Tony Janssen Broke Through Barriers

The Iowa State Athletics Department celebrates Black History Month with a series of feature articles on former Cyclone student-athletes. Today's Black History Month story was written by Associate Director of Athletics Communications Mike Green.

Golf is one of the most popular sports in the world. As an activity which can be played by people of all ages, its global acclaim in the last 20 years has been extraordinary.

Unfortunately, golf sports a blemished history of segregation. For much of the 20th century, many players were not afforded the same opportunities to enjoy a relaxing round on the links, based solely on their race or ethnicity.

For example, the PGA (Professional Golfers' Association) Tour did not include a black athlete until Charlie Sifford joined the professional ranks in 1961. That same year, the PGA of America finally removed its "Caucasian-only" clause," allowing all players to compete in professional golf tournaments.

If it was tough for blacks to compete professionally in golf, it was far worse for black golfers trying to play at the local country clubs and courses around the United States. Simply put, there still were barriers for blacks in the golf industry.

Tony Janssen is one of those athletes to break through those barriers.

Janssen is the first and only black golfer to compete on the Iowa State men's golf team (1984-88). He doesn't consider himself a pioneer, but he was.

"I don't think I ever spent time thinking about it, because at the time, -- especially for a kid at that age, -- I just wanted to be a part of the team," the 46-year-old Janssen said. "Credit to Coach (Dale) Anderson and the guys I played with. They treated me like everybody else. As a young kid who just wanted to go through the college experience and enjoy playing a sport that I was reasonably good at, you just couldn't ask for anything more than that. As far as a pioneer, I never put myself in that category."

Finding golf in a small town

Janssen grew up in a single-parent household in Fort Madison, Iowa, with his mother, Jean. Like most kids, he enjoyed all sports. Golf was just an afterthought to Janssen until one day, at the age of 12, he was mesmerized by what he saw on television.

He happened to catch a PGA Tour event and was fascinated with the sport he knew little about. He saw the beauty of a perfect swing and the precision of the pitch shot. He was curious.

"There was nobody in my family who played golf," Janssen said. "I told my mother I would like to try it. She hooked me up at a little local nine-hole course in Fort Madison."

At the small course, Janssen met a golf professional named Louis Dade, -- a man who would have a huge impact on his career. Dade also was black, and is considered one of Iowa's most influential athletic figures.

Dade's story began in the early 1900s, when he was a chauffeur for W.A. Sheaffer, the founder of the world-famous Sheaffer Pen Corporation. Banned from all golf courses in the area because of his skin color, Dade practiced golf at Sheaffer's rural Fort Madison home.

The self-taught Dade fell in love with the game and soon became one of the top players in Iowa. He later turned professional and began giving lessons at the Sheaffer Memorial Golf Course and Spring Lake Golf Course, both in Fort Madison.

Learning from a legend

Circumstance, luck, or whatever it is, Janssen's meeting with Dade changed his life.

"He was a huge influence for me," Janssen said. "I went out there for my first lesson and I didn't even have any clubs. He worked with me all the way through high school, and even beyond when I was playing at Iowa State and I needed some things fixed on my swing. Todd Hamilton, the 2004 British Open champion, also took lessons from Dade."

Dade took Janssen under his wing and soon Janssen's scores began to drop. He quickly earned the No. 1 spot on his high school team and was a fixture on the driving range.

Janssen, unfortunately, had to fight other forces beyond his competitors in high school. Though he never noticed any blatant racism toward him, he was observant enough to know that it existed.

"I didn't see it personally, but I was told of a couple of incidents which occurred that I never went back and verified," Janssen said about his high school career. "A lot of the tournaments we played were at country clubs. I was told -- after the fact -- that someone at the club told my coach they didn't want me to play. I was lucky enough to have people around me who supported me and who didn't feel it was necessary to burden me. But that is just the way it was."

Janssen averaged 76 strokes per round and was the sectional champion in his very solid high school golf career. He knew his chances of playing collegiate golf were slim, so he enrolled at Iowa State to study business.

He found out that Iowa State would give him a second chance.

Taking it to the next level

"I went to Iowa State primarily for academics," Janssen said. "Growing up in southeast Iowa, I just wanted to get a little bit further from home for college, so I enrolled at Iowa State. When I got there, I heard there were open tryouts for golf. I tried out my freshman year and I made the team."

