A FANTASTIC 1960'S PHOTO DATED ON BACK AND FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER ARCHIVES OF PROFESSIONAL PGA GOLFER DAN SIKES
MEASURES APPROXIMATELY
6 3/4 X 10 1/8 INCHES
Daniel David Sikes, Jr. was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the chairman of the tournament players committee in the late 1960s, prior to the formation of the PGA Tour.
Daniel David Sikes, Jr. (December 7, 1929 – December 20, 1987) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Sikes won nine tournaments as a pro, including six PGA Tour events. He was influential as the chairman of the tournament players committee in the late 1960s, prior to the formation of the PGA Tour.
Contents
1 Early years
2 College career
3 Professional career
4 Professional wins (9)
4.1 PGA Tour wins (6)
4.2 Senior PGA Tour wins (3)
5 Results in major championships
5.1 Summary
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Early years
Born in Wildwood, Florida, Sikes was raised in Jacksonville and attended Andrew Jackson High School.[1]
College career
He enrolled the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for the Florida Gators' golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1951 to 1953.[2] He was recognized as an All-American in 1952—the University of Florida's first All-American golfer.[1][3] Sikes graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1953, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."[4]
Professional career
Although he later earned a law degree from the university's College of Law and was known as the "golfing lawyer," he never actually practiced law. He was the chairman and spokesman of the controversial tournament players' committee prior to the formation of the "Tournament Players Division" in late 1968, which was later renamed the PGA Tour.[5]
Sikes won the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship in 1958 while in law school. He turned professional in 1960 and won six tournaments on the PGA Tour, half in his home state of Florida. Sikes' career year was 1967, when he won two events and was fifth on the money list. He was also the 54-hole leader at the PGA Championship[5][6] and finished one shot out of the playoff, in a tie for third with Jack Nicklaus.[1] Due to disputes with the PGA of America, the championship was nearly boycotted by the top tournament players.[7] Sikes played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 at Royal Birkdale.
Sikes later represented caddies on tour in 1970[8] and was instrumental in helping organize the Senior PGA Tour, later renamed the Champions Tour. He won three times on the senior tour, the first at the rain-shortened Hilton Head Seniors International in 1982, which Sikes and Miller Barber were leading when play was stopped.[1]
Sikes died in Jacksonville at age 58 in late 1987.[9] He was posthumously inducted into the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.[1]
Professional wins (9)
PGA Tour wins (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory Runner-up
1 Mar 24, 1963 Doral C.C. Open Invitational 76-70-67-70=283 −5 1 stroke United States Sam Snead
2 Jun 13, 1965 Cleveland Open Invitational 68-70-68-66=272 −12 1 stroke United States Tony Lema
3 Mar 19, 1967 Jacksonville Open 67-69-70-73=279 −9 1 stroke United States Bill Collins
4 Sep 17, 1967 Philadelphia Golf Classic 71-68-69-68=276 −12 2 strokes United States George Archer
5 Mar 17, 1968 Florida Citrus Open Invitational 71-67-70-66=274 −14 1 stroke United States Tom Weiskopf
6 Jul 28, 1968 Minnesota Golf Classic 71-66-71-64=272 −12 1 stroke United States Ken Still
PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1962 Houston Classic United States Bobby Nichols, United States Jack Nicklaus Nichols won with eagle on first extra hole after 18-hole playoff;
Nichols: +1 (71),
Sikes: +1 (71),
Nicklaus: +6 (76)
2 1973 Byron Nelson Golf Classic United States Lanny Wadkins Lost to par on first extra hole
Senior PGA Tour wins (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory Runner-up
1 Oct 24, 1982 Hilton Head Seniors International 69-69=138* −6 Shared title with United States Miller Barber
2 Jun 3, 1984 Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic 69-73-68=210 −6 1 stroke United States Rod Funseth
3 Sep 9, 1984 United Virginia Bank Seniors 67-69-71=207 −9 1 stroke United States Lee Elder
*Note: The 1982 Hilton Head Seniors International was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather.
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1984 Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic United States Orville Moody, United States Arnold Palmer Moody won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1985 Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic United States Lee Elder, United States Orville Moody,
United States Walt Zembriski Elder won with birdie on third extra hole
Moody eliminated with birdie on second hole
Results in major championships
Tournament 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Masters Tournament T15 T13 5 T36 T35 12 T36 CUT T15 CUT
U.S. Open T36 10 T44 T36 15 T38 T27
PGA Championship T47 T45 T28 T3 T8 T25 T18 T46 T13 T6 T74
Note: Sikes never played in The Open Championship.
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 5 10 8
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 2 7 7
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 0 1 1 3 6 11 11
Totals 0 0 1 2 5 13 28 26
Most consecutive cuts made – 21 (1962 U.S. Open – 1970 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
See also
Biography portal
List of American Ryder Cup golfers
List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
List of Levin College of Law graduates
List of University of Florida alumni
List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
Dan Sikes, the first local golfer to win the local PGA Tour event, was described as abrasive and kind, guarded and gentle, aloof and interesting.
The University of Florida law school graduate (or “Lawyer Dan,” as some fellow pros called him) won six PGA Tour titles, the most by a Jacksonville player until Mark McCumber matched it by winning the 1988 Players Championship – only four months after Sikes died at age 58 from complications due to stomach surgery.
More than 20 years before McCumber’s victory - and 50 years ago on March 19, 1967 - Sikes won the Greater Jacksonville Open at the Deerwood Country Club, opening with a 67 in wind-swept conditions and holding on to finish at 9-under-par 279.
On a Sunday day with 50-degree temperatures and 30-mph wind, Sikes made a 40-foot birdie putt at No. 16 to take a three-shot lead with two holes to play and three-putted for bogey on the final two holes to edge Bill Collins by one shot, with Gay Brewer, Jim Colbert, Bob Goalby and Chuck Courtney tying for third, another shot behind.
“When I made that birdie on the 16th, the tournament was over,” Sikes said after his round.
Sikes’ first-place check, which was presented by Florida Gov. Claude Kirk, was $20,000. Patton Kizzire earned $19,740 at The Players last year for finishing last.
At the time, Sikes was the area’s only Tour player of significance. Names such as Melnyk, McCumber, Duval, Furyk, Funk, Love and Kuchar would follow in the coming decades – especially after the PGA Tour moved its headquarters to Ponte Vedra Beach, the TPC Sawgrass was built and The Players Championship replaced the GJO.
As a result, the pressure was on Sikes that week at Deerwood – especially since it was two years after he blew the 54-hole GJO lead at Selva Marina with a 75 that enabled Bert Weaver to back into the title.
“I think I would have won it if it had been anywhere but Jacksonville,” Sikes said about that experience after his first round at Deerwood. “I love to play in front of people I know. But it’s harder.”
Sikes was up to the task at Deerwood and led wire-to-wire.
“No win was ever as sweet as this one,” Sikes said after his final round.
The victory was against a field that included World Golf Hall of Fame members Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Raymond Floyd and Julius Boros and occurred during a tumultuous year for Sikes – and for professional golf.
During that 1967 season, his best financially on the Tour, Sikes was chairman of the players advisory committee to the PGA of America, trying to get restrictions on touring professionals lifted by that organization and more TV money going to the tournament purses. At the time, the PGA operated the Tour and still required the top players to take classes and obtain their certification as club pros.
Sikes and other players had little interest learning how to arrange pro shop apparel and wanted autonomy for players as independent contractors. In addition, the popularity of Palmer and Nicklaus had sent TV ratings and rights fees soaring but the touring pros believed purses had not increased at the same rate and accused the PGA of keeping too much of the TV money for its general fund.
A year later, the touring professionals broke away from the PGA.
After Sikes died, Goalby said at the funeral that the rebellion — historically credited to superstars Nicklaus and Palmer — would not have been possible at the time without Sikes.
“Deane Beman has done a great job with the tour,” Goalby said of the Tour commissioner at the time of Sikes’ death. “And [former USGA director] Joe Dey’s name lent stability [as the first commissioner] when it was first organized. But it never would have happened without Dan ramrodding it. With his law degree, he was smarter than the rest of us. He helped get the regular tour off the ground.”
Beman said Sikes took a lot of heat for his public stance.
“It was Dan and other guys like Gardner Dickinson, Don January and Doug Ford who were out front about it,” Beman said. “Jack and Arnold were involved. When asked, they would agree with the idea but were reluctant to get out front because it was controversial. Eventually, they needed Jack and Arnie because they were the two biggest stars. But Dan and those other guys were the ones who carried the water for the rest of the players.”
Quiet with a temper
Sikes was one of the top players on the PGA Tour for a decade-long period between 1963 to 1973. He finished 25th or higher on the money list eight times during that span, with three top-10s.
McCumber remembers, at age 14, watching Sikes win the GJO with his slow, smooth swing, with a pronounced pause at the top, followed by strong action from his long legs, to hit one towering draw after another off the tee, followed by lasered iron shots.
“Jack Nicklaus said once that Dan was one of the best drivers of the golf ball on the Tour,” McCumber said. “His swing reminded you of Larry Nelson, very quiet. The club would cross the plane, with a very definitive pause at the top.”
Fred Seely, the Times-Union’s sports editor and golf writer at the time, said Sikes was on a tier of players just below Hall of Famers such as Nicklaus, Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Gary Player.
“Dan might have been the best with long irons outside of Nicklaus,” Seely said. “Not many guys could win out there during those years. He was one of them.”
Sikes followed up his GJO victory in 1967 with another in Philadelphia, and finished fifth on the money list with $111,509. He won two more times in 1968.
Sikes might have also have had a bit more notoriety on the PGA Tour, but lagged behind other stars of the 1960s in the charisma department. Whether that was by design or by nature, few really knew.
“Dan had a very, very tight circle of friends on the Tour and he was not very social,” Steve Melnyk, an early member at Hidden Hills along with Sikes when it was first built in 1966. “He didn’t like to play much golf there. He’d come out, hit a few balls, have a few drinks. It was hard to get to know Dan.”
McCumber said penetrating the layers to Sikes was difficult.
“He was not an easy guy to get to know,” McCumber said. “But once you did, you found out how smart and interesting he was.”
Seely said Sikes battled a “terrible temper” on the golf course and remembers playing in a pro-am at a Senior Tour event in Daytona when Sikes destroyed a cardboard trash receptacle with his putter.
“If he knew you, we was a great guy,” Seely said. “I had a lot of delightful times with him over dinner, at a bar, talking on the range. But it was hard to get to know him.”
Staked by businessmen
Sikes was born in Wildwood and his family moved to Jacksonville at an early age.
He graduated from Jackson High School and learned to play golf at the Brentwood Country Club.
It was there that Woody Blackburn, who played high school golf at Parker and then at the University of Florida, met Sikes when he was about 10 years old.
“My earliest memories were of my father and Dan going out to the 13th hole at Brentwood late in the afternoon to hit balls, while I shagged them,” said Blackburn, who won twice on the PGA Tour. “Dan influenced me in my decision to go to Florida and he was very helpful when I got to the Tour.”
Sikes went to the University of Florida and while playing for the Gators, won the 1958 U.S. Public Links. He turned pro in 1960 and while not an immediate hit, turned in a solid rookie season with nine top-25 finishes and three top-10s – two in his final three starts.
A group of 48 Jacksonville businessmen, including Connie Gunti, Bill Nimnicht, Dick Stratton and Harvey Carroll, contributed $100 each to stake Sikes out on the PGA Tour and he made steady progress: from 63rd on the money list as a rookie, to 42nd in 1962 and then to 22nd in 1963 when he captured his first PGA Tour title at Doral.
Sikes’ fluid swing and the ability to bail out of almost any situation when he hit an off-line shot was frequently betrayed by a balky putting stroke and a bit of a defeatist attitude at times.
“Dan was never as good a putter as he thought he should be, but that didn’t mean he was a bad putter,” Blackburn said. “We all think we should make more putts. Dan was like that and it really bothered him.”
Sikes won his six tournaments in a six-year span. After winning his last title, he still had three more career finishes of 25th or higher on the money list. However, Sikes sometimes wondered if his game was suffering because of his work on the separation from the PGA and other player-related issues.
Or maybe he simply couldn’t help getting involved.
Sikes the ‘rebel’
In a sport that was still regarded as elitist and slow to change, Sikes liked a battle of right vs. wrong as much as hitting a 7-iron 2 feet from the pin.
Arthur Johnson, a retired Jacksonville businessman, got to know Sikes when he was a caddie at Brentwood. At the time, the two public courses in Jacksonville, Brentwood and Hyde Park, had restrictions on when African-Americans could play golf. Each course allowed them to play one day a week.
Until a landmark court case in 1963 forced the city to allow African-Americans to play those courses at any time, Johnson said the restrictions were broken, to the best of his knowledge, only by Dan Sikes.
“Dan came to Brentwood one day with Ted Rhodes and Pete Brown,” Johnson said of two early African-American players on the PGA Tour who faced frequent discrimination. “It wasn’t the day for blacks to play at Brentwood but Dan told [head pro] Roland Hurley they were playing. Roland argued for a minute and Dan just told the guys, ‘come on,’ and they went to the first tee.”
Tour players recognized Sikes’ legal mind and leadership skills and voted him to the players’ committee in 1963, only his third year on Tour. Sikes became the chairman in 1967 and soon led the push for independence for touring pros from the PGA.
Some pushed back. The established golf media accused Sikes of inciting a “player revolt” and one newspaper headline from a tournament in 1967, when Sikes had moved to the top of a leaderboard, said: “PGA rebel grabs lead.”
Since Sikes’ role in the divorce from the PGA was well-known to insiders, he was asked to help with another cause. PGA Tour caddies enlisted Sikes in 1970 to help improve working conditions on the Tour and to end the practice of many private clubs who forced players to use their caddies instead of their own loopers when Tour events came to their courses.
Sikes took the issue to Dey, who influenced the USGA to allow players to use their own caddies at the U.S. Open in 1976. Other organizations and private clubs soon followed suit.
In an Associated Press article on the issue, veteran golf writer Bob Green called Sikes “one of the most influential players on the Tour.”
‘An unsung hero’
After helping form the Senior PGA Tour, Sikes was among its most active players from 1981-1985, averaging 14 starts per season and finishing among the top-10 on the money list five years in a row. He won twice in 1984 and earned $173,815, the most in any season on either tour.
However, his health was becoming an issue and two years after making 18 Senior Tour starts in 1985, he played in only four tournaments and withdrew once.
Sikes’ alcohol intake became so problematic that friends and family staged at least two interventions. Sikes was married twice and had one daughter, Karen Anne, who is now a realtor in St. Petersburg. She did not return phone messages left at her office.
McCumber said the last conversation he ever had with Sikes was the day after McCumber finished second to Nelson in the PGA Championship at Palm Beach Gardens. McCumber, in a controversial decision, hit driver off the deck for his second shot at the par-5 18th hole at PGA National when he was trailing Nelson by one shot. A lay-up and a wedge onto the green could have set up a short birdie putt for a playoff.
The ball fell into the water and McCumber was criticized for taking an unnecessary risk.
“Dan called me the next day,” McCumber said. “He told me he was proud of me for that shot. ‘You were trying to win,’ he said. ‘You did great.’”
Sikes then told McCumber that he saw something on TV about his move at the top of his backswing.
“He said I got a little quick at the top,” McCumber said. “Then he told me, ‘come over to Hidden Hills and we’ll work on it.’ I never got over there, which I regretted later.”
On Dec. 18 of that year, Sikes complained of stomach pain and was admitted to St. Luke’s Hospital. He was bleeding internally and doctors performed emergency surgery. Sikes went into a coma after the surgery and never woke up.
He died two days later at the age of 58.
Sikes’ funeral at the Hardage-Giddens Guardian Chapel on Main Street drew PGA Tour winners such as McCumber, Beman, Blackburn, Goalby and Dickinson.
During his eulogy, Goalby said: “He was the impetus behind both [tours]. He loved the game of golf and gave himself to it. He was an unsung hero.”
But Sikes was never unsung in Jacksonville. And not on that windy March week at Deerwood 50 years ago.
Golfer Dan Sikes: 'Unsung Hero' of U.S. Golf Tours
Dan Sikes was a 6-time winner on the PGA Tour in the 1960s. But his impact on golf was far greater than his tournament successes. Behind the scenes, Sikes helped create the modern PGA Tour and, later, the Champions Tour.
Full name: Daniel David Sikes Jr.
Date of birth: December 7, 1929
Place of birth: Wildwood, Florida
Date and place of death: December 20, 1987 in Jacksonville, Florida
Nickname: Called "Lawyer Dan" by some of his fellow pros, "the Golfing Lawyer" by some in the media during his career.
Sikes' Tour Wins
Dan Sikes is credited with six wins on the PGA Tour:
1963 Doral C.C. Open Invitational
1965 Cleveland Open Invitational
1967 Jacksonville Open
1967 Philadelphia Golf Classic
1968 Florida Citrus Open Invitational
1968 Minnesota Golf Classic
Sikes also won three times on the Champions Tour:
1982 Hilton Head Seniors International*
1984 Gatlin Brothers Seniors Golf Classic
1984 United Virginia Bank Seniors
(*Sikes tied with Miller Barber — due to poor weather there was no playoff, they were named co-champions)
In the Majors
Sikes never played the British Open, but had Top 10 finishes in each of the other three majors. His first major was the 1962 U.S. Open and his last the 1975 Masters. His best finish was a tie for third at the 1967 PGA Championship, followed by solo fifth at the 1965 Masters. He had five Top 10s total in major championships, the last a tie for sixth at the 1973 PGA Championship.
It is a little ironic that Sikes' best showing was at the 1967 PGA, a tournament that a Sikes-led coalition of top players threatened to boycott (see following section). Sikes was the third-round leader and began the final round with a 2-stroke lead. But he shot 73 in that final round and wound up tied for third with Jack Nicklaus, one stroke out of a playoff.
Sikes' Behind-the-Scene Influence On Tours
Sikes is arguably one of the most-influential tour players in golf history who was never a major star and that most fans today have never heard of. He played key roles in leading tour players away from the PGA of America and into the formation of the modern PGA Tour, and in creating the Champions Tour.
Sikes' potential for leadership was recognized early by his peers on tour when, in 1963, just his third year on tour, he was voted onto the Tournament Players' Committee. At the time, the tour was part of the PGA of America, and the Tournament Players' Committee was one of the only ways the golfers had input into tour operations.
His peers were impressed with Sikes' legal background as well as his willingness to commit to something he believed in. (In the early 1960s, Sikes defied the segregation laws then in place in his hometown of Jacksonville's golf scene by showing up to a local golf course with African-American pros Ted Rhodes and Pete Brown and daring the course to stop him from playing with his friends.)
By 1967, Sikes had become chairman of and spokesman for the committee, as tour players' grievances with the PGA of America grew. The PGA, at that time, treated tour players the same as it treated club pros: They were required to, for example, attend business classes on running pro shops and acquire certifications as club pros. The tour players wanted to simply play tournaments and operate as independent contractors. They also wanted a hand in which tournaments joined the tour and how they operated, and a bigger share of television money.
When the PGA of America nixed a potential Frank Sinatra-hosted, high-dollar tournament, tour players had enough. Sikes led them (with Arnold Palmer's and Jack Nicklaus' support) in threatening to boycott the 1967 PGA Championship if their complaints weren't addressed.
Only a couple weeks before the tournament, the PGA gave in on several points. In 1968, the players were able to create the Tournament Players Division, an automonous organization. With Sikes pushing all along the way, the Tournament Players Division became the PGA Tour in 1975.
Eulogizing Sikes at his funeral, 1968 Masters champion Bob Goalby said of the players' breakaway from the PGA to govern themselves, "It never would have happened without Dan ramrodding it. With his law degree, he was smarter than the rest of us. He helped get the regular tour off the ground."
