Buffalo, NY, 1893: Thomas McAuliffe was born, the oldest child of five in his family. By the turn of the 20th Century, Buffalo was the second largest railroad terminus in the US behind Chicago.
When young Tommy was age nine, he suffered a terrible accident along train tracks. A locomotive ran over him.
Both of his arms were amputated. He learned to live without arms.
Tommy grew into manhood and later went on to college.
While at university, he became a golf caddie, not an easy job for an armless man.
But he began practicing “holding” golf clubs in a unique manner. He placed the grip handle between his neck, shoulder, and chin. Then he could swing the clubs and hit balls with surprising accuracy.
Tommy practiced endlessly and the hard work paid off. Not only could he play as well as most golfers who had both hands and arms, he often scored better.
His skills were so good that he won two amateur tournaments back to back in 1913 and 1914.
He could hit a tee shot 150 yards.
His lifetime average score was 92, and his personal best was a low of 85.
Tommy toured across the US at exhibitions, eventually visiting 49 states, and he played with golf legends like Bobby Jones and Walter Hagan.
At one exhibition, he hit 282 consecutive chip shots into bushel baskets from a distance of 20 feet.
Later in life, Tommy testified before Congress about rehabilitating the disabled.
He was quoted as saying, “When I was nine, just after the accident, I overheard someone tell my mother I’d end up on a street corner selling pencils. That is why I have enjoyed working so hard, to prove that a handicapped person doesn’t have to be handicapped.”
Tommy McAuliffe went on to run an insurance company.
He was a father to four children and grandfather to sixteen.
He’s honored in the Langley Golf Museum in Kissimmee, Florida.
McAuliffe said, “The only real handicap is a mental one.”
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