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William J. Powell (November 22, 1916December 31, 2009) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and pioneering golf course owner who designed the Clearview Golf Club, the first integrated golf course, as well as the first to cater to African American golfers. He was also the first African American to design, construct and own a professional golf course in the United States. Powell was fond of saying "The only color that matters is the color of the greens". ==Biography== Powell was the grandson of Alabama slaves and was born in Greenville, Alabama. During his youth, Powell moved with his family to Minerva, Ohio. In high school there, he played golf and football. Later, at the state's historically African-American Wilberforce University, he played on the golf team.〔Goldstein, Richard. ("African-American Golf Pioneer Bill Powell Dies at 93" ), ''The New York Times'', January 1, 2010〕 After serving in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II in England, he returned to the Canton, Ohio-area near Minerva in 1946, and began work first as a janitor and later as a security guard for the Timken bearing and steel company.〔 Due to racial segregation,〔Mitchelson, Ronald L., and Michael T. Lazaro. ( "The Face of the Game: African Americans Spatial Accessibility to Golf" ), 2004〕 he was banned from all-white public golf courses and was rejected for a bank loan to try to build his own.〔 With financing from two African-American doctors and a loan from his brother, Powell bought a dairy farm in East Canton, Ohio, and with his wife, Marcella, did most of the landscaping by hand. Two years later, in 1948, he opened the integrated Clearview Golf Club.〔 In 1978, he expanded the course to 18 holes and earned a national-historic-site designation in 2001.〔(Clearfield Golf Club )〕 As of the 2000s (decade), Clearview was the only course in the United States designed, constructed, owned and operated by an African American.〔 Powell died in Canton, Ohio, on New Year's Eve, 2009, following complications from a stroke.〔〔("Black golf pioneer Powell dies at 93" ), ESPN.com〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bill Powell (golf course owner)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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