Sikes later served on the new PGA Tour's Tournament Policy Board. In 1980, Sikes helped create another tour, the Champions Tour. The senior circuit came into being at a meeting on Jan. 16, 1980, attended by Gardner Dickinson, Sam Snead, Julius Boros, Don January, Goalby and Sikes.
Sikes, in the early 1970s, had also taken up the cause of PGA Tour caddies, helping improve working conditions and opening up more opportunities for them.
At Sikes' funeral, Goalby explained:
"He was the impetus behind both (the PGA Tour and Champions Tour). He loved the game of golf and gave himself to it. He was an unsung hero."
More About Dan Sikes
Sikes had a temper on the golf course and could be a prickly character off it — but he was loyal, friendly and interesting to those he let into his circle. Sikes was once described by the Jacksonville newspaper as "abrasive and kind, guarded and gentle, aloof and interesting," and, the paper noted, Sikes "was frequently betrayed by a balky putting stroke."
As a golfer, Sikes' strength was his driver. Peter Alliss wrote of him, "Sikes favored low, drawn shots, and was both a long and a consistent player, having a pause at the top of his swing." That pause at the top of his swing is something that really stood out about his game.
Sikes' pause was "followed by strong action from his long legs, to hit one towering draw after another off the tee, followed by lasered iron shots," according to the Jacksonville newspaper.
"One of the greatest compliments I heard was when Jack Nicklaus called (Sikes) one of the best drivers that he'd ever seen. From a physical standpoint, what I remember from the times we played is his tee shots were long and straight. He was also a fierce competitor. He hated to lose and just never quit on a round." — PGA Tour player and Jacksonville native Mark McCumber
Sikes played college golf at the University of Florida from 1951-53, in 1953 becoming the school's first All-American in the sport. That same year he received entry into the PGA Tour Jacksonville Open, his first appearance on the tour. Sikes graduated with a degree in business administration.
He then spent several years in the United States Army, and won the 1955 All-Army Championship golf tournament. After getting out of the military, Sikes entered Florida's College of Law. While in law school, he won the 1958 U.S. Amateur Public Links, a USGA championship.
He got his law degree in 1960, but decided he had a greater potential to earn more money, more quickly, playing golf. Sikes turned pro that year and his rookie year on the PGA Tour was 1961.
Sikes' first brush with PGA Tour victory was at 1962 Houston Classic, where he played an 18-hole playoff against Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Nichols. Nicklaus was eliminated after 18, but Sikes and Nichols were still tied. Nichols beat Sikes on the 19th hole.
It was only one more year until victory No. 1 arrived, however: Sikes beat Sam Snead by one stroke to win that 1963 Doral Open. The next year Sikes was runner-up to Pete Brown in the Waco Turner Open, the tournament in which Brown became the first African-American golfer to win an official-money PGA Tour event.
The year 1967 was Sikes' best: He had two wins (including his hometown Jacksonville Open), was third at the PGA Championship, and had two runner-up finishes (including to Nicklaus at the Westchester Classic). He was a career-best fifth on the money list.
Sikes finished in the Top 60 on the money list (the threshold at the time for avoiding Monday qualifying) from 1962-71 plus 1973. He was eighth in 1968, and had Top 20 money-list finishes in 1965 and 1969. Also in 1969, he was part of Team USA in the Ryder Cup.
Sikes didn't win after 1968, but lost a playoff to Lanny Wadkins at the 1973 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, and posted his final runner-up finish in 1974. For his PGA Tour career, Sikes made the cut in 367 of 422 tournaments played, had 12 second-place and nine third-place showings, and 94 Top 10 finishes. His final appearance in a PGA Tour tournament was at the 1981 Bay Hill Classic.
After helping create the Champions Tour, Sikes spent several years among its better players. He finished in the Top 10 on the senior money list from 1981-85, winning three times. In all, Sikes made 82 senior tour starts, finished in the Top 10 38 times, and was runner-up six times.
He played three Champions Tour events in 1987, the last at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, before health problems forced him to stop. Years of heavy drinking took their toll (despite friends and family staging two interventions).
In December of 1987, Sikes was experiencing stomach pain. He was admitted to a Jacksonville hospital, where doctors discovered internal bleeding. Emergency surgery was performed, but Sikes slipped into a coma. He died two days later, only 58 years old.
Sikes is a member of the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame and of the Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame.
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States[1][2][3]) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four major championships in professional golf.
It was formerly played in mid-August on the third weekend before Labor Day weekend, serving as the fourth and final major of the golf season. Beginning in 2019, the tournament is played in May on the weekend before Memorial Day, as the season's second major. It is an official money event on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Japan Golf Tour, with a purse of $11 million for the 100th edition in 2018.
In line with the other majors, winning the PGA gains privileges that improve career security. PGA champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors (Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, and The Open Championship) and The Players Championship for the next five years, and are eligible for the PGA Championship for life. They receive membership on the PGA Tour for the following five seasons and on the European Tour for the following seven seasons. The PGA Championship is the only one of the four majors that is exclusively for professional players.
The PGA Championship has been held at various venues. Some of the early sites are now quite obscure, but in recent years, the event has generally been played at a small group of celebrated courses.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Format
1.2 Location
1.3 Promotion
2 Trophy
3 Qualification
4 Winners
4.1 Stroke play era winners
4.2 Match play era winners
5 Match play era details
6 Summary by course, state and region
7 Records
8 Broadcasting
9 Future sites
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
History
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In 1894, with 41 golf courses operating in the United States, two unofficial national championships for amateur golfers were organized. One was held at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island, and the other at St. Andrew's Golf Club in New York. In addition, and at the same time as the amateur event, St. Andrew's conducted an Open championship for professional golfers. None of the championships was officially sanctioned by a governing body for American golf, causing considerable controversy among players and organizers. Later in 1894 this led to the formation of the United States Golf Association (USGA), which became the first formal golf organization in the country. After the formation of the USGA, golf quickly became a sport of national popularity and importance.
In February 1916 the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) was established in New York City. One month earlier, the wealthy department store owner Rodman Wanamaker hosted a luncheon with the leading golf professionals of the day at the Wykagyl Country Club in nearby New Rochelle. The attendees prepared the agenda for the formal organization of the PGA;[4] consequently, golf historians have dubbed Wykagyl "The Cradle of the PGA."[5] The new organization's first president was Robert White, one of Wykagyl's best-known golf professionals.[citation needed]
The first PGA Championship was held in October 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York.[6] The winner, Jim Barnes, received $500 and a diamond-studded gold medal donated by Rodman Wanamaker. The 2016 winner, Jimmy Walker, earned $1.8 million. The champion is also awarded a replica of the Wanamaker Trophy, which was also donated by Wanamaker, to keep for one year, and a smaller-sized keeper replica Wanamaker Trophy.[7][8]
Format
Initially a match play event, the PGA Championship was originally played in early fall but varied from May to December. Following World War II, the championship was mostly played in late May or late June, then moved to early July in 1953 and a few weeks later in 1954, with the finals played on Tuesday. As a match play event (with a stroke play qualifier), it was not uncommon for the finalists to play over 200 holes in seven days. The 1957 event lost money,[9] and at the PGA meetings in November it was changed to stroke play, starting in 1958, with the standard 72-hole format of 18 holes per day for four days, Thursday to Sunday. Network television broadcasters, preferring a large group of well-known contenders on the final day, pressured the PGA of America to make the format change.[10]
During the 1960s, the PGA Championship was played the week following The Open Championship five times, making it virtually impossible for players to compete in both majors. In 1965, the PGA was contested for the first time in August, and returned in 1969, save for a one-year move to late February in 1971, played in Florida. The 2016 event was moved to late July, two weeks after the Open Championship, to accommodate the 2016 Summer Olympics in August.[11]
Before the 2017 edition, it was announced that the PGA Championship would be moved to May on the weekend before Memorial Day, beginning in 2019. The PGA Tour concurrently announced that it would move its Players Championship back to March the same year; it had been moved from March to May in 2007. The PGA of America cited the addition of golf to the Summer Olympics, as well as cooler weather enabling a wider array of options for host courses, as reasoning for the change. It was also believed that the PGA Tour wished to re-align its season so that the FedEx Cup Playoffs would not have to compete with the start of football season in late-August.[12][13][14]
Location
The PGA Championship is primarily played in the eastern half of the United States; only eleven times has it ventured west. The most recent was in 2020 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco,[15][16] the first for the Bay Area, and returning to California after a quarter century. Prior to 2020, it was last played in the Pacific time zone in 1998, at Sahalee east of Seattle. (The Mountain time zone has hosted three editions, all in suburban Denver, in 1941, 1967, and 1985.)
The state of New York has hosted thirteen times, followed by Ohio (11) and Pennsylvania (9).
Promotion
The tournament was previously promoted with the slogan "Glory's Last Shot". In 2013, the tagline had been dropped in favor of "The Season's Final Major", as suggested by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem while discussing the allowance of a one-week break in its schedule before the Ryder Cup. Finchem had argued that the slogan was not appropriate as it weakened the stature of events that occur after it, such as the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua explained that they had also had discussions with CBS, adding that "it was three entities that all quickly came to the same conclusion that, you know what, there's just not much in that tag line and we don’t feel it's doing much for the PGA Championship, so let's not stick with it. Let's think what else is out there."[17][18] For a time, the tournament used the slogan "This is Major" as a replacement.[19][20]
Trophy
The Wanamaker Trophy, named after business man and golfer Rodman Wanamaker, stands nearly 2.5 feet (75 cm) tall and weighs 27 pounds (12 kg). The trophy was lost, briefly, for a few years until it showed up in 1930 in the cellar of L.A. Young and Company. Ironically, this cellar was in the factory which made the clubs for the man responsible for losing it, Walter Hagen. Hagen claimed to have trusted a taxi driver with the precious cargo, but it never returned to his hotel. There is a smaller replica trophy that the champion gets to keep permanently, but the original must be returned for the following years tournament.[21]
Qualification
The PGA Championship was established for the purpose of providing a high-profile tournament specifically for professional golfers at a time when they were generally not held in high esteem in a sport that was largely run by wealthy amateurs. This origin is still reflected in the entry system for the Championship. It is the only major that does not explicitly invite leading amateurs to compete (it is possible for amateurs to get into the field, although the only viable ways are by winning one of the other major championships, or winning a PGA Tour event while playing on a sponsor's exemption), and the only one that reserves so many places, 20 of 156, for club professionals. These slots are determined by the top finishers in the club pro championship, which is held in late April.
Since December 1968, the PGA Tour has been independent of the PGA of America.[22][23][24]
The PGA Tour is an elite organization of tournament professionals, but the PGA Championship is still run by the PGA of America, which is mainly a body for club and teaching professionals. The PGA Championship is the only major that does not explicitly grant entry to the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, although it invariably invites all of the top 100 (not just top 50) players who are not already qualified.[citation needed]
List of qualification criteria to date:
Every former PGA Champion.
Winners of the last five U.S. Opens.
Winners of the last five Masters.
Winners of the last five Open Championships.
Winners of the last three The Players Championships.
The current Senior PGA Champion.
The low 15 scorers and ties in the previous PGA Championship.
The 20 low scorers in the last PGA Professional Championship.
The 70 leaders in official money standings on the PGA Tour (starting one week before the previous year's PGA Championship and ending two weeks before the current year's PGA Championship).
Members of the most recent United States and European Ryder Cup Teams, provided they are in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking as of one week before the start of the tournament.
Any tournament winner co-sponsored or approved by the PGA Tour since the previous PGA Championship .
The PGA of America reserves the right to invite additional players not included in the categories listed above.
The total field is a maximum of 156 players. Vacancies are filled by the first available player from the list of alternates (those below 70th place in official money standings).
Winners
Main article: List of PGA Championship champions
Stroke play era winners
Year Champion Country Venue Location of venue Score Winning
margin Runner(s)-up Winner's[25]
share ($)
2020 Collin Morikawa United States TPC Harding Park San Francisco, California 267 (−13) 2 strokes England Paul Casey
United States Dustin Johnson 1,980,000
2019 Brooks Koepka (2) United States Bethpage Black Course Farmingdale, New York 272 (−8) 2 strokes United States Dustin Johnson 1,980,000
2018 Brooks Koepka United States Bellerive Country Club Town and Country, Missouri 264 (−16) 2 strokes United States Tiger Woods 1,980,000
2017 Justin Thomas United States Quail Hollow Club Charlotte, North Carolina 276 (−8) 2 strokes Italy Francesco Molinari
South Africa Louis Oosthuizen
United States Patrick Reed 1,890,000
2016 Jimmy Walker United States Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course Springfield, New Jersey 266 (−14) 1 stroke Australia Jason Day 1,800,000
2015 Jason Day Australia Whistling Straits, Straits Course Kohler, Wisconsin[N 1] 268 (−20) 3 strokes United States Jordan Spieth 1,800,000
2014 Rory McIlroy (2) Northern Ireland Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky 268 (−16) 1 stroke United States Phil Mickelson 1,800,000
2013 Jason Dufner United States Oak Hill Country Club, East Course Rochester, New York[N 2] 270 (−10) 2 strokes United States Jim Furyk 1,445,000
2012 Rory McIlroy Northern Ireland Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Ocean Course Kiawah Island, South Carolina 275 (−13) 8 strokes England David Lynn 1,445,000
2011 Keegan Bradley United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course Johns Creek, Georgia[N 3] 272 (−8) Playoff United States Jason Dufner 1,445,000
2010 Martin Kaymer Germany Whistling Straits, Straits Course Kohler, Wisconsin[N 1] 277 (−11) Playoff United States Bubba Watson 1,350,000
2009 Yang Yong-eun South Korea Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota 280 (−8) 3 strokes United States Tiger Woods 1,350,000
2008 Pádraig Harrington Ireland Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course Bloomfield, Michigan 277 (−3) 2 strokes United States Ben Curtis
Spain Sergio García 1,350,000
2007 Tiger Woods (4) United States Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma 272 (−8) 2 strokes United States Woody Austin 1,260,000
2006 Tiger Woods (3) United States Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3 Medinah, Illinois 270 (−18) 5 strokes United States Shaun Micheel 1,224,000
2005 Phil Mickelson United States Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course Springfield, New Jersey 276 (−4) 1 stroke Denmark Thomas Bjørn
Australia Steve Elkington 1,170,000
2004 Vijay Singh (2) Fiji Whistling Straits, Straits Course Kohler, Wisconsin[N 1] 280 (−8) Playoff United States Chris DiMarco
United States Justin Leonard 1,125,000
2003 Shaun Micheel United States Oak Hill Country Club, East Course Rochester, New York[N 2] 276 (−4) 2 strokes United States Chad Campbell 1,080,000
2002 Rich Beem United States Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota 278 (−10) 1 stroke United States Tiger Woods 990,000
2001 David Toms United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course Duluth, Georgia[N 3] 265 (−15) 1 stroke United States Phil Mickelson 936,000
2000 Tiger Woods (2) United States Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky[N 4] 270 (−18) Playoff United States Bob May 900,000
1999 Tiger Woods United States Medinah Country Club, Course No. 3 Medinah, Illinois 277 (−11) 1 stroke Spain Sergio García 630,000
1998 Vijay Singh Fiji Sahalee Country Club Sammamish, Washington 271 (−9) 2 strokes United States Steve Stricker 540,000
1997 Davis Love III United States Winged Foot Golf Club, West Course Mamaroneck, New York 269 (−11) 5 strokes United States Justin Leonard 470,000
1996 Mark Brooks United States Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky[N 4] 277 (−11) Playoff United States Kenny Perry 430,000
1995 Steve Elkington Australia Riviera Country Club Pacific Palisades, California[N 5] 267 (−17) Playoff Scotland Colin Montgomerie 360,000
1994 Nick Price (2) Zimbabwe Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma 269 (−11) 6 strokes United States Corey Pavin 310,000
1993 Paul Azinger United States Inverness Club Toledo, Ohio 272 (−12) Playoff Australia Greg Norman 300,000
1992 Nick Price Zimbabwe Bellerive Country Club St. Louis, Missouri[N 6] 278 (−6) 3 strokes United States John Cook
England Nick Faldo
United States Jim Gallagher Jr.
