round against
Portland, It seems like ages ago. The thin ice crackled under our feet
on the way, we managed to get off the thin ice and walk on safer
grounds, and that’s how we won the game, this is a true team effort,”
said Rudy Tomjonovich, the Houston coach.
by
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ioozer Golf Tourney
Kicks O ff
Rockets Win NBA
Championship
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P romise K ing
Late Jam es “Jim ” B oozer’s
nam e w ill re su rrec t at a m em orial
g o lf tournam ent nam ed after him ,
courtesy o f the O m ega Boys and
G irls C lub and C oalition o f Black
M en.
B oozer was very active and
highly regarded in the P ortland
com m unity for his unselfishness,
c o m p a s s io n a n d c o n c e rn fo r
youth.
“The tournam ent will be held
at the G lendoveer G o lf C ourse
and w ill be a city-w ide event with
m any local businesses and corpo­
r a t i o n s p a r t i c i p a t i n g , ” s a id
B o o zer’s widow, A lcena Boozer,
the to u rn am e n t’s honorary ch air­
person, who is also the principal
o f Jefferson High School.
The tournam ent is organized
to raise funds to defray the Om ega
Boys and G irls C lub expenses for
the year. D ignitaries draw n from
the Portland Trail B lazers Alumni
Team , the B lazers’ staff, the P o rt­
land O bserver, the KGON/KFXX
by
b ro ad castin g crew and C hannel 6
new s team , w ill square-up at the
event. O ther celebrities from other
co rp o ratio n s will also participate
at the to urnam ent scheduled for
July 9.
O rganizers are seeking d o n a­
tions from co rp o rate and business
sponsors, at betw een $100 and
$1,500. Entry fees for 18 holes is
$50 and with a celebrity guest the
fee is $75. R egistration is lim ited
to 150 players.
P rizes, include a 1994 BMW
3181 series, trophies, a paid va­
catio n and g o lf equipm ent.
T his is the fourth tournam ent
in B o o zer’s m em ory. A dinner
p arty will follow the event.
The O m ega Boys and G irls
C lub is a n o n -p ro fit organization
spo n so red by the C o alitio n o f
B lack M en. The coalition serves
as role m odels and m entors to
club p articipants. C oalition m em ­
bers em phasize sp iritu ality , pride,
self-esteem , respect and rein fo rc­
ing p o sitiv e m anners.
Notice Of Council Informal Meetings
A ? ~'S'i
AC
W ed n esd a y , Ju ne 29, 1994; 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
)
A aron M iaullis
O.J. Simpson where have you gone?
You were the hero I read about
And now you are charged with murder
I cannot, in my heart, judge you guilty
You will always be:
a golden boy on the playing field,
a gentle, smiling face talking about sports,
a thousand belly laughs in the “Naked Gun,”
a cheerful and funny rental car spokesman,
a symbol of the American Dream for all races.
and now, you will also be a tender, broken man,
who only wished to have his last breath beside his wife’s grave.
Michael Jackson where have you gone?
You were the hero I read about
And then you were charged with child-molestation
I cannot, in my heart, judge you guilty
You will always be:
a dancer, a singer and a thriller on MTV,
a voice among many in “We are the World,”
a rock star who used money for people, not drugs,
a man of all races and self-made into that
and now, you will also be a scared, hidden man,
who paid millions to avoid media crucifixion.
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The murder investigation of
O.J. Simpson led a Portland
resident to put his thoughts on
the subject to words.
Blue Room, The Mayor’s Office
1120SW 5th Ave
Subject: Non-resident Golf Fee Surcharge
This meeting is being coordinated by the Mayor’s Office, 823-4120. Please note that the Council and City Auditor will meet informally for dinner
at Sante, 3000 SE Division, at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 29. There is no agenda for the meeting and no official city business will be conducted.
Magic Johnson where have you gone?
You were the hero I read about
And now you have HIV
I cannot in my heart, judge you guilty
You will always be:
a basketball player who played more for fun than cash,
a panther of grace and beauty across the court,
a leader of the community and causes,
a honest, polite and civil ballplayer
and now you will also be a very big, brave man,
facing death and public ridicule from an enemy we can’t even see.
Black heroes where have you gone?
You are the heroes I read about
And now you hang in the wind
I cannot, in my heart, judge you guilty
You will always be:
a shining light out of my dark depressions,
an example of hard work, skill and talent,
a dream of being someone special,
a positive reflection of who we could be
and now, I ask Cosby, Jordan and Murphy to watch their backs
and Simpson, Jackson, Tyson and Johnson,
even in your darkest hour,
you are not stars
you are heroes.
BYRON WOOD’S
GOLF SHOP
A t Perori Laites
Golf Shirts
20% TO 50% OFF STOREWIDE
NIKE, REEBOK, ASHWORTH
Golf Hats
UP TO 60% OFF CAPS
& STRAW HATS
STARTING AT $6.95
H ero N
L A K E S
CALL FOR GOLF
LESSONS
289-1818
G O LF CO URSE
3500 N.VICTORY BLVD.
PORTLAND, OREGON
289-1818
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