Harold “Jug” McSpaden – The Other “Gold Dust Twin”
For some reason I have this ongoing fascination with the “Gold Dust Twins”. Everyone knows Byron Nelson but few people (including me) who know anything about Harold McSpaden.
First the basics: Jug McSpaden was born in Monticello, Kansas. He became interested in golf at the age of ten, after seeing Harry Vardon play. McSpaden worked as a caddie, and then was elected to PGA Membership on November 11, 1926. He won 17 PGA Tour events, coming in second in the 1937 PGA Championship. McSpaden was also a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1941, 1942, and 1943; but during those years only exhibition matches were played as fundraisers for the war effort
His fame came between 1942 and 1944 when McSpaden and Byron Nelson (both of whom were rejected from the military for health reasons) made 110 exhibition appearances for the Red Cross and USO. Because of their consistent one-two finishes at these charity events, Nelson and McSpaden were together referred to as the “Gold Dust Twins”.
In 1944, when winners were paid in war bonds, McSpaden won $23,855. He claimed to have cleared less than $150 when he cashed them in. McSpaden’s winnings that year were second only to Nelson’s record-breaking $37,967 worth of bonds.
After the war McSpaden quite professional golf and worked as vice president of a sportswear company, the Palm Beach Company. An unusual man, he was taught to fly a plane by Barry Goldwater, almost always wore sunglasses and changed clothes three times a day.
Until 1994 he competed in the P.G.A. Seniors Championship. In his final appearance, at age 85, he shot rounds of 90 and 81.
Jug was found dead with his wife at the age of 87. The police found their car in a garage attached to their home in Kansas City, Kan., with the ignition turned on. The authorities said the couple had apparently been dead for some time, and they ruled it accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
A sad ending for an exceptional man.
Until next time, keep ‘em in the fairway.