United States Gene Sauers 280,000
1991 John Daly United States Crooked Stick Golf Club Carmel, Indiana 276 (−12) 3 strokes United States Bruce Lietzke 230,000
1990 Wayne Grady Australia Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club Birmingham, Alabama 282 (−6) 3 strokes United States Fred Couples 225,000
1989 Payne Stewart United States Kemper Lakes Golf Club Kildeer, Illinois 276 (−12) 1 stroke United States Andy Bean
United States Mike Reid
United States Curtis Strange 200,000
1988 Jeff Sluman United States Oak Tree Golf Club Edmond, Oklahoma 272 (−12) 3 strokes United States Paul Azinger 160,000
1987 Larry Nelson (2) United States PGA National Resort & Spa Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 287 (−1) Playoff United States Lanny Wadkins 150,000
1986 Bob Tway United States Inverness Club Toledo, Ohio 276 (−8) 2 strokes Australia Greg Norman 145,000
1985 Hubert Green United States Cherry Hills Country Club Cherry Hills Village, Colorado 278 (−6) 2 strokes United States Lee Trevino 125,000
1984 Lee Trevino (2) United States Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club Birmingham, Alabama 273 (−15) 4 strokes South Africa Gary Player
United States Lanny Wadkins 125,000
1983 Hal Sutton United States Riviera Country Club Pacific Palisades, California[N 5] 274 (−10) 1 stroke United States Jack Nicklaus 100,000
1982 Raymond Floyd (2) United States Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma 272 (−8) 3 strokes United States Lanny Wadkins 65,000
1981 Larry Nelson United States Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course Duluth, Georgia[N 3] 273 (−7) 4 strokes United States Fuzzy Zoeller 60,000
1980 Jack Nicklaus (5) United States Oak Hill Country Club, East Course Rochester, New York[N 2] 274 (−6) 7 strokes United States Andy Bean 60,000
1979 David Graham Australia Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course Bloomfield, Michigan 272 (−8) Playoff United States Ben Crenshaw 60,000
1978 John Mahaffey United States Oakmont Country Club Plum, Pennsylvania 276 (−8) Playoff United States Jerry Pate
United States Tom Watson 50,000
1977 Lanny Wadkins United States Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach, California 282 (−6) Playoff United States Gene Littler 45,000
1976 Dave Stockton (2) United States Congressional Country Club, Blue Course Bethesda, Maryland 281 (+1) 1 stroke United States Raymond Floyd
United States Don January 45,000
1975 Jack Nicklaus (4) United States Firestone Country Club, South Course Akron, Ohio 276 (−4) 2 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton 45,000
1974 Lee Trevino United States Tanglewood Park, Championship Course Clemmons, North Carolina 276 (−4) 1 stroke United States Jack Nicklaus 45,000
1973 Jack Nicklaus (3) United States Canterbury Golf Club Beachwood, Ohio 277 (−7) 4 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton 45,000
1972 Gary Player (2) South Africa Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 281 (+1) 2 strokes United States Tommy Aaron
United States Jim Jamieson 45,000
1971 Jack Nicklaus (2) United States PGA National Golf Club Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 281 (−7) 2 strokes United States Billy Casper 40,000
1970 Dave Stockton United States Southern Hills Country Club Tulsa, Oklahoma 279 (−1) 2 strokes United States Bob Murphy
United States Arnold Palmer 40,000
1969 Raymond Floyd United States NCR Country Club, South Course Dayton, Ohio 276 (−8) 1 stroke South Africa Gary Player 35,000
1968 Julius Boros United States Pecan Valley Golf Club San Antonio, Texas 281 (+1) 1 stroke New Zealand Bob Charles
United States Arnold Palmer 25,000
1967 Don January United States Columbine Country Club Columbine Valley, Colorado 281 (−7) Playoff United States Don Massengale 25,000
1966 Al Geiberger United States Firestone Country Club, South Course Akron, Ohio 280 (E) 4 strokes United States Dudley Wysong 25,000
1965 Dave Marr United States Laurel Valley Golf Club Ligonier, Pennsylvania 280 (−4) 2 strokes United States Billy Casper
United States Jack Nicklaus 25,000
1964 Bobby Nichols United States Columbus Country Club Columbus, Ohio 271 (−9) 3 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus
United States Arnold Palmer 18,000
1963 Jack Nicklaus United States Dallas Athletic Club, Blue Course Dallas, Texas 279 (−5) 2 strokes United States Dave Ragan 13,000
1962 Gary Player South Africa Aronimink Golf Club Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 278 (−2) 1 stroke United States Bob Goalby 13,000
1961 Jerry Barber United States Olympia Fields Country Club Olympia Fields, Illinois 277 (−3) Playoff United States Don January 11,000
1960 Jay Hebert United States Firestone Country Club, South Course Akron, Ohio 281 (+1) 1 stroke Australia Jim Ferrier 11,000
1959 Bob Rosburg United States Minneapolis Golf Club St. Louis Park, Minnesota 277 (−3) 1 stroke United States Jerry Barber
United States Doug Sanders 8,250
1958 Dow Finsterwald United States Llanerch Country Club Havertown, Pennsylvania 276 (−4) 2 strokes United States Billy Casper 5,500
Match play era winners
Year Champion Country Runner-up Margin Venue Location of venue Winners
share ($)
1957 Lionel Hebert United States United States Dow Finsterwald 2 & 1 Miami Valley Golf Club Dayton, Ohio 8,000
1956 Jack Burke, Jr. United States United States Ted Kroll 3 & 2 Blue Hill Country Club Canton, Massachusetts 5,000
1955 Doug Ford United States United States Cary Middlecoff 4 & 3 Meadowbrook Country Club Detroit, Michigan 5,000
1954 Chick Harbert United States United States Walter Burkemo 4 & 3 Keller Golf Course Maplewood, Minnesota 5,000
1953 Walter Burkemo United States United States Felice Torza 2 & 1 Birmingham Country Club Birmingham, Michigan 5,000
1952 Jim Turnesa United States United States Chick Harbert 1 up Big Spring Country Club Louisville, Kentucky 3,500
1951 Sam Snead (3) United States United States Walter Burkemo 7 & 6 Oakmont Country Club Plum, Pennsylvania 3,500
1950 Chandler Harper United States United States Henry Williams, Jr. 4 & 3 Scioto Country Club Columbus, Ohio 3,500
1949 Sam Snead (2) United States United States Johnny Palmer 3 & 2 Hermitage Country Club Richmond, Virginia 3,500
1948 Ben Hogan (2) United States United States Mike Turnesa 7 & 6 Norwood Hills Country Club St. Louis, Missouri 3,500
1947 Jim Ferrier Australia United States Chick Harbert 2 & 1 Plum Hollow Country Club Detroit, Michigan 3,500
1946 Ben Hogan United States United States Ed Oliver 6 & 4 Portland Golf Club Portland, Oregon 3,500
1945 Byron Nelson (2) United States United States Sam Byrd 4 & 3 Moraine Country Club Dayton, Ohio 3,750
1944 Bob Hamilton United States United States Byron Nelson 1 up Manito Golf and Country Club Spokane, Washington 3,500
1943 Not held due to World War II
1942 Sam Snead United States United States Jim Turnesa 2 & 1 Seaview Country Club Atlantic City, New Jersey 1,000
1941 Vic Ghezzi United States United States Byron Nelson 38 holes Cherry Hills Country Club Cherry Hills Village, Colorado 1,100
1940 Byron Nelson United States United States Sam Snead 1 up Hershey Country Club, West Course Hershey, Pennsylvania 1,100
1939 Henry Picard United States United States Byron Nelson 37 holes Pomonok Country Club Flushing, New York 1,100
1938 Paul Runyan (2) United States United States Sam Snead 8 & 7 The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania 1,100
1937 Denny Shute (2) United States United States Harold McSpaden 37 holes Pittsburgh Field Club O'Hara Township, Pennsylvania 1,000
1936 Denny Shute United States United States Jimmy Thomson 3 & 2 Pinehurst Resort, No. 2 Course Pinehurst, North Carolina 1,000
1935 Johnny Revolta United States Scotland Tommy Armour 5 & 4 Twin Hills Golf & Country Club Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1,000
1934 Paul Runyan United States United States Craig Wood 38 holes The Park Country Club Williamsville, New York 1,000
1933 Gene Sarazen (3) United States United States Willie Goggin 5 & 4 Blue Mound Golf & Country Club Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 1,000
1932 Olin Dutra United States United States Frank Walsh 4 & 3 Keller Golf Course Maplewood, Minnesota 1,000
1931 Tom Creavy United States United States Denny Shute 2 & 1 Wannamoisett Country Club Rumford, Rhode Island 1,000
1930 Tommy Armour Scotland^ United States Gene Sarazen 1 up Fresh Meadow Country Club Queens, New York
1929 Leo Diegel (2) United States United States Johnny Farrell 6 & 4 Hillcrest Country Club Los Angeles, California
1928 Leo Diegel United States United States Al Espinosa 6 & 5 Baltimore Country Club, East Course Timonium, Maryland
1927 Walter Hagen (5) United States United States Joe Turnesa 1 up Cedar Crest Country Club Dallas, Texas
1926 Walter Hagen (4) United States United States Leo Diegel 5 & 3 Salisbury Golf Club, Red Course East Meadow, New York
1925 Walter Hagen (3) United States United States Bill Mehlhorn 6 & 5 Olympia Fields Country Club Olympia Fields, Illinois
1924 Walter Hagen (2) United States England Jim Barnes 2 up French Lick Springs Resort, Hill Course French Lick, Indiana
1923 Gene Sarazen (2) United States United States Walter Hagen 38 holes Pelham Country Club Pelham Manor, New York
1922 Gene Sarazen United States United States Emmet French 4 & 3 Oakmont Country Club Plum, Pennsylvania 500
1921 Walter Hagen United States England Jim Barnes 3 & 2 Inwood Country Club Inwood, New York 500
1920 Jock Hutchison Scotland^ England J. Douglas Edgar 1 up Flossmoor Country Club Flossmoor, Illinois 500
1919 Jim Barnes (2) England Scotland Fred McLeod 6 & 5 Engineers Country Club Roslyn Harbor, New York 500
1918 Not held due to World War I
1917
1916 Jim Barnes England Scotland Jock Hutchison 1 up Siwanoy Country Club Bronxville, New York 500
^ These players were British born, but they were based in the United States when they won the PGA Championship, and they became U.S. citizens:
Tommy Armour – Born in Scotland but moved to the U.S. in the early 1920s and became a U.S. citizen in 1942.
Jock Hutchison – Born in Scotland. He became a U.S. citizen in 1920.
Match play era details
The table below lists the field sizes and qualification methods for the match play era. All rounds were played over 36 holes except as noted in the table.[26]
Years Field size Qualification 18 hole rounds
1916–21 32 sectional*
1922 64 sectional 1st two rounds
1923 64 sectional
1924–34 32 36 hole qualifier
1935–41 64 36 hole qualifier 1st two rounds
1942–45 32 36 hole qualifier
1946–55 64 36 hole qualifier 1st two rounds
1956 128 sectional 1st four rounds
1957 128 sectional 1st four rounds, consolation matches (3rd-8th place)
* In 1921, the field consisted of the defending champion and the top 31 qualifiers from the 1921 U.S. Open.
Summary by course, state and region
Summary by course, state and region
Course/State/Region Number State No. Region No.
Blue Hill Country Club 1
Total Massachusetts 1
Wannamoisett Country Club 1
Total Rhode Island 1
Total New England 2
Baltusrol Golf Club 2
Seaview Country Club 1
Total New Jersey 3
Bethpage Black Course 1
Engineers Country Club 1
Fresh Meadow Country Club 1
Inwood Country Club 1
Oak Hill Country Club 3
Pelham Country Club 1
Pomonok Country Club 1
Salisbury Golf Club 1
Siwanoy Country Club 1
The Park Country Club 1
Winged Foot Golf Club 1
Total New York 13
Aronimink Golf Club 1
Hershey Country Club 1
Laurel Valley Golf Club 1
Llanerch Country Club 1
Oakmont Country Club 3
Pittsburgh Field Club 1
The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort 1
Total Pennsylvania 9
Total Mid-Atlantic 24
PGA National Golf Club 1
PGA National Resort & Spa 1
Total Florida 2
Atlanta Athletic Club 3
Total Georgia 3
Baltimore Country Club 1
Congressional Country Club 1
Total Maryland 2
Pinehurst Resort 1
Quail Hollow 1
Tanglewood Park 1
Total North Carolina 3
Kiawah Island Golf Resort 1
Total South Carolina 1
Hermitage Country Club 1
Total Virginia 1
Total South Atlantic 12
Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club 2
Total Alabama 2
Big Spring Country Club 1
Valhalla Golf Club 3
Total Kentucky 4
Total East South Central 6
Oak Tree Golf Club 1
Southern Hills Country Club 4
Twin Hills Golf & Country Club 1
Total Oklahoma 6
Cedar Crest Country Club 1
Dallas Athletic Club 1
Pecan Valley Golf Club 1
Total Texas 3
Total West South Central 9
Flossmoor Country Club 1
Kemper Lakes Golf Club 1
Medinah Country Club 2
Olympia Fields Country Club 2
Total Illinois 6
Crooked Stick Golf Club 1
French Lick Springs Resort 1
Total Indiana 2
Birmingham Country Club 1
Meadowbrook Country Club 1
Oakland Hills Country Club 3
Plum Hollow Country Club 1
Total Michigan 6
Canterbury Golf Club 1
Columbus Country Club 1
Firestone Country Club 3
Inverness Club 2
Miami Valley Golf Club 1
Moraine Country Club 1
NCR Country Club 1
Scioto Country Club 1
Total Ohio 11
Blue Mound Golf & Country Club 1
Whistling Straits 3
Total Wisconsin 4
Total East North Central 29
Hazeltine National Golf Club 2
Keller Golf Course 2
Minneapolis Golf Club 1
Total Minnesota 5
Bellerive Country Club 2
Norwood Hills Country Club 1
Total Missouri 3
Total West North Central 8
Cherry Hills Country Club 2
Columbine Country Club 1
Total Colorado 3
Total Mountain 3
Hillcrest Country Club 1
Pebble Beach Golf Links 1
Riviera Country Club 2
TPC Harding Park 1
Total California 5
Portland Golf Club 1
Total Oregon 1
Manito Golf and Country Club 1
Sahalee Country Club 1
Total Washington 2
Total Pacific 8
Records
Most wins: 5, Jack Nicklaus, Walter Hagen
Most runner-up finishes: 4, Jack Nicklaus
Oldest winner: Julius Boros in 1968 (48 years, 142 days)
Youngest winner: Gene Sarazen in 1922 (20 years, 174 days)
Greatest winning margin in the match play era: Paul Runyan beat Sam Snead 8 & 7 in 1938
Greatest winning margin in the stroke play era: 8 strokes, Rory McIlroy in 2012
Lowest absolute 72-hole score: 264, Brooks Koepka (69-63-66-66), 2018
Lowest 72-hole score in relation to par: −20, Jason Day (68-67-66-67=268) in 2015
This is the lowest score in relation to par at any major championship.
Koepka's 2018 score was −16. The 2018 site, Bellerive Country Club, played to par 70, while the 2015 site, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits, played to par 72. (Bellerive played to par 71 when it hosted in 1992, and the Straits Course also played to par 72 when it hosted in 2004 and 2010.)
Lowest 18-hole score: 63 – Bruce Crampton, 2nd round, 1975; Raymond Floyd, 1st, 1982; Gary Player, 2nd, 1984; Vijay Singh, 2nd, 1993; Michael Bradley, 1st, 1995; Brad Faxon, 4th, 1995; José María Olazábal, 3rd, 2000; Mark O'Meara, 2nd, 2001; Thomas Bjørn, 3rd, 2005; Tiger Woods, 2nd, 2007; Steve Stricker, 1st, 2011; Jason Dufner, 2nd, 2013; Hiroshi Iwata, 2nd, 2015; Robert Streb, 2nd, 2016; Brooks Koepka, 2nd, 2018; Charl Schwartzel, 2nd, 2018; Brooks Koepka, 1st, 2019.
Most frequent venues:
4 PGA Championships: Southern Hills Country Club – 1970, 1982, 1994, 2007, (2022, 2030 planned).
3 PGA Championships: Atlanta Athletic Club, Highlands Course – 1981, 2001, 2011.
3 PGA Championships: Firestone Country Club, South Course – 1960, 1966, 1975.
3 PGA Championships: Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course – 1972, 1979, 2008.
3 PGA Championships: Oakmont Country Club – 1922, 1951, 1978.
3 PGA Championships: Oak Hill Country Club, East Course – 1980, 2003, 2013, (2023 planned).
3 PGA Championships: Valhalla Golf Club – 1996, 2000, 2014, (2024 planned).
3 PGA Championships: Whistling Straits, Straits Course – 2004, 2010, 2015.
Broadcasting
Further information: List of PGA Championship broadcasters
The PGA Championship is televised in the United States by CBS and ESPN. Beginning 2020, ESPN holds rights to early-round and weekend morning coverage, and will air supplemental coverage through its digital subscription service ESPN+ prior to weekday coverage and during weekend broadcast windows. CBS holds rights to weekend-afternoon coverage. Both contracts run through 2030, with ESPN's contract replacing a prior agreement with TNT. CBS has televised the PGA Championship since 1991, when it replaced ABC.[27][28][29] The ESPN telecasts are co-produced with CBS Sports, mirroring the broadcast arrangements used by ESPN for the Masters Tournament.[30]
Future sites
Year Edition Course Location Dates Hosted
2021 103rd Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Ocean Course Kiawah Island, South Carolina May 20–23 2012
2022 104th Southern Hills Country Club[31][a] Tulsa, Oklahoma May 19–22 1970, 1982, 1994, 2007
2023 105th Oak Hill Country Club Rochester, New York May 18–21 1980, 2003, 2013
2024 106th Valhalla Golf Club Louisville, Kentucky May 16–19 1996, 2000, 2014
2025 107th Quail Hollow Club[33] Charlotte, North Carolina May 15–18 2017
2026 108th Aronimink Golf Club[34][35] Newtown Square, Pennsylvania May 14–17 1962
2027 109th PGA Frisco[35] Frisco, Texas May 20–23 Never
2028 110th Olympic Club[36] San Francisco, California May 18–21 Never
2029 111th Baltusrol Golf Club Springfield, New Jersey May 17–20 2005, 2016
2030 112th Southern Hills Country Club[37] Tulsa, Oklahoma TBD 1970, 1982, 1994, 2007, 2022
2031 113th Congressional Country Club[38] Bethesda, Maryland TBD 1976
2034 116th PGA Frisco Frisco, Texas TBD 2027
Trump National Golf Club Bedminster was originally chosen to host the 104th PGA Championship, but the PGA of America terminated the deal in the wake of Donald Trump's supporters storming the Capitol following his presidential election defeat.[32]
Source:[16][39]
See also
Golf in the United States
Notes
The course has a Kohler postal address, but is located in the unincorporated community of Haven.
The club has a Rochester postal address, but is located in the adjacent town of Pittsford.
The club is in a portion of the postal area of Duluth that became part of the newly incorporated city of Johns Creek in 2006. Although the club continues to be served by the Duluth post office, it now states its postal address as Johns Creek.
At that time, the club had a Louisville postal address, but was located in unincorporated Jefferson County. In 2003, the governments of Louisville and Jefferson County merged, putting the club within the political boundaries of Louisville.
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in Los Angeles with its own postal identity.
The club has a St. Louis postal address, but is located in the suburb of Town and Country.
U. S . Army photograph
The 1955 All-Army golf team, chosen on medal scores in the All-Army championship at Fort Meade.
L to R: SF C Murray Jacobs, Pfc Dan Sikes, Sp. W . J. Williamson, Pfc R. E. Goerlich and Lieut.
W . G . Moody .
Golf and the Soldier
By LIEUT. GEN. FLOYD L. PARKS
W
HENEVE R George Cobb, golf course
architect, comes to Fort Meade, Md.,
for a day or two of work on the new 18
now under construction, I try to make it
a point to go around with him. After
Fort Meade received approval of the construction of a second 18 holes, I was most
insistent that an experienced golf course
architect be employed. During my 37
years in the Army, I have seen too many
golf courses, laid out by some eager Sunday golfer, with uninteresting holes,
postage stamp, plateau greens, and gravetype box tees. Such an arrangement
makes maintenance difficult and play boring.
I ran into George Cobb's work first at
Fort Jackson, S. C. where the Army has
probably its finest 18-hole golf course.
Cobb designed it shortly after World War
II, and today, with a division at Jackson,
thousands of soldiers are enjoying golf
on one of the top courses in the Southeast.
The value of a good architect is further
revealed on Army courses at Fort Benning, Ga., and West Point, N. Y. Unfortunately, many of the other Army golf
courses are unimaginative areas of closely
cropped grass, chiefly due to false
economy in not employing a good architect. At Benning, with numerous soldiers
passing through attending the Infantry
School, and with a combat division there
on permanent duty, the old 18 holes could
not handle the number of players. Benning called in Robert Trent Jones, who
designed nine new holes to give Benning
one of the finest nines anywhere.
At West Point, the Army Athletic
Association also employed Jones to design
the Military Academy course. Only ten
holes have been completed in very rugged
terrain. However, considering that the
course is actually built right on the side
of a mountain, it is a beautiful layout
and a real test of golf. The architect did
his job so that there are very few holes
where the player must chug straight uphill. Without an architect, West Point
would not have had a real championship
course for their golf teams and individual cadets to use. The cadet teams
have shown steady improvement on this
course and beat Princeton this year for
the first time.
George Cobb feels that his 18 a t Fort
Meade will be an equal to Fort Jackson
or possibly Pinehurst No. 2. The terrain is similar; rolling, pine-covered sandy
land.
Cost Taxpayers Nothing
Financially, not one cent of taxpayer
money is going towards any phase of
this new golf course. The profits of the
Post Exchanges and Post Theatres and
similar facilities made available to the
soldiers go into a Welfare Fund, which
36 Golfdom
must be expended for the welfar e of the
soldiers of the Army.
Such funds not only help with golf
courses, but among other things they
build swimming pools, tennis courts,
bowling alleys and provide good shows
and dance bands for soldier entertainment
and recreation.
The new course a t Meade, when opened
for play sometime in the summe r of 1956,
will ease a very tight golfing situation.
At present, during the week, we average
about 150 golfers a day from the soldiers
in the Fort Meade area. Of course, the
grea t majority of this number arrives at
the course between 5 and 6 p.m. for a
quick nine holes before dark.
Big Play of Beginners
Naturally, with such numbers, many of
them can't even finish their nine holes,
and even those who finish must stand and
wait on each shot. On Saturdays and Sundays, 350 to 450 golfers usually show up
for a game—more golfers than many
large clubs carry on their membership
rolls. Even with a system of starting
times spaced a t six-minute intervals and
beginning a t 7:00 a.m. and ending a t 4:30
p.m., the course is jammed with players
taking a minimum of four hours to play
18 holes.
The fact tha t many beginners ar e coming out for golf also slows up play. Rely. S. Army photograph
The juniors get good golf at Fort Meade. Gar y
Brewer is putting on the tenth hole during the
1955 Fort Meade Junior Invitational. Brewer lost
in the play-off in the "13 and under" division to
John Boyce of Fort Belvoir, Va.
gardless of the resultant slowness of play,
we strive to get more beginners playing
every day.