Though golf is an individual sport, there may not be a better "social" sport around. Janssen loved being a member of the Iowa State golf team and knew playing golf as a Cyclone would help him in the future.

"As a sport to play in college, I would say golf is the best," Janssen said. "You are out there doing something you really enjoy anyway. You are not running and you don't have to hit anybody. You get a lot of privileges that a regular student probably doesn't get. You combine that with the camaraderie and the access to people and things, it was such a great time in my life."

Janssen forged his way into the Cyclone starting lineup. In general, most collegiate tournaments only allow five golfers to compete from each team, and Janssen cracked the Cyclone top- five many times.

It didn't take Janssen very long to realize he still was in the minority as one of the very few black players on the course.

"There weren't very many of us out there," Janssen said. "I can only think of one tournament I played in college where I saw another black golfer, and he was from Kentucky."

Support from the top down

If there were any racial undertones at a tournament, he usually was kept in the dark about it by his coach and teammates.

Anderson, who passed away in 2003, was one of the longest-tenured coaches in Iowa State athletics history, serving as the Cyclone men's golf head coach for over 30 years until his retirement in 1997. He won the inaugural Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year Award in 1997.

In a 1986 interview, Anderson said "Tony is probably the purest striker of the ball that we have on the team. I just can't say enough about the potential that Tony has, and now he he's developed a work ethic to go along with that potential."

Janssen lauded Anderson for distancing him from the prejudices that were occurring while he was a member of the team. In 1985, the Big Eight Conference Championships were in Oklahoma City, Okla., and the Cyclones had the opportunity to play a practice round at the course a few months prior to the event.

Janssen found out later that members of the club weren't pleased a black golfer would be participating.

"At the time, this course was a very exclusive club," Janssen recalled. "After we played the practice round, someone contacted Dale and said, 'Hey, we don't want you showing up with that guy.' I went down and played in the Big Eight Championships and never knew anything about it. Others probably know more about the story than I do, because Dale kept me sheltered from all of that stuff."

Making his mark

Janssen competed in three Big Eight Championships during his career with the Cyclones. In 1986, he tied for 25th at the conference meet, the second-best finisher on the team.

"There really isn't anything I would have changed about my experience at Iowa State other than I wish I could have shot better on certain days," Janssen said. "It is something I look back on with fondness and great memories. There isn't anybody on my team who I wouldn't love to hear from. We were just a close group when we were together."

Judd Gibb, one of the most accomplished instructors and golfers in Iowa, and a former ISU assistant coach, was one of Janssen's teammates. He was a freshman at ISU in Janssen's final season in Ames.

"Tony is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet," Gibb said. "I remember he had such a graceful, Sam Snead-like swing. Many times seniors aren't all that nice to freshmen, but he went out of his way to help me out. He was a super guy."

Janssen graduated with a business degree from Iowa State in 1988 and started a family soon after. He currently resides in St. Louis, Mo., where he works at a U.S. Bank. Janssen and his wife, Damar, have three daughters; Britney, a student at the University of Missouri, Alex (15) and Kaylah (10).

A lasting impression

His job and family responsibilities have limited his time on the golf course. However, his experiences competing in golf definitely aided his career.

"From a business standpoint, it's amazing to me how many doors golf opens up," Janssen said. "Just the ability to play the game, and play it well, and share stories with others is a huge asset. People like to hear stories from past tournaments. It gives you the opportunity to communicate and connect with people you wouldn't be able to otherwise. It's a great means to getting to know people and develop relationships."

Janssen still follows Cyclone athletics as much as he can by catching football and basketball games on television. He is a member of the ISU Letterwinners Club and never has forgotten his roots.

If Janssen played college golf today, he wouldn't be alone. Opportunities for black collegiate golfers have improved. Tiger Woods had a lot to do with that, winning the 1996 NCAA individual championship while at Stanford. Kevin Hall followed Woods' lead, capturing the 2004 Big Ten Conference individual title as a member of the Ohio State golf squad.

Though Janssen doesn't regard himself as a pioneer, he definitely understands his place in Iowa State history.

"Hearing some stories afterward that maybe there was some friction that occurred because of you, -- you realize there was more to it than just a college kid coming to school to play golf," Janssen said.

Iowa State University Athletics

Tony Janssen Broke Through Barriers

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