Farewell to a Gentleman

Jim English passed away unexpectedly June 26.

One of Colorado’s most accomplished amateur golfers, English was, after all, 90 years old. But his passing came as a surprise to many, especially those in attendance at his May 21 birthday party.

While celebrating that milestone at his grandson’s home in Cherry Hills Village, the Colorado Golf Hall of Famer appeared characteristically vigorous and joyous, surrounded by nine of his 11 children, most of their spouses and many of his 31 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

He talked about a trip he and his son, Jim Jr., would soon be making to Des Moines to see Zach Johnson get inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame—a pantheon into which he himself was enshrined in 2007. The Jims drove out, and as they headed back through Nebraska—another state with Jim Sr. in its hall of fame—they stopped at Lincoln’s Firethorn Golf Club, where Jim Sr. carded an 87 in what would turn out to be his final round.

A native of Omaha, Jim English lived nearly 60 of his 90 years in Denver. Before arriving from Topeka in 1957, he’d already captained the Creighton University golf team, won the 1947 Nebraska State Amateur Championship, the ’50 Iowa Open and ’51 Iowa Masters, ’54 and ’56 Kansas State Amateur championships and the ’55 Broadmoor Invitation. His 11 and 10 victory over Jack Vickers in the 36-hole 1950 Trans-Mississippi Match Play Championship at Omaha’s Happy Hollow Club stands as the largest margin of victory in the event’s history.

He didn’t miss a beat when he landed in Colorado, capturing the 1957 CGA Match Play title at the two-year-old Columbine Country Club. He would repeat the feat at Denver Country Club three years later. He also won the ’58, ’59 and ’61 CGA Stroke Plays and the ’77 CGA Senior Stroke Play. In 1959, he became the first amateur champion of what became the Colorado Open. He won 11 club championships at Columbine—where he and his family lived for many years on the 12^th hole.

English also qualified for nine U.S. Opens. In the 1959 edition at New York’s Winged Foot Golf Club, he bested Charlie Coe and Jack Nicklaus for low amateur honors. He qualified but missed the cut in the following year’s Open at Cherry Hills. In the locker room afterwards, he spent 40 minutes talking to Hogan, whose watery bogey on 17 (and triple on 18) liquidated his last realistic chance at winning his fifth U. S. Open. “Dad told Hogan he should have won, having hit the first 34 greens in regulation on Saturday,” remembers Jim Jr., one of five brothers who attended college on golf scholarships.

English accumulated more than 90 tournament wins during his golf career and could no doubt recount every shot from every one of them. “He was sharp as a tack until the end,” his namesake son remembers.

Jim Sr. never regretted not turning pro. It gave him the ability to support his family not only with money, but also with time and affection.

“I’ve been so blessed,” he said at his last birthday party, his rich voice still strong. “I’ve had a wonderful life.” As always, Jim English hit it on the screws.

SEE MORE: How Jim English helped Arnold Palmer win the ’58 Masters

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