I personally encourage other golfers to
be considerate of beginners and help them
in learning the rules and etiquette of the
game. To give these beginners greate r enjoyment of the game, we have a club pro
and two excellent enlisted instructors, who
devote a majo r portion of every day to
instruction of the new soldier golfer—
male and female.
In addition to soldier beginners, we have
an active junior program aimed at getting
the youngsters of our post personnel inLieut. Gen. Floyd L. Parks, 2nd Army commander, recently won his third AllArmy seniors' title.
General Parks during his long military experience has been conspicuously
successful in combat, planning, training and executive capacities. Formal recognition of his professional achievements is strongly endorsed by the high regard
in which General Parks is held by men who have served under his command.
The General's remarks about the place of golf in the recreation, physical
training and morale program of the armed services are of deep interest to all
in the golf business, particularly.
The armed services are getting more and better golf courses for the reasons
that General Parks sets forth and which are known to other commanding officers at military installations.
Recently, at the Air Force world-wide conference of Special Services, Lyle
P. (Bud) Werring, pro at Elgin Field (Fla.) Air Force Base, headquarters of
the Air Proving Ground Command, detailed the ffolf operations at that ba«e.
Jack Isaacs, pro at Lanfjley (Va.) Air Force Base, where the Air Force World
Wide tournament (won by 2nd Lieut. Kay Terry) and Interservice matches (won
by Air Force Team) were held in August, has told in GOLFDOM of the important service a pro must give in properly supplying military personnel and
their families with golf equipment and programs.
Course superintendents have told in GOLFDOM of their successful handling of
military course maintenance problems.
Now for the first time in a golf magazine the basic reasons for good courses,
well operated, at military installations is told by a high ranking military
authority.
September, 1955 37
terested in golf. Our pro gives free group
lessons every Friday during the summer
for the juniors and we have an annual
Fort Meade Junior Invitational Tournamen t which brings junior golfers from
the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis
area s to Fort Meade for a day of golf.
All of this adds up to very heavy play
on the present course.
Pleasant Use of Fre e Time
With mor e personnel moving into the
Fort Meade area all the time, the number
of golfers will probably increase at least
50 percent, which simply means tha t many
golfers ar e not going to play golf because
of the long waiting during play and the
necessity of getting startin g times in advance. Such a situation will certainly force
the soldier with time on his hands out into the neighboring communities and cities.
Many of us know wha t can result from
this circumstance.
The new course a t Meade, and those
being built a t other military installations,
will help to answer the question every
soldier faces of wha t to do with his fre e
time.
Army golf is aimed at providing
healthy, enjoyable recreation for the
soldiers and their dependents. Golf uses
up much of the free time a soldier might
otherwise use in less desirable activities.
The game helps to maintain the soldier
in good physical condition, especially his
feet. In a motorized army the foot soldier
marche s very little a s compared to thirty
years ago. A distinguished general once
told me tha t golf courses he had built
helped thousands of men climb the hills
of Korea !
The availability of an on-post golf
course gives soldiers an expense fre e opportunity to learn a sport which cannot
fail to emphasize and develop the personal
qualities of characte r and integrity. And,
for many young Americans in the Armed
Services, they learn a sport which is
widely enjoyed outside the Army and
which will give them years of pleasurable
companionship even afte r they leave the
service.
Army Golf Clubs Well Run
Most Army golf clubs are active and
provide a number of tournaments with
handicaps or different flights so tha t every
golfer, par or 120 shooter, has a crack a t
a prize.
In addition, the Welfare Fund buys
clubs and bags so that the soldier who
wants to learn the game can get equipment for no charge. This system means
tha t on almost every Army course you
will see privates and generals trying to
ge t the ball into the cup.
Most clubs organize golf teams and
challenge other golf teams, military and
civilian. My regula r partner on the Fort
Meade team is Sergeant Max Deckard.
There is no ran k on the golf course—it's
the old business of distance and direction. As my old golfing friend, Col. Russell ("Red") Reeder, used to say: "A
golf ball doesn't care who hits it, whethe r
a general or a private, but where it goes
depends on how it is hit. Rank cannot
control a slice!"
Army Championships Train Stars
Every year the Army has an All-Army
Golf Championship. Tournaments ar e held
a t the smallest posts and units and their
teams are sent to the next higher tourna-
(Continued on page 60)
Looking from green to tee on the 440 yd. 17th of Fort Meade's first I s'l^lei."""
Ph °
f
°
9rap h
Golfdom
6. Assignment to women members
playing in inter-club or city
championship — for each 18
holes caddied 1
7. Assignment to PG A tournament—for each 18 holes caddied
for his player 1
PENALTIE S MA Y B E CHARGE D T O
1. Any first-class caddy receiving
a poor grade _ 1
A n y first-class caddy receiving
a fai r grade %
2. Any first-class caddy assigned
second-class rate as a disciplinary measure V2
3. Any second-class caddy, after
first six assignments, receiving
a poor grade XA
NOTE : All penalty charges are reviewed each week by a member of the
Grounds Committee.
SWEETHEART IS PRO SHOP
PATRON
Carolyn Stroupe, West Palm Beach, Fla.,
becomes a buyer in Harry Obita' pro shop
at Fred Waring's Shawnee Inn CC , Shawneeon-Delaware, Pa. Harry claims that into his
pro shop come the world's most beautiful
women golf customers.
Harry's interest in the pulchritudinous
patrons is strictly platonic. He carries on a
deep love affair with the shop cash register.
Miss Stroupe in the nation's "Sweetheart
of Sigma Chi," the fraternity that has in
addition to its formal roster, a million
barbershop choral auxiliaries.
Golf and the Soldier
(Continued from page 40)
ments. Eventually, all of the major commands send teams to the All-Army Tournament. This year the All-Army was held
at For t George G. Meade, Md., with the
Second Army Team winning the championship by one stroke. Individually, Pvt.
Dan Sikes of For t Meade, won the championship, in a play-off.
Afte r the All-Army tournament the AllArmy team is selected to play against the
other services at the Interservice Tournament. This tournament gives the soldier
a chance to play against other very good
service golfers and to play different
courses. Since Arm y pay is hardly sufficient to allow most of the soldiers to
play in the many tournaments held about
the country, the All-Army and InterService give him a chance to prove himself without the expense of entrance fees
and other incidental tournament costs.
More and Better Courses
The future of golf in the Arm y is
probably the same as in the country at
large. It is going to increase. New courses
are being built to meet the present need
and help with the future demand.
In my command, I am encouraging
other posts to employ golf course architects for their new construction. A man
who has never played before or doesn't
play well, is liable to want to play a lot
more golf on an interesting, well laid-out
course than on some sun burned, dry,
and unimaginative 18. And, above all, the
soldier who is healthfully playing a round
of golf will be one less soldier who might
be on a street corner, in a bar, or trying
to drive an automobile a thousand miles
on a week-end pass, a practice which has
resulted in an alarming loss of life and
limb to service men in traffic accidents.
Morale-wise, a long putt "clunking" into
the cup goes a good long way towards
keeping anybody happy and contented!
USGA GIVES RIGHT ANSWER
Q. Am I correct in thinking that
"Green Committee", and "Green
fee" are correct, and that to add an
" s " is an error ?
A. "Green Committee" and "green
fee " are correct.
Question by: Norman Beecher
Clearwater (Fla.) CC
Answer by: Joseph C. Dey, Jr.
USGA Executive Director
60 Golfdom
1960s GOLF STARS HISTORY MAKER GOLF
(Date after the golfer’s name denotes the year they turned professional)
GEORGE ARCHER (USA) 1964
Seven of Archer’s 13 PGA Tour victories came in the 60s, including the 1969 Masters, and at 6 ft. 5½ in. he is
the tallest ever golfer to win a major. Archer was barely able to read or write, and since his death in 2005, the
Foundation set up in his name has raised more than $1m to help those afflicted with learning disabilities.
JERRY BARBER (USA) 1942
Standing at just 5 ft. 5½ in. and often referred to in the media as "little Jerry Barber," he was one of the top
putters of his era and recorded seven PGA Tour victories, including the PGA Championship in 1961.
MILLER BARBER (USA) 1958
Remembered for his unusual swing with a flying right elbow, Barber holds the record for combined PGA Tour
and Champions Tour starts at 1,297. He won 11 times on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 70s, and his 24
victories on the Champions Tour place him sixth on the all-time list.
JOHN BARNUM (USA) 1950
Tall and thick set, ‘Big John’ Barnum played part-time on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 60s, and is one of only
seven golfers ever to win a PGA Tour event after turning 50, and the only player to win his first PGA Tour event
past the age of 50 (the Cajun Classic, in 1962).
FRANK BEARD (USA) 1962
The businesslike and bespectacled Beard had 11 wins on the PGA Tour, eight of which came in the 60s, and he
topped the official money listings in 1969. He is probably best known as the author of Pro, the revealing story of
his year on the tour in 1969.
DEANE BEMAN (USA) 1967
Beman was a short hitter by top-class standards but possessed an outstanding short game. He won four times
on the PGA Tour between 1969 and 1973, and after injuries curtailed his playing career, he served as the
second commissioner of the PGA Tour from 1974 until 1994.
TOMMY BOLT(USA) 1946
Bolt did not turn professional until he was 30 but still managed 15 victories on the PGA Tour, including the
1958 U.S. Open. Nicknamed "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy" due to his fiery disposition and penchant for
throwing – and even breaking! – clubs during rounds.
JULIUS BOROS (USA) 1949
Noted for his effortless-looking swing and quick pace of play, Boros won 18 times on the PGA Tour in the 1950s
and 60s, including the U.S. Open in 1952 and 1963, and – at the age of 48 – the PGA Championship in 1968.
GAY BREWER (USA) 1956
Known for his jovial personality and his unusual ‘loopy’ golf swing, Brewer won nine times on the PGA Tour in
the 1960s, culminating with the 1967 Masters, which was the first golf tournament to be broadcast live on
television from the United States to Europe.
JACK BURKE, JR. (USA) 1941
Most prominent in the 1950s, Burke won 16 PGA Tour events, including both the Masters and PGA
Championship in 1956. At the Masters, he rallied from a remarkable eight strokes behind to overtake the thenamateur Ken Venturi in the final round.
JOE CAMPBELL (USA) 1958
A highly successful amateur golfer, Campbell turned professional in 1958, joined the PGA Tour in 1959 and
competed for 14 years. He received Golf Digest's Rookie-of-the-Year award in 1959. His 43 top ten finishes
included three wins, seven runner-up and six third-place finishes.
BILLY CASPER (USA) 1954
Respected for his extraordinary putting and short-game skills, Casper was one of the most prolific tournament
winners in PGA Tour history, He won 51 times between 1956 and 1975, placing him seventh on the all-time list,
and his victories included three majors: the U.S. Open in 1959 and 1966 and the Masters in 1970.
BOB CHARLES (New Zealand) 1960
One of the most successful left-handed golfers of all time, Charles was the first lefty to win a major (1963 Open
Championship), and he won more than 70 titles over the course of his career, including six victories on the PGA
Tour between 1963 and 1974.
CLIVE CLARK (England) 1965
Clark finished tenth on the European Tour Order of Merit in the tour's first official season in 1972 and was a
member of the 1973 Great Britain & Ireland Ryder Cup team. He left the European Tour in the late 1970s and
became well known as a commentator for the BBC and CBS.
NEIL COLES (England) 1950
Remarkable for his consistency and durability, Coles claimed 50 professional wins and was five times a top-ten
finisher in the Open Championship. Even at the peak of his career though, he made few appearances in the
United States because of his fear of flying.
BILL COLLINS (USA) 1951
Collins won four events on the PGA Tour between 1959 and 1962 and was a member of the victorious
American Ryder Cup team in 1961, but back surgery in 1963 limited both his appearances and effectiveness
thereafter.
CHARLES COODY (USA) 1963
Coody won only three times on the PGA Tour, but one of those victories came at the 1971 Masters. He had
seven other top ten finishes at major championships, but there were to be no further wins on Tour after his
triumph at Augusta.
CHUCK COURTNEY (USA) 1963
Courtney played on the PGA Tour for more than a decade in the 1960s and 70s, recording two wins and more
than two dozen top ten finishes.
BRUCE CRAMPTON (Australia) 1953
Bruce Crampton had 14 career wins on the PGA Tour between 1961 and 1975 and was runner up in four major
championships – one Masters, one U.S. Open, and two PGA Championships – all to Jack Nicklaus.
JACKY CUPIT(USA) 1960
Cupit had four victories on the PGA Tour between 1961 and 1966 and won the PGA's Rookie of the Year award
in 1961. His best finish in a major was runner-up at the U.S. Open in 1963, when he and Arnold Palmer lost to
Julius Boros in a three-way playoff.
ROBERTO DE VICENZO (Argentina) 1938
Won a record 230 professional tournaments worldwide in his career, including eight on the PGA Tour and, most
famously, the 1967 Open Championship. However, he is perhaps best remembered for signing an incorrect
scorecard that kept him out of a playoff for the 1968 Masters Tournament.
BRUCE DEVLIN (Australia) 1961
During his PGA Tour career, Devlin had eight victories, all of which occurred between 1964 and 1972, and he
also recorded 16 top ten finishes in major championships between 1964 and 1982.
GARDNER DICKINSON (USA) 1952
Nicknamed the “Slim Man” because of his 5-foot-10-inch, 130-pound frame, Dickinson won seven times on the
PGA Tour and was one of the founders of the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour). He played on the 1967
and 1971 Ryder Cup teams and holds the record for best winning percentage (minimum of seven matches).
DALE DOUGLASS (USA) 1960
Douglass won just three times in almost 25 years on the PGA Tour, but his fortunes improved dramatically after
the age of 50, with 11 wins in just over 10 years on the Senior PGA Tour.
DON FAIRFIELD (USA) 1948
Fairfield enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War, and after returning from service he played full-time on
the PGA Tour between 1956 and 1963, winning three times.
DOW FINSTERWALD (USA) 1951
Best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship, Finsterwald won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963,
played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
JACK FLECK (USA) 1939
Fleck served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and took part in the D-Day landings. He won three times on the
PGA Tour in the 1950s and early 60s, the first of which came at the 1955 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San
Francisco, where he beat his idol, Ben Hogan, by three strokes in an 18-hole Sunday playoff.
MARTY FLECKMAN (USA) 1967
While still an amateur, Fleckman played in the U.S. Open at Baltusrol in 1967 and led after the first and third
rounds, but he shot 80 on Sunday and finished tied for 18th place. Later in the same year Fleckman won the
Cajun Classic in his first start on the PGA Tour, his first – and only – victory as a professional.
RAYMOND FLOYD (USA) 1961
Ray Floyd notched 22 victories in a long career on the PGA Tour, with five of those victories coming in the
1960s, culminating with the 1969 PGA Championship, the first of his four majors. Floyd’s short game was
considered exemplary, and he is often acknowledged as one of the greatest chippers the game has ever seen.
DOUG FORD (USA) 1949
Despite not turning pro until he was 27 years of age, Ford ended his career with 19 wins on the PGA Tour,
including two major championships, the 1955 PGA Championship and the 1957 Masters. In his youth, he
showed enough promise as a baseball player that he received a contract offer from the New York Yankees.
AL GEIBERGER (USA) 1959
Al Geiberger won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including the 1966 PGA Championship, but he is perhaps
best known for becoming the first player to post a score of 59 on Tour, at the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
in 1977.
BOB GOALBY (USA) 1952
Goalby won 11 times on the PGA Tour between 1958 and 1971, and famously won the 1968 Masters when
Roberto De Vicenzo, with whom he was tied after 72 holes, signed for an incorrect scorecard to give Goalby a
one-stroke victory. Goalby’s nephew is 9-time PGA Tour winner, Jay Haas.
BERT GREENE (USA) 1966
Tall and lean, Greene played on the PGA Tour from 1967 to 1975. His one Tour victory, the 1973 Liggett Myers
Open, came less than a year after he had accidently shot himself in the foot when a pistol in his golf bag
discharged whilst he was loading the bag into his car.
PAUL HARNEY (USA) 1954
After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, Harney played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1955 to
1962, and part-time from 1963 to 1973. He won six Tour events and also recorded six top ten finishes at major
championships.
JAY HEBERT (USA) 1949
Won seven times on the PGA Tour between 1957 and 1961, including the 1960 PGA Championship, a
tournament that had been won by his younger brother, Lionel, in 1957. Hebert was wounded in the left thigh at
the Battle of Iwo Jima and awarded a Purple Heart.
LIONEL HEBERT(USA) 1950
Lionel Hebert won five times on the PGA Tour between 1957 and 1966, including the PGA Championship in
1957, the last edition held at match play.
HAROLD HENNING (South Africa) 1953
Nicknamed ‘The Horse’, Henning was born into a golfing family, with his three brothers also playing
professionally. A much-travelled golfer, Henning won 41 events internationally during his career, including two
victories on the PGA Tour in 1966 and 1970.
DAVE HILL (USA) 1958
Dave Hill, whose younger brother, Mike, also played on the PGA Tour, won 13 times between 1961 and 1976,
but he was perhaps better known for his quick wit and biting sarcasm. He frequently led the tour in fines and
was once suspended for two months after he deliberately broke his putter on national television.
BRIAN HUGGETT (Wales) 1951
Huggett won sixteen events on the European circuit, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in
1972. He also played in the Ryder Cup six times, and in 1970 was ranked as high as tenth in the world.
BERNARD HUNT (England) 1946
Hunt was a leading player on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s. He topped the Order of Merit three
times, and between 1953 and 1969 he represented Great Britain in the Ryder Cup eight times out of nine.
TONY JACKLIN (England) 1962
Jacklin was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969
Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain from 1983 to 1989, Europe
winning two and tying another of these four events.
TOMMY JACOBS (USA) 1956
Jacobs won four PGA Tour events between 1958 and 1964, and twice finished runner-up in major
championships, first at the 1964 U.S. Open and then at the 1966 Masters, where he and Gay Brewer lost to
Jack Nicklaus after an 18-hole Monday playoff.
DON JANUARY (USA) 1956
January won ten PGA Tour titles, most notably the 1967 PGA Championship. During the 1963 Phoenix Open, he
had a putt stop on the lip of the hole; he waited for seven minutes for the ball to drop (it never did), and the
rules of golf were changed as a consequence so that now players must tap the ball in within ten seconds.
GEORGE KNUDSON (Canada) 1958
Knudson, along with Mike Weir, holds the record for the Canadian with the most wins on the PGA Tour, with
eight career victories. Knudson’s best finish in a major championship was a tie for second at the 1969 Masters,
one shot behind champion George Archer.
TONY LEMA (USA) 1955
A tall, handsome man, “Champagne Tony” was hugely popular and had 12 victories on Tour, including the 1964
Open Championship, before tragedy struck in 1966 when his private jet ran out of fuel and crashed landed on a
golf course in Lansing, near Chicago. All on board died, including Lema and his wife Betty. He was only 32.
GENE LITTLER (USA) 1954
In a career of sustained excellence, Littler won 29 PGA Tour tournaments, including the 1961 U.S. Open, and
represented the U.S. in seven Ryder Cups. Only once from 1954 to 1979 did he finish out of the top 60 on the
money list, and that was in 1972, when he was sidelined by surgery to remove a cancerous lymph node.
DAVIS LOVE, JR. (USA) 1960
Father of Davis Love III, Davis Love Jr. spent most of his professional career as a respected teaching
professional. He never played full-time on the PGA Tour, but he played in 13 major championships and finished
tied for sixth place at the 1969 British Open.
BOB LUNN (USA) 1965
Lunn's best years in professional golf were 1968–72, during which time he won six tournaments on the PGA
Tour and appeared in the top 60 on the money list in each of those years.
DAVE MARR (USA) 1953
Perhaps more well known for his work as a golf analyst for ABC in the 1970s and 80s, Marr won three times on
the PGA Tour, with the last of those victories coming at the 1965 PGA Championship, played at Laurel Valley,
PA, the home course of his close friend, Arnold Palmer.
DON MASSENGALE (USA) 1960
Massengale had two wins and 32 top ten finishes on the PGA Tour, with both his victories coming in 1966. His
best finish in a major was a 2nd at the 1967 PGA Championship where he lost to Don January in an 18-hole
playoff. Massengale’s younger brother, Rik, won three times on the PGA Tour in the 1970s.
BILLY MAXWELL (USA) 1954
After serving in the U.S. Army, Maxwell began a professional golf career in 1954 that saw him win seven times
on the PGA Tour and finish eight times in the top ten at the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship.
BOB McCALLISTER (USA) 1959
McCallister played full-time on the Tour throughout the 1960s after serving in the U.S. Army, winning twice and
recording 18 top ten finishes. He retired in 1969 after being affected by early onset arthritis.
ORVILLE MOODY (USA) 1967
Moody gave up his military career in favour of a run at professional golf – his nickname on the Tour was
“Sarge” – and his sole victory on the PGA Tour came at the 1969 U.S. Open, which he won having come
through local and sectional qualifying.
BOB MURPHY (USA) 1967
Murphy won the U.S. Amateur in 1965 whilst still a student at the University of Florida, and after turning
professional he won five tournaments on the PGA Tour between 1968 and 1986.
KEL NAGLE (Australia) 1946
Nagle won 94 professional tournaments around the world during his long career and won at least one
tournament each year from 1949 to 1975, but he is best known for his shock victory at The Open
Championship in 1960.
BOBBY NICHOLS (USA) 1960
Won 12 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1964 PGA Championship. In his youth, Nichols recovered from
serious injuries sustained in an automobile accident resulting from a 100-mph joy ride, and in 1975 he, Jerry
Heard, and Lee Trevino all survived unscathed after being struck by lightning at the Western Open.
JACK NICKLAUS (USA) 1961
“The Golden Bear” is widely considered to be the greatest golfer of all time, with 73 PGA Tour victories,
including a record 18 majors. His first professional victory came at the 1962 U.S. Open, and when he won the
Open Championship in 1966, he became, at age 26, the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam.
TOM NIEPORTE (USA) 1953
He played full-time on the PGA Tour for five years, but like most professional golfers of his generation, he spent
most of his career earning his living as a club pro. Nieporte won three PGA Tour events between 1959 and
1967, and his best finish in a major was T5 at the 1964 PGA Championship.
CHRISTY O’CONNOR, SR. (Ireland) 1951
Sufficiently revered in his home country to be known simply as “Himself,” O’Connor recorded 64 professional
victories, finished in the top ten at the Open Championship on ten occasions, and competed in every Ryder Cup
between 1955 and 1973.
ARNOLD PALMER (USA) 1954
Generally regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the history of golf. “The King” won
62 PGA Tour titles, including seven majors, from 1955 to 1973 and is widely credited, along with Jack Nicklaus
and Gary Player, with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world during the 1960s.
GARY PLAYER (South Africa) 1953
Widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers ever, Player won over 150 professional tournaments on six
continents, including 24 victories on the PGA Tour between 1958 and 1978. He won nine majors, and he is the
only non-American to win the career Grand Slam.
JOHNNY POTT(USA) 1956
Pott won five times on the PGA Tour in the 1960s, and he was a member of three Ryder Cup teams; 1963,
1965, and 1967, although he injured his back in 1965 and did not play. His best finish in a major was T-5 at
the 1961 PGA Championship.
DAVE RAGAN (USA) 1956
Ragan played on the PGA Tour in the late 1950s and 1960s, winning three times. He finished second to Jack
Nicklaus in the 1963 PGA Championship and was a member of the 1963 Ryder Cup team.
DAI REES (Wales) 1929
Rees' career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s. He won numerous tournaments in Britain, Europe and
South Africa, and finished as runner-up in three Open Championships. He played in nine Ryder Cups and was
captain on five occasions, famously leading the British team to a rare victory in 1957,
PHIL RODGERS (USA) 1961
Rodgers won five times on the PGA Tour between 1962 and 1966, and at the 1963 Open Championship he lost
to Bob Charles in a 36-hole playoff. After a stint on the Senior PGA Tour, Rodgers became a much sought-after
teacher, specializing in the short game, with one of his first pupils being Jack Nicklaus.
JUAN ANTONIO (“CHI CHI”) RODRIGUEZ (Puerto Rico) 1960
Recorded 37 professional victories, including 8 on the PGA Tour between 1963 and 1979. A natural showman,
he quickly became a fan favourite for his habit of covering the hole with his straw hat after making a birdie, or
waving his putter like a swordsman after holing a putt of any length.
BOB ROSBURG (USA) 1953
Rosburg won six times on the PGA Tour, his biggest win being the 1959 PGA Championship, where he came
from six strokes behind entering the final round. Rosburg went on to become a commentator for ABC Sports
Television, pioneering the now-common practice of roving on the golf course and reporting from the fairways.
MASON RUDOLPH (USA) 1958
Rudolph joined the PGA Tour in 1959 and was Rookie of the Year, and he went on to win five official PGA Tour
events during his career. Known for his consistency, he made the cut in 409 of 430 career starts, was in the
money in 52 straight events, and once went 105 consecutive tournaments without hitting a ball out of bounds.
JACK RULE (USA) 1961
Following a successful amateur career, Rule turned professional at the start of the 1960s and played on the
PGA Tour full-time between 1962 and 1967, winning twice and recording 19 top ten finishes.
DOUG SANDERS (USA) 1956
Known as the “Peacock of the Fairways” for his flamboyant dress sense, Sanders won 20 times on the PGA
Tour between 1956 and 1972 and had 13 top ten finishes in majors. He lost the 1970 Open Championship in
a playoff to Jack Nicklaus after missing a 30-inch putt on the final hole for the title.
TOM SHAW (USA) 1962
Shaw won four PGA Tour events and had over two dozen top ten finishes. In 1966, he was seriously injured in a
car accident on the way to the Bob Hope Classic, but he recovered and enjoyed his best year on Tour in 1971,
when he won twice and finished 15th on the money list.
CHARLIE SIFFORD (USA) 1948
In 1961, Charlie Sifford became the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour, going on to win the 1967
Greater Hartford Open and the 1969 Los Angeles Open, and in 2004 he became the first African-American to
be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
DAN SIKES (USA) 1960
Sikes won six PGA Tour events, with his career year being 1967, when he won twice and was fifth on the money
list. Known as the "golfing lawyer" (he was a qualified lawyer but never actually practiced), he was the chairman
of the tournament players committee in the late 1960s, prior to the formation of the modern PGA Tour.
R.H. SIKES (USA) 1964
Richard Horace Sikes (no relation to Dan) had a stellar amateur and college career before joining the PGA Tour
in 1964. He won twice on Tour and recorded 43 top ten finishes in total between 1964 and 1971.
SAM SNEAD (USA) 1934
"Slammin' Sammy” was said to have had the "perfect swing" and is widely regarded as one of the greatest
players of all time. He won seven majors and a record 82 PGA Tour titles in all (a number since equalled by
Tiger Woods), and in 1965 he became, at 52 years and 10 months, the oldest winner of a PGA TOUR event.
MIKE SOUCHAK (USA) 1952
Souchak won 15 times on the PGA Tour between 1955 and 1964, and whilst he never won a major, he had
eleven top ten finishes at major championships, including third place at the U.S. Open in both 1959 and 1960.
STEVE SPRAY (USA) 1964
Spray recorded one victory and 14 top ten finishes on the PGA Tour between 1966 and 1972 and finished T5
at the 1968 U.S. Open. He was hampered by injuries during the last years of his career, including tendinitis in
his left thumb that forced him to change his grip and back surgery that caused him to miss almost all of 1974.
KEN STILL (USA) 1953
Still played in 489 events during a long career on the PGA Tour, winning three times and finishing in the top ten
on 42 occasions. Two of those top ten finishes came at major championships: a fifth-place finish at the 1970
U.S. Open, and a T-6 at The Masters in 1971.
DAVE STOCKTON (USA) 1964
Renowned as a great putter, Stockton won ten times on the PGA Tour between 1967 and 1976, including two
PGA Championships in 1970 and 1976. Stockton’s son, Dave Jr., also played professionally on the PGA Tour.
DAVE THOMAS (Wales) 1949
Thomas was one of Britain's leading golfers during the 1950s and 1960s and was runner-up at The Open
Championship in 1958 and 1966. He was renowned for his long, straight, driving, and once hit a drive during a
practice round for the 1967 Open at Hoylake onto the green at the 420-yard second hole.
PETER THOMSON (Australia) 1949
An infrequent competitor on the PGA Tour, Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world,
winning 95 professional tournaments during his career. He won the Open Championship five times between
1954 and 1965, including three times in succession in 1954, 1955 and 1956.
LEE TREVINO (USA) 1960
Known for his unorthodox, compact swing and for his sense of humour, “Supermex” is regarded as one of the
greatest shot-makers in golf history, winning 92 career titles, including six majors and 29 events on the PGA
Tour between 1968 and 1984.
KEN VENTURI (USA) 1956
Venturi first gained national attention in 1956 when, at age 24, he finished second in the Masters while still an
amateur. He eventually won 14 events on the PGA Tour, including the 1964 U.S. Open, and after injuries forced
his retirement from playing in 1967, he spent the next 35 years working as a commentator and analyst for CBS.
ERNIE VOSSLER (USA) 1954
Vossler won three times on the PGA Tour between 1958 and 1960, and in 1958 he finished T-5 at the U.S.
Open. Later in life he became widely known as one of golf’s leading course designers and developers.
ART WALL, JR. (USA) 1953
Wall won 14 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1959 Masters, with his last win coming in 1975 at the age of
51 years and seven months, making him the second-oldest ever winner on Tour behind Sam Snead. Wall is also
notable for sinking 45 holes-in-one in his career (including casual rounds), a world record for many years.
TOM WEISKOPF (USA) 1964
He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, including the 1973 Open Championship at Royal Troon,
and was also a four-time runner-up at The Masters and had a T2 finish at the 1976 U.S. Open. Weiskopf stood
at 6 ft.3 in., and his displays of temper on the golf course earned him the nickname of "The Towering Inferno".
BO WININGER (USA) 1952
Wininger won six times on the PGA Tour between 1955 and 1963 and also recorded several runner-up finishes.
His best finish at a major was fourth place at the 1965 PGA Championship, but two years later, at the age of
just 45, he died after suffering a stroke.
JIMMY WRIGHT(USA) 1961
A career club professional, Wright played part-time on the PGA Tour between 1962 and 1972, with his most
notable achievement being a fourth-place finish at the 1969 PGA Championship.
DUDLEY WYSONG (USA) 1963
Wysong recorded two wins and 16 top ten finishes on the PGA Tour, which he played full-time between 1963
and 1970. He twice finished in the top ten at a major championship, including a runner-up finish at the 1966
PGA Championship.
BERT YANCEY (USA) 1960
Yancey, who suffered from bipolar disorder, won seven PGA Tour events between 1966 and 1972, and also
had six top-5 finishes in major championships. Yancey’s illness resurfaced in 1974 and led him to be involved
in a series of bizarre incidents, for which he was at various times arrested, incarcerated, and institutionalized.
The San Francisco Examiner is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863.
Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporation chain,[1] the Examiner converted to free distribution early in the 21st century and is owned by Clint Reilly Communications, which bought the newspaper at the end of 2020 along with the SF Weekly.[2]
History
Founding
First edition, June 12, 1865
The Examiner was founded in 1863 as the Democratic Press, a pro-Confederacy, pro-slavery, pro-Democratic Party paper opposed to Abraham Lincoln, but after his assassination in 1865, the paper's offices were destroyed by a mob, and starting on June 12, 1865, it was called The Daily Examiner.[3][4][5]
Hearst acquisition
Announcement that William Randolph Hearst has become owner of the newspaper, March 4, 1887
In 1880, mining engineer and entrepreneur George Hearst bought the Examiner. Seven years later, after being elected to the U.S. Senate, he gave it to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who was then 23 years old. The elder Hearst "was said to have received the failing paper as partial payment of a poker debt."[6]
William Randolph Hearst hired S.S. (Sam) Chamberlain, who had started the first American newspaper in Paris, as managing editor[5] and Arthur McEwen as editor, and changed the Examiner from an evening to a morning paper.[3] Under him, the paper's popularity increased greatly, with the help of such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and the San Francisco-born Jack London.[7] It also found success through its version of yellow journalism, with ample use of foreign correspondents and splashy coverage of scandals such as two entire pages of cables from Vienna about the Mayerling Incident;[5] satire; and patriotic enthusiasm for the Spanish–American War and the 1898 annexation of the Philippines. William Randolph Hearst created the masthead with the "Hearst Eagle" and the slogan Monarch of the Dailies by 1889 at the latest.
20th century
After the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Francisco, the Examiner and its rivals—the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Call—brought out a joint edition. The Examiner offices were destroyed on April 18, 1906,[8] but when the city was rebuilt, a new structure, the Hearst Building, arose in its place at Third and Market streets. It opened in 1909, and in 1937 the facade, entranceway and lobby underwent an extensive remodeling designed by architect Julia Morgan.[9]
Through the middle third of the twentieth century, the Examiner was one of several dailies competing for the city's and the Bay Area's readership; the San Francisco News, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, and the Chronicle all claimed significant circulation, but ultimately attrition left the Examiner one chief rival—the Chronicle. Strident competition prevailed between the two papers in the 1950s and 1960s; the Examiner boasted, among other writers, such columnists as veteran sportswriter Prescott Sullivan, the popular Herb Caen, who took an eight-year hiatus from the Chronicle (1950–1958), and Kenneth Rexroth, one of the best-known men of California letters and a leading San Francisco Renaissance poet, who contributed weekly impressions of the city from 1960 to 1967. Ultimately, circulation battles ended in a merging of resources between the two papers.
For 35 years starting in 1965, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner operated under a Joint Operating Agreement whereby the Chronicle published a morning paper and the Examiner published in the afternoon. The Examiner published the Sunday paper's news sections and glossy magazine, and the Chronicle contributed the features. Circulation was approximately 100,000 on weekdays and 500,000 on Sundays. By 1995, discussion was already brewing in print media about the possible shuttering of the Examiner due to low circulation and an extremely disadvantageous revenue sharing agreement for the Chronicle.[10]
On October 31, 1969, sixty members of the Gay Liberation Front, the Committee for Homosexual Freedom (CHF), and the Gay Guerilla Theatre group staged a protest outside the offices of the Examiner in response to a series of news articles disparaging people in San Francisco's gay bars and clubs.[11][12][13][14] The peaceful protest against the Examiner turned tumultuous and was later called "Friday of the Purple Hand" and "Bloody Friday of the Purple Hand."[14][15][16][17][18][19] Examiner employees "dumped a barrel of printers' ink on the crowd from the roof of the newspaper building."[20][21] The protestors "used the ink to scrawl slogans on the building walls" and slap purple hand prints "throughout downtown [San Francisco]" resulting in "one of the most visible demonstrations of gay power" according to the Bay Area Reporter.[14][16][19] According to Larry LittleJohn, then president of Society for Individual Rights, "At that point, the tactical squad arrived – not to get the employees who dumped the ink, but to arrest the demonstrators. Somebody could have been hurt if that ink had gotten into their eyes, but the police were knocking people to the ground."[14] The accounts of police brutality included instances of women being thrown to the ground and protesters' teeth being knocked out.[14][22]
In its stylebook and by tradition, the Examiner refers to San Francisco as "The City" (capitalized), both in headlines and text of stories. San Francisco slang has traditionally referred to the newspaper in abbreviated slang form as "the Ex" (and the Chronicle as "the Chron").
San Francisco Examiner front page, Friday, February 27, 1942
San Francisco Examiner front page, Friday, February 27, 1942
The Examiner, 2007
The Examiner, 2007
21st century
Fang acquisition
Hearst Building, San Francisco
Ted Fang
When the Chronicle Publishing Company divested its interests, the Hearst Corporation purchased the Chronicle. To satisfy antitrust concerns, Hearst sold the Examiner to ExIn, LLC, a corporation owned by the politically connected Fang family, publishers of the San Francisco Independent and the San Mateo Independent.[23] San Francisco political consultant Clint Reilly filed a lawsuit against Hearst, charging that the deal did not ensure two competitive newspapers and was instead a generous deal designed to curry approval. However, on July 27, 2000, a federal judge approved the Fangs' assumption of the Examiner name, its archives, 35 delivery trucks, and a subsidy of $66 million, to be paid over three years.[24] From their side, the Fangs paid Hearst US$100 for the Examiner. Reilly later acquired the Examiner in 2020.[25]
On February 24, 2003, the Examiner became a free daily newspaper, printed Sunday through Friday.[citation needed]
Anschutz acquisition
On February 19, 2004, the Fang family sold the Examiner and its printing plant, together with the two Independent newspapers, to Philip Anschutz of Denver, Colorado.[23] His new company, Clarity Media Group, launched The Washington Examiner in 2005 and published The Baltimore Examiner from 2006 to 2009. In 2006, Anschutz donated the archives of the Examiner to the University of California, Berkeley Bancroft Library, the largest gift ever given to the library.[26]
Under Clarity ownership, the Examiner pioneered a new business model[27] for the newspaper industry. Designed to be read quickly, the Examiner is presented in a compact size without story jumps. It focuses on local news, business, entertainment and sports with an emphasis on content relevant to its local readers. It is delivered free to select neighborhoods in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, and to single-copy outlets throughout San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties.
By February 2008, the company had transformed the newspaper's examiner.com domain into a national hyperlocal brand, with local websites throughout the United States.[28]
Independent ownership
Clarity Media sold the Examiner to San Francisco Newspaper Company LLC in 2011. The company's investors included then-President and Publisher Todd Vogt, Chief Financial Officer Pat Brown, and David Holmes Black.[citation needed] Early, incorrect media reports stated that the paper was purchased by Black's company Black Press.[29] In 2014, Vogt sold his shares to Black Press.[citation needed]
Present-day owners of the Examiner also own SF Weekly, an alternative weekly, and previously owned the now-shuttered San Francisco Bay Guardian.[30]
Clint Reilly acquisition
In December 2020, Clint Reilly, under his company, Clint Reilly Communications, acquired the SF Examiner for an undisclosed sum.[31][32] The acquisition included buying the SF Weekly "like a stocking stuffer," Reilly said.[33] He also owns Gentry Magazine and the Nob Hill Gazette.
He then hired editor-in-chief Carly Schwartz in 2021.[34] Under her leadership, a broadsheet-style newspaper was re-introduced,[35] and she launched two newsletters with a nod to the rise in popularity of email marketing models such as Substack.[36] Schwartz also put the SF Weekly on hiatus "for the foreseeable future," ending a more-than-40-year tenure.[37]
In July 2022, Schwartz announced via a Facebook post that she had stepped away from the role, stating that while it was a "'dream job' on paper," it didn't give her enough time to travel. She then went to write her memoir and go to Burning Man.[38]
Staff
Current
Allen Matthews was hired as director of editorial operations in 2021.[39]
Former
Phil Bronstein, editor (left Examiner in 2012)
Herb Caen, columnist (1950–1958)
Oscar Chopin, cartoonist
C. H. Garrigues, jazz columnist (retired 1967)
Howard Lachtman, literary critic (1977–1986)[40][41]
Edgar Orloff, assistant managing editor (retired 1982)
David Talbot, founder of the early online magazine Salon
Ernest Thayer, humor columnist (1886–1888)
Stuart Schuffman, also known as Broke-ass Stuart, was a guest columnist.[42] In 2021, he announced that after 6+1⁄2 years, he would be moving his column to SF Weekly.[43]
Al Saracevic was hired as assistant managing editor in 2021.[44] Saracevic died of a sudden heart attack in August 2022 while working on assignment for SF Examiner.[45]
Editions
In the early 20th century, an edition of the Examiner circulated in the East Bay under the Oakland Examiner masthead. Into the late 20th century, the paper circulated well beyond San Francisco. In 1982, for example, the Examiner's zoned weekly supplements within the paper were titled "City", "Peninsula", "Marin/Sonoma" and "East Bay".[citation needed] Additionally, during the late 20th century, an edition of the Examiner was made available in Nevada which, coming out in the morning rather than in the afternoon as the San Francisco edition did, would feature news content from the San Francisco edition of the day before—for instance, Tuesday's news in the Nevada edition that came out on Wednesday—but with dated non-hard news content—comic strips, feature columnists—for Wednesday.[citation needed]
See also
San Francisco Bay Area portal
Journalism portal
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco newspaper strike of 1994
San Francisco (/ˌsæn frənˈsɪskoʊ/ SAN frən-SISS-koh; Spanish for 'Saint Francis'), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous city in California, with 808,437 residents, and the 17th most populous city in the United States as of 2022.[16] The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers)[24] at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. Among the 91 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income[25] and sixth by aggregate income as of 2021.[26] Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include Frisco, San Fran, The City, and SF.[27][28]
San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776, when settlers from New Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate, and the Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, both named for Francis of Assisi.[4] The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time; between 1870 and 1900, approximately one quarter of California's population resided in the city proper.[26] In 1856, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county.[29] After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire,[30] it was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, it was a major port of embarkation for naval service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater.[31] In 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations before permanently relocating to Manhattan, and in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[32][33][34] After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberalizing attitudes, the rise of the beatnik and hippie countercultures, the sexual revolution, the peace movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.
San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area are a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences,[35][36] spurred by leading universities,[37] high-tech, healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services sectors.[38] As of 2020, the metropolitan area, with 6.7 million residents, ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across the OECD countries, ahead of global cities like Paris, London, and Singapore.[39][40][41] San Francisco anchors the 13th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States with 4.6 million residents, and the fourth-largest by aggregate income and economic output, with a GDP of $669 billion in 2021.[42] The wider San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Combined Statistical Area is the fifth most populous, with 9.5 million residents, and the third-largest by economic output, with a GDP of $1.25 trillion in 2021. In the same year, San Francisco proper had a GDP of $236.4 billion, and a GDP per capita of $289,990.[42] San Francisco was ranked fifth in the world and second in the United States on the Global Financial Centres Index as of March 2023.[43]
The city centers of both San Francisco and nearby Oakland have suffered a severe and continuing exodus of businesses, significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.[44] Despite this commercial and corporate exodus, the Bay Area is still the home to four of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization, and the city proper still houses the headquarters of numerous companies inside and outside of technology, including Wells Fargo, Salesforce, Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, Levi's, Gap, Dropbox, and Lyft.[45][46][47] However, the conservative Hoover Institution in California, in addition to various media organizations, have warned of a uniquely severe long-term doom spiral impending for San Francisco.[48] Theories advanced range from narcotics and other illicit substances, crime, and homelessness,[49] to the West Coast's and particularly San Francisco's challenge to remain a relevant center for flagship commerce and industry given its relative geographic isolation from other North American commercial centers in an era of increasingly ubiquitous e-commerce.[50][51]
With over 3.3 million visitors as of 2019, San Francisco is the fifth-most visited city in the United States after New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Orlando.[52] The city is known for its steep rolling hills and eclectic mix of architecture across varied neighborhoods, as well as its cool summers, fog, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz, along with the Chinatown and Mission districts.[53] The city is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of California, San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, the SFJAZZ Center, and the California Academy of Sciences. Two major league sports teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors, play their home games within San Francisco proper. San Francisco's main international airport offers flights to over 125 destinations while a light rail and bus network, in tandem with the BART and Caltrain systems, connects nearly every part of San Francisco with the wider region.[54][55]
Etymology
See also: List of San Francisco placename etymologies
The city takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, founded in 1776 in honor of Saint Francis.
San Francisco, which is Spanish for "Saint Francis", takes its name from Mission San Francisco de Asís, which was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. The mission received its name in 1776, when it was founded by the Spanish under the leadership of Padre Francisco Palóu. The city has officially been known as San Francisco since 1847, when Washington Allon Bartlett, then serving as the city's alcalde, renamed it from Yerba Buena (Spanish for "Good Herb"), which had been name used throughout the Spanish and Mexican eras since approximately 1776. The name Yerba Buena continues to be used in locations in the city, such as Yerba Buena Island, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Yerba Buena Gardens.
Bay Area residents often refer to San Francisco as "the City".[1] For residents of San Francisco living in the more suburban parts of the city, "the City" generally refers to the densely populated areas around Market Street. Its use, or lack thereof, is a common way for locals to distinguish long time residents from tourists and recent arrivals (as a shibboleth).
San Francisco has several nicknames, including "The City by the Bay", "Golden Gate City",[56] "Frisco", "SF", "San Fran", and "Fog City"; as well as older ones like "The City that Knows How", "Baghdad by the Bay", or "The Paris of the West".[1] "San Fran" and "Frisco" are controversial as nicknames among San Francisco residents.[57][58][59]
History
See also: History of San Francisco
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of San Francisco.
Indigenous history
The earliest archeological evidence of human habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC.[60] The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in a few small villages when an overland Spanish exploration party arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay.[61]
Spanish era
Juan Bautista de Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco for the Spanish Empire in 1776.
Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu on October 9, 1776.
The Spanish Empire claimed San Francisco as part of Las Californias, a province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish first arrived in what is now San Francisco on November 2, 1769, when the Portolá expedition led by Don Gaspar de Portolá and Juan Crespí arrived at San Francisco Bay. Having noted the strategic benefits of the area due to its large natural harbor, the Spanish dispatched Pedro Fages in 1770 to find a more direct route to the San Francisco Peninsula from Monterey, which would become part of the El Camino Real route. By 1774, Juan Bautista de Anza had arrived to the area to select the sites for a mission and presidio. The first European maritime presence in San Francisco Bay occurred on August 5, 1775, when the Spanish ship San Carlos, commanded by Juan Manuel de Ayala, became the first ship to anchor in the bay.[62]
Soon after, on March 28, 1776, Anza established the Presidio of San Francisco. On October 9, Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, was founded by Padre Francisco Palóu.[4] In 1794, the Presidio established the Castillo de San Joaquín, a fortification on the southern side of the Golden Gate, which later came to be known as Fort Point.
In 1804, the province of Alta California was created, which included San Francisco. At its peak in 1810–1820, the average population at the Mission Dolores settlement was about 1,100 people.[63]
Mexican era
Juana Briones de Miranda, known as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco"[64]
In 1821, the Californias were ceded to Mexico by Spain. The extensive California mission system gradually lost its influence during the period of Mexican rule. Agricultural land became largely privatized as ranchos, as was occurring in other parts of California. Coastal trade increased, including a half-dozen barques from various Atlantic ports which regularly sailed in California waters.[65][66]
Yerba Buena (after a native herb), a trading post with settlements between the Presidio and Mission grew up around the Plaza de Yerba Buena. The plaza was later renamed Portsmouth Square (now located in the city's Chinatown and Financial District). The Presidio was commanded in 1833 by Captain Mariano G. Vallejo.[65]
In 1833, Juana Briones de Miranda built her rancho near El Polín Spring, founding the first civilian household in San Francisco, which had previously only been comprised by the military settlement at the Presidio and the religious settlement at Mission Dolores.[64]
In 1834, Francisco de Haro became the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena. De Haro was a native of Mexico, from that nation's west coast city of Compostela, Nayarit. A land survey of Yerba Buena was made by the Swiss immigrant Jean Jacques Vioget as prelude to the city plan. The second Alcalde José Joaquín Estudillo was a Californio from a prominent Monterey family. In 1835, while in office, he approved the first land grant in Yerba Buena: to William Richardson, a naturalized Mexican citizen of English birth. Richardson had arrived in San Francisco aboard a whaling ship in 1822. In 1825, he married Maria Antonia Martinez, eldest daughter of the Californio Ygnacio Martínez.[67][a]
The 1846 Battle of Yerba Buena was an early U.S. victory in the American conquest of California.
Yerba Buena began to attract American and European settlers; an 1842 census listed 21 residents (11%) born in the United States or Europe, as well as one Filipino merchant.[68] Following the Bear Flag Revolt in Sonoma and the beginning of the U.S. Conquest of California, American forces under the command of John B. Montgomery captured Yerba Buena on July 9, 1846, with little resistance from the local Californio population. Following the capture, U.S. forces appointed both José de Jesús Noé and Washington Allon Bartlett to serve as co-alcaldes (mayors), while the conquest continued on in the rest of California. Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Alta California was ceded from Mexico to the United States.
Post-Conquest era
San Francisco in 1849, during the beginning of the California Gold Rush
Port of San Francisco in 1851
Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, post-Conquest San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.[69] Its 1847 population was said to be 459.[65]
The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers (known as "forty-niners", as in "1849"). With their sourdough bread in tow,[70] prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia,[71] raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849.[72] The promise of wealth was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor.[73] Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons, and hotels; many were left to rot, and some were sunk to establish title to the underwater lot. By 1851, the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870, Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land. Buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings.[74]
California was quickly granted statehood in 1850, and the U.S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate and a fort on Alcatraz Island to secure the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco County was one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850.[75] Until 1856, San Francisco's city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidated City and County of San Francisco.[76]
The Bank of California, established in 1863, was the first commercial bank in Western United States.[77]
Entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush. Silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth.[78] With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, bootlegging, and gambling.[79] Early winners were the banking industry, with the founding of Wells Fargo in 1852 and the Bank of California in 1864.
Development of the Port of San Francisco and the establishment in 1869 of overland access to the eastern U.S. rail system via the newly completed Pacific Railroad (the construction of which the city only reluctantly helped support[80]) helped make the Bay Area a center for trade. Catering to the needs and tastes of the growing population, Levi Strauss opened a dry goods business and Domingo Ghirardelli began manufacturing chocolate. Chinese immigrants made the city a polyglot culture, drawn to "Old Gold Mountain", creating the city's Chinatown quarter. By 1880, Chinese made up 9.3% of the population.[81]
View of the city in 1878
The first cable cars carried San Franciscans up Clay Street in 1873. The city's sea of Victorian houses began to take shape, and civic leaders campaigned for a spacious public park, resulting in plans for Golden Gate Park. San Franciscans built schools, churches, theaters, and all the hallmarks of civic life. The Presidio developed into the most important American military installation on the Pacific coast.[82] By 1890, San Francisco's population approached 300,000, making it the eighth-largest city in the United States at the time. Around 1901, San Francisco was a major city known for its flamboyant style, stately hotels, ostentatious mansions on Nob Hill, and a thriving arts scene.[83] The first North American plague epidemic was the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904.[84]
1906 earthquake and interwar era
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the deadliest earthquake in U.S. history.
At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and northern California. As buildings collapsed from the shaking, ruptured gas lines ignited fires that spread across the city and burned out of control for several days. With water mains out of service, the Presidio Artillery Corps attempted to contain the inferno by dynamiting blocks of buildings to create firebreaks.[85] More than three-quarters of the city lay in ruins, including almost all of the downtown core.[30] Contemporary accounts reported that 498 people died, though modern estimates put the number in the several thousands.[86] More than half of the city's population of 400,000 was left homeless.[87] Refugees settled temporarily in makeshift tent villages in Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, on the beaches, and elsewhere. Many fled permanently to the East Bay. Jack London is remembered for having famously eulogized the earthquake: "Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone."[88]
The reconstruction of San Francisco City Hall on Civic Center Plaza, c. 1913–16
Rebuilding was rapid and performed on a grand scale. Rejecting calls to completely remake the street grid, San Franciscans opted for speed.[89] Amadeo Giannini's Bank of Italy, later to become Bank of America, provided loans for many of those whose livelihoods had been devastated. The influential San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association or SPUR was founded in 1910 to address the quality of housing after the earthquake.[90] The earthquake hastened development of western neighborhoods that survived the fire, including Pacific Heights, where many of the city's wealthy rebuilt their homes.[91] In turn, the destroyed mansions of Nob Hill became grand hotels. City Hall rose again in the Beaux Arts style, and the city celebrated its rebirth at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[92]
The Panama–Pacific Exposition, a major world's fair held in 1915, was seen as a chance to showcase the city's recovery from the earthquake.
During this period, San Francisco built some of its most important infrastructure. Civil Engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy was hired by San Francisco Mayor James Rolph as chief engineer for the city in September 1912 to supervise the construction of the Twin Peaks Reservoir, the Stockton Street Tunnel, the Twin Peaks Tunnel, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, the Auxiliary Water Supply System, and new sewers. San Francisco's streetcar system, of which the J, K, L, M, and N lines survive today, was pushed to completion by O'Shaughnessy between 1915 and 1927. It was the O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct that would have the largest effect on San Francisco.[93] An abundant water supply enabled San Francisco to develop into the city it has become today.
The Bay Bridge under construction on Yerba Buena Island in 1935
In ensuing years, the city solidified its standing as a financial capital; in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, not a single San Francisco-based bank failed.[94] Indeed, it was at the height of the Great Depression that San Francisco undertook two great civil engineering projects, simultaneously constructing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge, completing them in 1936 and 1937, respectively. It was in this period that the island of Alcatraz, a former military stockade, began its service as a federal maximum security prison, housing notorious inmates such as Al Capone, and Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz. San Francisco later celebrated its regained grandeur with a World's fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–40, creating Treasure Island in the middle of the bay to house it.[95]
Contemporary era
See also: San Francisco in the 1970s
The United Nations was created in San Francisco in 1945, when the United Nations Charter was signed at the San Francisco Conference.
During World War II, the city-owned Sharp Park in Pacifica was used as an internment camp to detain Japanese Americans.[96] Hunters Point Naval Shipyard became a hub of activity, and Fort Mason became the primary port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater of Operations.[31] The explosion of jobs drew many people, especially African Americans from the South, to the area. After the end of the war, many military personnel returning from service abroad and civilians who had originally come to work decided to stay. The United Nations Charter creating the United Nations was drafted and signed in San Francisco in 1945 and, in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers.[97]
Urban planning projects in the 1950s and 1960s involved widespread destruction and redevelopment of west-side neighborhoods and the construction of new freeways, of which only a series of short segments were built before being halted by citizen-led opposition.[98] The onset of containerization made San Francisco's small piers obsolete, and cargo activity moved to the larger Port of Oakland.[99] The city began to lose industrial jobs and turned to tourism as the most important segment of its economy.[100] The suburbs experienced rapid growth, and San Francisco underwent significant demographic change, as large segments of the white population left the city, supplanted by an increasing wave of immigration from Asia and Latin America.[101][102] From 1950 to 1980, the city lost over 10 percent of its population.
The Summer of Love in 1967 was an influential counterculture phenomenon with as many as 100,000 people converging in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
Over this period, San Francisco became a magnet for America's counterculture movement. Beat Generation writers fueled the San Francisco Renaissance and centered on the North Beach neighborhood in the 1950s.[103] Hippies flocked to Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, reaching a peak with the 1967 Summer of Love.[104] In 1974, the Zebra murders left at least 16 people dead.[105] In the 1970s, the city became a center of the gay rights movement, with the emergence of The Castro as an urban gay village, the election of Harvey Milk to the Board of Supervisors, and his assassination, along with that of Mayor George Moscone, in 1978.[106]
Bank of America, now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was founded in San Francisco; the bank completed 555 California Street in 1969. The Transamerica Pyramid was completed in 1972,[107] igniting a wave of "Manhattanization" that lasted until the late 1980s, a period of extensive high-rise development downtown.[108] The 1980s also saw a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in the city, an issue that remains today, despite many attempts to address it.[109]
Transamerica Pyramid, built in 1972, characterized the Manhattanization of the city's skyline in the 1970–80's.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused destruction and loss of life throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the quake severely damaged structures in the Marina and South of Market districts and precipitated the demolition of the damaged Embarcadero Freeway and much of the damaged Central Freeway, allowing the city to reclaim The Embarcadero as its historic downtown waterfront and revitalizing the Hayes Valley neighborhood.[110]
The two recent decades have seen booms driven by the internet industry. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, startup companies invigorated the San Francisco economy. Large numbers of entrepreneurs and computer application developers moved into the city, followed by marketing, design, and sales professionals, changing the social landscape as once poorer neighborhoods became increasingly gentrified.[111] Demand for new housing and office space ignited a second wave of high-rise development, this time in the South of Market district.[112] By 2000, the city's population reached new highs, surpassing the previous record set in 1950. When the bubble burst in 2001 and again in 2023, many of these companies folded and their employees were laid off. Yet high technology and entrepreneurship remain mainstays of the San Francisco economy. By the mid-2000s (decade), the social media boom had begun, with San Francisco becoming a popular location for tech offices and a common place to live for people employed in Silicon Valley companies such as Apple and Google.[113]
The Ferry Station Post Office Building, Armour & Co. Building, Atherton House, and YMCA Hotel are historic buildings among dozens of historical landmarks in the city according to the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Francisco.[114]
Geography
Satellite view of San Francisco
San Francisco is located on the West Coast of the United States, at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay within its boundaries. Several picturesque islands—Alcatraz, Treasure Island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island, and small portions of Alameda Island, Red Rock Island, and Angel Island—are part of the city. Also included are the uninhabited Farallon Islands, 27 miles (43 km) offshore in the Pacific Ocean. The mainland within the city limits roughly forms a "seven-by-seven-mile square", a common local colloquialism referring to the city's shape, though its total area, including water, is nearly 232 square miles (600 km2).
There are more than 50 hills within the city limits.[115] Some neighborhoods are named after the hill on which they are situated, including Nob Hill, Potrero Hill, and Russian Hill. Near the geographic center of the city, southwest of the downtown area, are a series of less densely populated hills. Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms an overlook spot. San Francisco's tallest hill, Mount Davidson, is 928 feet (283 m) high and is capped with a 103-foot (31 m) tall cross built in 1934.[116] Dominating this area is Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio and television transmission tower reaching 1,811 ft (552 m) above sea level.
Lake Merced, located in southwestern San Francisco
The nearby San Andreas and Hayward Faults are responsible for much earthquake activity, although neither physically passes through the city itself. The San Andreas Fault caused the earthquakes in 1906 and 1989. Minor earthquakes occur on a regular basis. The threat of major earthquakes plays a large role in the city's infrastructure development. The city constructed an auxiliary water supply system and has repeatedly upgraded its building codes, requiring retrofits for older buildings and higher engineering standards for new construction.[117] However, there are still thousands of smaller buildings that remain vulnerable to quake damage.[118] USGS has released the California earthquake forecast which models earthquake occurrence in California.[119]
San Francisco's shoreline has grown beyond its natural limits. Entire neighborhoods such as the Marina, Mission Bay, and Hunters Point, as well as large sections of the Embarcadero, sit on areas of landfill. Treasure Island was constructed from material dredged from the bay as well as material resulting from the excavation of the Yerba Buena Tunnel through Yerba Buena Island during the construction of the Bay Bridge. Such land tends to be unstable during earthquakes. The resulting soil liquefaction causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.[120] A few natural lakes and creeks (Lake Merced, Mountain Lake, Pine Lake, Lobos Creek, El Polin Spring) are within parks and remain protected in what is essentially their original form, but most of the city's natural watercourses, such as Islais Creek and Mission Creek, have been partially or completely culverted and built over. Since the 1990s, however, the Public Utilities Commission has been studying proposals to daylight or restore some creeks.[121]
Neighborhoods
Main articles: Neighborhoods in San Francisco and List of Landmarks and Historic Places in San Francisco
See also: List of tallest buildings in San Francisco
View of the city's central districts along its northwestern coastline
The historic center of San Francisco is the northeast quadrant of the city anchored by Market Street and the waterfront. Here the Financial District is centered, with Union Square, the principal shopping and hotel district, and the Tenderloin nearby. Cable cars carry riders up steep inclines to the summit of Nob Hill, once the home of the city's business tycoons, and down to the waterfront tourist attractions of Fisherman's Wharf, and Pier 39, where many restaurants feature Dungeness crab from a still-active fishing industry. Also in this quadrant are Russian Hill, a residential neighborhood with the famously crooked Lombard Street; North Beach, the city's Little Italy and the former center of the Beat Generation; and Telegraph Hill, which features Coit Tower. Abutting Russian Hill and North Beach is San Francisco's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in North America.[122][123][124][125] The South of Market, which was once San Francisco's industrial core, has seen significant redevelopment following the construction of Oracle Park and an infusion of startup companies. New skyscrapers, live-work lofts, and condominiums dot the area. Further development is taking place just to the south in Mission Bay area, a former railroad yard, which now has a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco and Chase Center, which opened in 2019 as the new home of the Golden State Warriors.[126]
West of downtown, across Van Ness Avenue, lies the large Western Addition neighborhood, which became established with a large African American population after World War II. The Western Addition is usually divided into smaller neighborhoods including Hayes Valley, the Fillmore, and Japantown, which was once the largest Japantown in North America but suffered when its Japanese American residents were forcibly removed and interned during World War II. The Western Addition survived the 1906 earthquake with its Victorians largely intact, including the famous "Painted Ladies", standing alongside Alamo Square. To the south, near the geographic center of the city is Haight-Ashbury, famously associated with 1960s hippie culture.[127] The Haight is now[timeframe?] home to some expensive boutiques[128][better source needed] and a few controversial chain stores,[129] although it still retains[timeframe?][citation needed] some bohemian character.
San Francisco Chinatown, the oldest in North America and one of the world's largest.
North of the Western Addition is Pacific Heights, an affluent neighborhood that features the homes built by wealthy San Franciscans in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. Directly north of Pacific Heights facing the waterfront is the Marina, a neighborhood popular with young professionals that was largely built on reclaimed land from the Bay.[130]
In the southeast quadrant of the city is the Mission District—populated in the 19th century by Californios and working-class immigrants from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Scandinavia. In the 1910s, a wave of Central American immigrants settled in the Mission and, in the 1950s, immigrants from Mexico began to predominate.[131] In recent years, gentrification has changed the demographics of parts of the Mission from Latino, to twenty-something professionals. Noe Valley to the southwest and Bernal Heights to the south are both increasingly popular among young families with children. East of the Mission is the Potrero Hill neighborhood, a mostly residential neighborhood that features sweeping views of downtown San Francisco. West of the Mission, the area historically known as Eureka Valley, now popularly called the Castro, was once a working-class Scandinavian and Irish area. It has become North America's first gay village, and is now the center of gay life in the city.[132] Located near the city's southern border, the Excelsior District is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. The Bayview-Hunters Point in the far southeast corner of the city is one of the poorest neighborhoods, though the area has been the focus of several revitalizing and urban renewal projects.
The Ferry Building, located in the Embarcadero, the city's eastern waterfront along San Francisco Bay
The construction of the Twin Peaks Tunnel in 1918 connected southwest neighborhoods to downtown via streetcar, hastening the development of West Portal, and nearby affluent Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood. Further west, stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean and north to Golden Gate Park lies the vast Sunset District, a large middle-class area with a predominantly Asian population.[133]
The northwestern quadrant of the city contains the Richmond, a mostly middle-class neighborhood north of Golden Gate Park, home to immigrants from other parts of Asia as well as many Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Together, these areas are known as The Avenues. These two districts are each sometimes further divided into two regions: the Outer Richmond and Outer Sunset can refer to the more western portions of their respective district and the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset can refer to the more eastern portions.
Many piers remained derelict for years until the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway reopened the downtown waterfront, allowing for redevelopment. The centerpiece of the port, the Ferry Building, while still receiving commuter ferry traffic, has been restored and redeveloped as a gourmet marketplace.
Climate
San Francisco fog is a regular phenomenon in the summer.
San Francisco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), characteristic of California's coast, with moist, mild winters and dry summers.[134] San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water of San Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.[135]
Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August.[136] During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low-pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog.[137] The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. As a result, the year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime.
Temperatures reach or exceed 80 °F (27 °C) on an average of only 21 and 23 days a year at downtown and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), respectively.[138] The dry period of May to October is mild to warm, with the normal monthly mean temperature peaking in September at 62.7 °F (17.1 °C).[138] The rainy period of November to April is slightly cooler, with the normal monthly mean temperature reaching its lowest in January at 51.3 °F (10.7 °C).[138] On average, there are 73 rainy days a year, and annual precipitation averages 23.65 inches (601 mm).[138] Variation in precipitation from year to year is high. Above-average rain years are often associated with warm El Niño conditions in the Pacific while dry years often occur in cold water La Niña periods. In 2013 (a "La Niña" year), a record low 5.59 in (142 mm) of rainfall was recorded at downtown San Francisco, where records have been kept since 1849.[138] Snowfall in the city is very rare, with only 10 measurable accumulations recorded since 1852, most recently in 1976 when up to 5 inches (13 cm) fell on Twin Peaks.[139][140]
The Farallon Islands are located in the Gulf of the Farallones, off the Pacific coast of San Francisco.
The highest recorded temperature at the official National Weather Service downtown observation station[b] was 106 °F (41 °C) on September 1, 2017.[142] During that hot spell, the warmest ever night of 71 °F (22 °C) was also recorded.[143] The lowest recorded temperature was 27 °F (−3 °C) on December 11, 1932.[144] The National Weather Service provides a helpful visual aid[145] graphing the information in the table below to display visually by month the annual typical temperatures, the past year's temperatures, and record temperatures.[importance?]
During an average year between 1991 and 2020, San Francisco recorded a warmest night at 64 °F (18 °C) and a coldest day at 49 °F (9 °C).[138] The coldest daytime high since the station's opening in 1945 was recorded in December 1972 at 37 °F (3 °C).[138]
As a coastal city, San Francisco will be heavily affected by climate change. As of 2021, sea levels are projected to rise by as much as 5 feet (1.5 m), resulting in periodic flooding, rising groundwater levels, and lowland floods from more severe storms.[146]
San Francisco falls under the USDA 10b Plant hardiness zone, though some areas, particularly downtown, border zone 11a.[147][148]
vte
Climate data for San Francisco (downtown),[c] 1991–2020 normals,[d] extremes 1849–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 79
(26) 81
(27) 87
(31) 94
(34) 97
(36) 103
(39) 99
(37) 98
(37) 106
(41) 102
(39) 86
(30) 76
(24) 106
(41)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 67.1
(19.5) 71.8
(22.1) 76.4
(24.7) 80.7
(27.1) 81.4
(27.4) 84.6
(29.2) 80.5
(26.9) 83.4
(28.6) 90.8
(32.7) 87.9
(31.1) 75.8
(24.3) 66.4
(19.1) 94.0
(34.4)
Average high °F (°C) 57.8
(14.3) 60.4
(15.8) 62.1
(16.7) 63.0
(17.2) 64.1
(17.8) 66.5
(19.2) 66.3
(19.1) 67.9
(19.9) 70.2
(21.2) 69.8
(21.0) 63.7
(17.6) 57.9
(14.4) 64.1
(17.8)
Daily mean °F (°C) 52.2
(11.2) 54.2
(12.3) 55.5
(13.1) 56.4
(13.6) 57.8
(14.3) 59.7
(15.4) 60.3
(15.7) 61.7
(16.5) 62.9
(17.2) 62.1
(16.7) 57.2
(14.0) 52.5
(11.4) 57.7
(14.3)
Average low °F (°C) 46.6
(8.1) 47.9
(8.8) 48.9
(9.4) 49.7
(9.8) 51.4
(10.8) 53.0
(11.7) 54.4
(12.4) 55.5
(13.1) 55.6
(13.1) 54.4
(12.4) 50.7
(10.4) 47.0
(8.3) 51.3
(10.7)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 40.5
(4.7) 42.0
(5.6) 43.7
(6.5) 45.0
(7.2) 48.0
(8.9) 50.1
(10.1) 51.6
(10.9) 52.9
(11.6) 52.0
(11.1) 49.9
(9.9) 44.9
(7.2) 40.7
(4.8) 38.8
(3.8)
Record low °F (°C) 29
(−2) 31
(−1) 33
(1) 40
(4) 42
(6) 46
(8) 47
(8) 46
(8) 47
(8) 43
(6) 38
(3) 27
(−3) 27
(−3)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.40
(112) 4.37
(111) 3.15
(80) 1.60
(41) 0.70
(18) 0.20
(5.1) 0.01
(0.25) 0.06
(1.5) 0.10
(2.5) 0.94
(24) 2.60
(66) 4.76
(121) 22.89
(581)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.2 10.8 10.8 6.8 4.0 1.6 0.7 1.1 1.2 3.5 7.9 11.6 71.2
Average relative humidity (%) 80 77 75 72 72 71 75 75 73 71 75 78 75
Mean monthly sunshine hours 185.9 207.7 269.1 309.3 325.1 311.4 313.3 287.4 271.4 247.1 173.4 160.6 3,061.7
Percent possible sunshine 61 69 73 78 74 70 70 68 73 71 57 54 69
Average ultraviolet index 2 3 5 7 9 10 10 9 7 5 3 2 6
Source 1: NOAA (sun 1961–1974)[138][149][150][151]
Source 2: Met Office (humidity)[152], Weather Atlas (UV)[153]
Time Series
Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues.
See or edit raw graph data.
Ecology
Aerial view of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden Gate
Historically, tule elk were present in San Francisco County, based on archeological evidence of elk remains in at least five different Native American shellmounds: at Hunter's Point, Fort Mason, Stevenson Street, Market Street, and Yerba Buena.[154][155] Perhaps the first historical observer record was from the De Anza Expedition on March 23, 1776. Herbert Eugene Bolton wrote about the expedition camp at Mountain Lake, near the southern end of today's Presidio: "Round about were grazing deer, and scattered here and there were the antlers of large elk."[156] Also, when Richard Henry Dana Jr. visited San Francisco Bay in 1835, he wrote about vast elk herds near the Golden Gate: on December 27 "...we came to anchor near the mouth of the bay, under a high and beautifully sloping hill, upon which herds of hundreds and hundreds of red deer [note: "red deer" is the European term for "elk"], and the stag, with his high branching antlers, were bounding about...", although it is not clear whether this was the Marin side or the San Francisco side.[157]
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of San Francisco
Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1848 1,000 —
1849 25,000 +2400.0%
1852 34,776 +39.1%
1860 56,802 +63.3%
1870 149,473 +163.1%
1880 233,959 +56.5%
1890 298,997 +27.8%
1900 342,782 +14.6%
1910 416,912 +21.6%
1920 506,676 +21.5%
1930 634,394 +25.2%
1940 634,536 +0.0%
1950 775,357 +22.2%
1960 740,316 −4.5%
1970 715,674 −3.3%
1980 678,974 −5.1%
1990 723,959 +6.6%
2000 776,733 +7.3%
2010 805,235 +3.7%
2020 873,965 +8.5%
2022 808,437 −7.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[158]
2020–2022[16]
The 2020 United States census showed San Francisco's population to be 873,965, an increase of 8.5% from the 2010 census.[159] With roughly one-quarter the population density of Manhattan, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated large American city, behind only New York City among cities greater than 200,000 population, and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, following only four of the five New York City boroughs.
San Francisco is part of the five-county San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 4.7 million people (13th most populous in the U.S.), and has served as its traditional demographic focal point. It is also part of the greater 14-county San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area, whose population is over 9.6 million, making it the fifth-largest in the United States as of 2018.[160]
Race, ethnicity, religion, and languages
Ethnic origins in San Francisco
San Francisco has a majority minority population, as non-Hispanic whites comprise less than half of the population, 41.9%, down from 92.5% in 1940.[161] As of the 2020 census, the racial makeup and population of San Francisco included: 361,382 Whites (41.3%), 296,505 Asians (33.9%), 46,725 African Americans (5.3%), 86,233 Multiracial Americans (9.9%), 6,475 Native Americans and Alaska Natives (0.7%), 3,476 Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (0.4%) and 73,169 persons of other races (8.4%). There were 136,761 Hispanics or Latinos of any race (15.6%).
In 2010, residents of Chinese ethnicity constituted the largest single ethnic minority group in San Francisco at 21% of the population; other large Asian groups include Filipinos (5%) and Vietnamese (2%), with Japanese, Koreans and many other Asian and Pacific Islander groups represented in the city.[162] The population of Chinese ancestry is most heavily concentrated in Chinatown and the Sunset and Richmond Districts. Filipinos are most concentrated in SoMa and the Crocker-Amazon; the latter neighborhood shares a border with Daly City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Filipinos in North America.[162][163] The Tenderloin District is home to a large portion of the city's Vietnamese population as well as businesses and restaurants, which is known as the city's Little Saigon.[162]
The principal Hispanic groups in the city were those of Mexican (7%) and Salvadoran (2%) ancestry. The Hispanic population is most heavily concentrated in the Mission District, Tenderloin District, and Excelsior District.[164] The city's percentage of Hispanic residents is less than half of that of the state.
African Americans constitute 6% of San Francisco's population,[161] a percentage similar to that for California as a whole.[165] The majority of the city's black population reside within the neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley, and the Fillmore District.[164] There are smaller, yet sizeable Black communities in Diamond Heights, Glen Park, and Mission District.
The city has long been home to a significant Jewish community, today Jewish Americans make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population as of 2018. The Jewish population of San Francisco is relatively young compared to many other major cities, and at 10% of the population, San Francisco has the third-largest Jewish community in terms of percentages after New York City, and Los Angeles, respectively.[166] The Jewish community is one of the largest minority groups in the city and is scattered throughout the city, but the Richmond District is home to an ethnic enclave of mostly Russian Jews.[167] The Fillmore District was formerly a mostly Jewish neighborhood from the 1920s until the 1970s, when many of its Jewish residents moved to other neighborhoods of the city as well as the suburbs of nearby Marin County.[168]
Demographic profile[169] 1860 1880 1920 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020[170]
Non-Hispanic White alone 90.2% 87.7% 93.5% 72.7% 52.8% 46.9% 43.5% 41.7% 39.1%
Non-Hispanic Asian alone 4.6% 9.3% 2.7% 7.9% 21.3% 28.0% 30.7% 33.1% 33.7%
— Chinese American 4.6% 9.3% 1.5% 5.1% 12.1% 17.6% 20.0% 19.8% 21.0%
— Filipino American — — 0.2% 1.5% 5.2% 5.4% 5.0% 4.9% 4.4%
Hispanic or Latino, any race(s) 3.0% 2.4% 3.4% 9.4% 12.6% 13.3% 14.2% 15.2% 15.6%
— Mexican American 1.8% 1.4% 1.5% 5.1% 5.0% 5.2% 6.0% 7.5% 7.9%
Non-Hispanic Black alone 2.1% 0.6% 0.4% 9.7% 12.3% 10.7% 7.6% 6.0% 5.1%
Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander alone — — <0.1% — 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.3%
Non-Hispanic Native American alone <0.1% <0.1% <0.1% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%
Non-Hispanic other — — — 0.2% 0.4% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.8%
Non-Hispanic two or more races — — — — — — 3.0% 2.9% 5.2%
Foreign-born[e] 50.2% 44.5% 30.1% 20.2% 29.5% 35.4% 38.4% 38.2% 34.2%
See also: Demographics of San Francisco § Historical estimates
Source: US Census and IPUMS USA[169]
Map of racial distribution in San Francisco, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other
According to a 2018 study by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Jews make up 10% (80,000) of the city's population, making Judaism the second-largest religion in San Francisco after Christianity.[166] A prior 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, the largest religious groupings in San Francisco's metropolitan area are Christians (48%), followed by those of no religion (35%), Hindus (5%), Jews (3%), Buddhists (2%), Muslims (1%) and a variety of other religions have smaller followings. According to the same study by the Pew Research Center, about 20% of residents in the area are Protestant, and 25% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. Meanwhile, 10% of the residents in metropolitan San Francisco identify as agnostics, while 5% identify as atheists.[171][172]
As of 2010, 55% (411,728) of San Francisco residents spoke only English at home, while 19% (140,302) spoke a variety of Chinese (mostly Taishanese and Cantonese[173][174]), 12% (88,147) Spanish, 3% (25,767) Tagalog, and 2% (14,017) Russian. In total, 45% (342,693) of San Francisco's population spoke a language at home other than English.[175]
Ethnic clustering
San Francisco has several prominent Chinese, Mexican, and Filipino neighborhoods including Chinatown and the Mission District. Research collected on the immigrant clusters in the city show that more than half of the Asian population in San Francisco is either Chinese-born (40.3%) or Philippine-born (13.1%), and of the Mexican population 21% were Mexican-born, meaning these are people who recently immigrated to the United States.[176] Between the years of 1990 and 2000, the number of foreign-born residents increased from 33% to nearly 40%.[176] During this same time period, the San Francisco metropolitan area received 850,000 immigrants, ranking third in the United States after Los Angeles and New York.[176]
Education, households, and income
Sea Cliff is one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods.[177]
Of all major cities in the United States, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree, second only to Seattle. Over 44% of adults have a bachelor's or higher degree.[178] San Francisco had the highest rate at 7,031 per square mile, or over 344,000 total graduates in the city's 46.7 square miles (121 km2).[179]
San Francisco has the highest estimated percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15%.[180] San Francisco also has the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county, with the Bay Area having a higher concentration than any other metropolitan area.[181]
San Francisco ranks third of American cities in median household income[182] with a 2007 value of $65,519.[165] Median family income is $81,136.[165] An emigration of middle-class families has left the city with a lower proportion of children than any other large American city,[183] with the dog population cited as exceeding the child population of 115,000, in 2018.[184] The city's poverty rate is 12%, lower than the national average.[185] Homelessness has been a chronic problem for San Francisco since the early 1970s.[186] The city is believed to have the highest number of homeless inhabitants per capita of any major U.S. city.[187][188]
There are 345,811 households in the city, out of which: 133,366 households (39%) were individuals, 109,437 (32%) were opposite-sex married couples, 63,577 (18%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21,677 (6%) were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 10,384 (3%) were same-sex married couples or partnerships. The average household size was 2.26; the average family size was 3.11. 452,986 people (56%) lived in rental housing units, and 327,985 people (41%) lived in owner-occupied housing units. The median age of the city population is 38 years.
San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989, and city officials strengthened the stance in 2013 with its 'Due Process for All' ordinance. The law declared local authorities could not hold immigrants for immigration offenses if they had no violent felonies on their records and did not currently face charges."[189] The city issues a Resident ID Card regardless of the applicant's immigration status.[190]
Homelessness
See also: Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area
Homeless encampment under a freeway in San Francisco
Homelessness in San Francisco emerged as a major issue in the late 20th century and remains a growing problem in modern times.[191]
8,035 homeless people were counted in San Francisco's 2019 point-in-time street and shelter count. This was an increase of more than 17% over the 2017 count of 6,858 people. 5,180 of the people were living unsheltered on the streets and in parks.[192] 26% of respondents in the 2019 count identified job loss as the primary cause of their homelessness, 18% cited alcohol or drug use, and 13% cited being evicted from their residence.[192] The city of San Francisco has been dramatically increasing its spending to service the growing population homelessness crisis: spending jumped by $241 million in 2016–17 to total $275 million, compared to a budget of just $34 million the previous year. In 2017–18 the budget for combatting homelessness stood at $305 million.[193] In the 2019–2020 budget year, the city budgeted $368 million for homelessness services. In the proposed 2020–2021 budget the city budgeted $850 million for homelessness services.[194]
In January 2018 a United Nations special rapporteur on homelessness, Leilani Farha, stated that she was "completely shocked" by San Francisco's homelessness crisis during a visit to the city. She compared the "deplorable conditions" of the homeless camps she witnessed on San Francisco's streets to those she had seen in Mumbai.[193] In May 2020, San Francisco officially sanctioned homeless encampments.[195]
Crime
Main article: Crime in San Francisco
SFPD mounted police officers
In 2011, 50 murders were reported, which is 6.1 per 100,000 people.[196] There were about 134 rapes, 3,142 robberies, and about 2,139 assaults. There were about 4,469 burglaries, 25,100 thefts, and 4,210 motor vehicle thefts.[197] The Tenderloin area has the highest crime rate in San Francisco: 70% of the city's violent crimes, and around one-fourth of the city's murders, occur in this neighborhood. The Tenderloin also sees high rates of drug abuse, gang violence, and prostitution.[198] Another area with high crime rates is the Bayview-Hunters Point area. In the first six months of 2015 there were 25 murders compared to 14 in the first six months of 2014. However, the murder rate is still much lower than in past decades.[199] That rate, though, did rise again by the close of 2016. According to the San Francisco Police Department, there were 59 murders in the city in 2016, an annual total that marked a 13.5% increase in the number of homicides (52) from 2015.[200] The city has also gained a reputation for car break-ins, with over 19,000 car break-ins occurring in 2021.[201]
During the first half of 2018, human feces on San Francisco sidewalks were the second-most-frequent complaint of city residents, with about 65 calls per day. The city has formed a "poop patrol" to attempt to combat the problem.[202]
SFPD parking enforcement officers
San Francisco is a center of sexual slavery.[203]
In January 2022, CBS News reported that a single suspect was "responsible for more than half of all reported hate crimes against the API community in San Francisco last year," and that he "was allowed to be out of custody despite the number of charges against him."[204]
Several street gangs have operated in the city over the decades, including MS-13,[205] the Sureños and Norteños in the Mission District.[206] In 2008, a MS-13 member killed three family members as they were arriving home in the city's Excelsior District. His victims had no relationship with him, nor did they have any known gang or street crime involvement.[207][citation needed]
African-American street gangs familiar in other cities, including the Bloods, Crips and their sets, have struggled to establish footholds in San Francisco,[208] while police and prosecutors have been accused of liberally labeling young African-American males as gang members.[209] However, gangs founded in San Francisco with majority Black memberships have made their presence in the city. Criminal gangs with shotcallers in China, including Triad groups such as the Wo Hop To, have been reported active in San Francisco.[210]
Economy
See also: List of companies based in San Francisco
San Francisco's Financial District, despite its declining importance,[211] is still considered the Wall Street of the West.
According to academic Rob Wilson, San Francisco is a global city, a status that pre-dated the city's popularity during the California Gold Rush.[212] However, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the exodus of business from the downtown core of San Francisco.[45][213] In 2023, the conservative think tank Hoover Institution warned of a uniquely severe long-term economic collapse impending for San Francisco.[48] Attributed causes range from crime, drugs, and homelessness,[49] to the West Coast's and particularly San Francisco's challenge to remain relevant as a commercial center given its relative geographic isolation from other North American commercial centers in an era of increasingly ubiquitous e-commerce.[50][51]
San Francisco has a diversified service economy, with employment spread across a wide range of professional services, including tourism, financial services, and (increasingly) high technology.[214] In 2016, approximately 27% of workers were employed in professional business services; 14% in leisure and hospitality; 13% in government services; 12% in education and health care; 11% in trade, transportation, and utilities; and 8% in financial activities.[214] In 2019, GDP in the five-county San Francisco metropolitan area grew 3.8% in real terms to $592 billion.[215][216] Additionally, in 2019 the 14-county San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland combined statistical area had a GDP of $1.086 trillion,[216] ranking 3rd among CSAs, and ahead of all but 16 countries. As of 2019, San Francisco County was the 7th highest-income county in the United States (among 3,142), with a per capita personal income of $139,405.[217] Marin County, directly to the north over the Golden Gate Bridge, and San Mateo County, directly to the south on the Peninsula, were the 6th and 9th highest-income counties respectively.
Skyline of South of Market (SoMa), including Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco
The legacy of the California Gold Rush turned San Francisco into the principal banking and finance center of the West Coast in the early twentieth century.[218] Montgomery Street in the Financial District became known as the "Wall Street of the West", home to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Wells Fargo corporate headquarters, and the site of the now-defunct Pacific Coast Stock Exchange.[218] Bank of America, a pioneer in making banking services accessible to the middle class, was founded in San Francisco and in the 1960s, built the landmark modern skyscraper at 555 California Street for its corporate headquarters. eventually moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks, and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions,[219] six Fortune 500 companies,[220] and a large supporting infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—San Francisco is designated as an Alpha(-) World City.[221] The 2017 Global Financial Centres Index ranked San Francisco as the sixth-most competitive financial center in the world.[222]
Beginning in the 1990s, San Francisco's economy diversified away from finance and tourism towards the growing fields of high tech, biotechnology, and medical research.[223] Technology jobs accounted for just 1 percent of San Francisco's economy in 1990, growing to 4 percent in 2010 and an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013.[224] San Francisco became a center of Internet start-up companies during the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the subsequent social media boom of the late 2000s (decade).[225] Since 2010, San Francisco proper has attracted an increasing share of venture capital investments as compared to nearby Silicon Valley, attracting 423 financings worth US$4.58 billion in 2013.[226][227][228] In 2004, the city approved a payroll tax exemption for biotechnology companies[229] to foster growth in the Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus and hospital of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Mission Bay hosts the UCSF Medical Center, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, and Gladstone Institutes,[230] as well as more than 40 private-sector life sciences companies.[231]
Union Square is a major retail hub for the city and for the Bay Area. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has accelerated the continuing exodus of business from Union Square and the adjacent downtown core of San Francisco.[232][44][233][51]
The top employer in the city is the city government itself, employing 5.6% (31,000+ people) of the city's workforce, followed by UCSF with over 25,000 employees.[234] The largest private-sector employer is Salesforce, with 8,500 employees, as of 2018.[235] Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms make up 85% of city establishments,[236] and the number of San Franciscans employed by firms of more than 1,000 employees has fallen by half since 1977.[237] The growth of national big box and formula retail chains into the city has been made intentionally difficult by political and civic consensus. In an effort to buoy small privately owned businesses in San Francisco and preserve the unique retail personality of the city, the Small Business Commission started a publicity campaign in 2004 to keep a larger share of retail dollars in the local economy,[238] and the Board of Supervisors has used the planning code to limit the neighborhoods where formula retail establishments can set up shop,[239] an effort affirmed by San Francisco voters.[240] However, by 2016, San Francisco was rated low by small businesses in a Business Friendliness Survey.[241]
Ferry Building in the Embarcadero.
Like many U.S. cities, San Francisco once had a significant manufacturing sector employing nearly 60,000 workers in 1969, but nearly all production left for cheaper locations by the 1980s.[242] As of 2014, San Francisco has seen a small resurgence in manufacturing, with more than 4,000 manufacturing jobs across 500 companies, doubling since 2011. The city's largest manufacturing employer is Anchor Brewing Company, and the largest by revenue is Timbuk2.[242]
As of the first quarter of 2022, the median value of homes in San Francisco County was $1,297,030. It ranked third in the US for counties with highest median home value, behind Nantucket, Massachusetts and San Mateo County, California.[243]
Technology
Twitter headquarters on Market St.
San Francisco became a hub for technological driven economic growth during the internet boom of the 1990s, and still holds an important position in the world city network today.[176][244] Intense redevelopment towards the "new economy" makes business more technologically minded. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the job growth rate was 4.9%, creating over 50,000 jobs in technology firms and internet content production.[176]
In the second technological boom driven by social media in the mid-2000s, San Francisco became a location for companies such as Apple, Google, Ubisoft, Facebook, and Twitter to base their tech offices and for their employees to live.[245]
Tourism and conventions
See also: Port of San Francisco
The Fisherman's Wharf is a popular tourist attraction.
Tourism is one of the city's largest private-sector industries, accounting for more than one out of seven jobs in the city.[223][246] The city's frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. In 2016, it attracted the fifth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States.[247] More than 25 million visitors arrived in San Francisco in 2016, adding US$9.96 billion to the economy.[248] With a large hotel infrastructure and a world-class convention facility in the Moscone Center, San Francisco is a popular destination for annual conventions and conferences.[249]
Some of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco, as noted by the Travel Channel, include the Golden Gate Bridge and Alamo Square Park, home to the famous "Painted Ladies". Both of these locations were often used as landscape shots for the hit American television sitcom Full House. There is also Lombard Street, known for its "crookedness" and extensive views. Tourists also visit Pier 39, which offers dining, shopping, entertainment, and views of the bay, sunbathing California sea lions, the Aquarium of the Bay, and the famous Alcatraz Island.[250]
Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill
San Francisco also offers tourists cultural and unique nightlife in its neighborhoods.[251][252]
The new Terminal Project at Pier 27 opened September 25, 2014, as a replacement for the old Pier 35.[253] Itineraries from San Francisco usually include round-trip cruises to Alaska and Mexico.
A heightened interest in conventioneering in San Francisco, marked by the establishment of convention centers such as Yerba Buena, acted as a feeder into the local tourist economy and resulted in an increase in the hotel industry: "In 1959, the city had fewer than thirty-three hundred first-class hotel rooms; by 1970, the number was nine thousand; and by 1999, there were more than thirty thousand."[254] The commodification of the Castro District has contributed to San Francisco's tourist economy.[255]
Arts and culture
Main article: Culture of San Francisco
See also: San Francisco in popular culture
The Palace of Fine Arts, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition
Although the Financial District, Union Square, and Fisherman's Wharf are well known around the world, San Francisco is also characterized by its numerous culturally rich streetscapes featuring mixed-use neighborhoods anchored around central commercial corridors to which residents and visitors alike can walk.[citation needed] Because of these characteristics,[original research?] San Francisco is ranked the "most walkable" city in the United States by Walkscore.com.[256] Many neighborhoods feature a mix of businesses, restaurants and venues that cater to the daily needs of local residents while also serving many visitors and tourists. Some neighborhoods are dotted with boutiques, cafés and nightlife such as Union Street in Cow Hollow, 24th Street in Noe Valley, Valencia Street in the Mission, Grant Avenue in North Beach, and Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. This approach especially has influenced the continuing South of Market neighborhood redevelopment with businesses and neighborhood services rising alongside high-rise residences.[257][failed verification]
The Castro is famous as one of the first gay villages in the country.[258]
Since the 1990s, the demand for skilled information technology workers from local startups and nearby Silicon Valley has attracted white-collar workers from all over the world and created a high standard of living in San Francisco.[259] Many neighborhoods that were once blue-collar, middle, and lower class have been gentrifying, as many of the city's traditional business and industrial districts have experienced a renaissance driven by the redevelopment of the Embarcadero, including the neighborhoods South Beach and Mission Bay. The city's property values and household income have risen to among the highest in the nation,[260][261][262] creating a large and upscale restaurant, retail, and entertainment scene. According to a 2014 quality of life survey of global cities, San Francisco has the highest quality of living of any U.S. city.[263] However, due to the exceptionally high cost of living, many of the city's middle and lower-class families have been leaving the city for the outer suburbs of the Bay Area, or for California's Central Valley.[264] By June 2, 2015, the median rent was reported to be as high as $4,225.[265] The high cost of living is due in part to restrictive planning laws which limit new residential construction.[266]
The Mission District is the historic center of the city's Chicano/Mexican-American population and greater Hispanic and Latino community.
The international character that San Francisco has enjoyed since its founding is continued today by large numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. With 39% of its residents born overseas,[237] San Francisco has numerous neighborhoods filled with businesses and civic institutions catering to new arrivals. In particular, the arrival of many ethnic Chinese, which began to accelerate in the 1970s, has complemented the long-established community historically based in Chinatown throughout the city and has transformed the annual Chinese New Year Parade into the largest event of its kind on the West Coast.
With the arrival of the "beat" writers and artists of the 1950s and societal changes culminating in the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury district during the 1960s, San Francisco became a center of liberal activism and of the counterculture that arose at that time. The Democrats and to a lesser extent the Green Party have dominated city politics since the late 1970s, after the last serious Republican challenger for city office lost the 1975 mayoral election by a narrow margin. San Francisco has not voted more than 20% for a Republican presidential or senatorial candidate since 1988.[267] In 2007, the city expanded its Medicaid and other indigent medical programs into the Healthy San Francisco program,[268] which subsidizes certain medical services for eligible residents.[269][270][271]
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, also known as SF MOMA
Since 1993, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has distributed 400,000 free syringes every month aimed at reducing HIV and other health risks for drug users, as well as providing disposal sites and services.[272][273][274]
San Francisco also has had a very active environmental community. Starting with the founding of the Sierra Club in 1892 to the establishment of the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest in 1981, San Francisco has been at the forefront of many global discussions regarding the environment.[275][276] The 1980 San Francisco Recycling Program was one of the earliest curbside recycling programs.[277] The city's GoSolarSF incentive promotes solar installations and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is rolling out the CleanPowerSF program to sell electricity from local renewable sources.[278][279] SF Greasecycle is a program to recycle used cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel.[280]
The Sunset Reservoir Solar Project, completed in 2010, installed 24,000 solar panels on the roof of the reservoir. The 5-megawatt plant more than tripled the city's 2-megawatt solar generation capacity when it opened in December 2010.[281][282]
LGBT
Main article: LGBT culture in San Francisco
San Francisco Pride is one of the oldest and largest LGBT pride events in the world.
San Francisco has long had an LGBT-friendly history. It was home to the first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, Daughters of Bilitis; the first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States, José Sarria; the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, Harvey Milk; the first openly lesbian judge appointed in the U.S., Mary C. Morgan; and the first transgender police commissioner, Theresa Sparks. The city's large gay population has created and sustained a politically and culturally active community over many decades, developing a powerful presence in San Francisco's civic life.[citation needed] Survey data released in 2015 by Gallup places the proportion of LGBT adults in the San Francisco metro area at 6.2%, which is the highest proportion of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas as measured by the polling organization.[283]
The gay pride flag was originally developed in San Francisco.
One of the most popular destinations for gay tourists internationally, the city hosts San Francisco Pride, one of the largest and oldest pride parades. San Francisco Pride events have been held continuously since 1972. The events are themed and a new theme is created each year.[284] In 2013, over 1.5 million people attended, around 500,000 more than the previous year.[285] Pink Saturday is an annual street party held the Saturday before the pride parade, which coincides with the Dyke march.
The Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair that is held in September, endcapping San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week".[286] It started in 1984 and is California's third-largest single-day, outdoor spectator event and the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.[287]
Performing arts
See also: List of theatres in San Francisco
War Memorial Opera House, part of the S.F. War Memorial & Performing Arts Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the U.S.
Golden Gate Theatre is located in the historic Theatre District
San Francisco's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center hosts some of the most enduring performing-arts companies in the country. The War Memorial Opera House houses the San Francisco Opera, the second-largest opera company in North America[288] as well as the San Francisco Ballet, while the San Francisco Symphony plays in Davies Symphony Hall. Opened in 2013, the SFJAZZ Center hosts jazz performances year round.[289]
The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue that gained fame in the 1960s, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound.[290] It closed its doors in 1971 with a final performance by Santana and reopened in 1994 with a show by The Smashing Pumpkins.[291]
San Francisco has a large number of theaters and live performance venues. Local theater companies have been noted for risk taking and innovation.[292] The Tony Award-winning non-profit American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a member of the national League of Resident Theatres. Other local winners of the Regional Theatre Tony Award include the San Francisco Mime Troupe.[293] San Francisco theaters frequently host pre-Broadway engagements and tryout runs,[294] and some original San Francisco productions have later moved to Broadway.[295]
Museums
Further information: List of museums in San Francisco Bay Area, California § San Francisco
The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) houses 20th century and contemporary works of art. It moved to its current building in the South of Market neighborhood in 1995 and attracted more than 600,000 visitors annually.[296] SFMOMA closed for renovation and expansion in 2013. The museum reopened on May 14, 2016, with an addition, designed by Snøhetta, that has doubled the museum's size.[297]
The Palace of the Legion of Honor holds primarily European antiquities and works of art at its Lincoln Park building modeled after its Parisian namesake. The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park features American decorative pieces and anthropological holdings from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, while Asian art is housed in the Asian Art Museum. Opposite the de Young stands the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum that also hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. Located on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero, the Exploratorium is an interactive science museum. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is a non-collecting institution that hosts a broad array of temporary exhibitions. On Nob Hill, the Cable Car Museum is a working museum featuring the cable car powerhouse, which drives the cables.[298]
Sports
Further information: Sports in the San Francisco Bay Area
Oracle Park, home of the SF Giants
Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants have played in San Francisco since moving from New York in 1958. The Giants play at Oracle Park, which opened in 2000.[299] The Giants won World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and in 2014. The Giants have boasted stars such as Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Barry Bonds (MLB's career home run leader). In 2012, San Francisco was ranked No. 1 in a study that examined which U.S. metro areas have produced the most Major Leaguers since 1920.[300]
The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) began play in 1946 as an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) league charter member, moved to the NFL in 1950 and into Candlestick Park in 1971. The team left the San Francisco area in 2014, moving approximately 50 miles south to Santa Clara, and began playing its home games at Levi's Stadium,[301][302] but despite the relocation did not change its name from the "San Francisco" 49ers. The 49ers won five Super Bowl titles between 1982 and 1995.
The Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors
NBA’s Golden State Warriors have played in the San Francisco Bay Area since moving from Philadelphia in 1962. The Warriors played as the San Francisco Warriors, from 1962 to 1971, before being renamed the Golden State Warriors prior to the 1971–1972 season in an attempt to present the team as a representation of the whole state of California, which had already adopted "The Golden State" nickname.[303] The Warriors' arena, Chase Center, is located in San Francisco.[304] After winning two championships in Philadelphia, they have won five championships since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area,[305] and made five consecutive NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019, winning three of them. They won again in 2022, the franchise's first championship while residing in San Francisco proper.
At the collegiate level, the San Francisco Dons compete in NCAA Division I. Bill Russell led the Dons basketball team to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. There is also the San Francisco State Gators, who compete in NCAA Division II.[306] Oracle Park hosted the annual Fight Hunger Bowl college football game from 2002 through 2013 before it moved to Santa Clara.
There are a handful of lower-league soccer clubs in San Francisco playing mostly from April – June.
Club Founded Venue League Tier level
El Farolito 1985 Boxer Stadium NPSL 4
San Francisco City FC 2001 Kezar Stadium USL League Two 4
San Francisco Glens SC 1961 Skyline College USL League Two 4
SF Elite Metro 2017 Negoesco Stadium NISA Nation 5
Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race known for colorful costumes.
The Bay to Breakers footrace, held annually since 1912, is best known for colorful costumes and a celebratory community spirit.[307] The San Francisco Marathon attracts more than 21,000 participants.[308] The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon has, since 1980, attracted 2,000 top professional and amateur triathletes for its annual race.[309] The Olympic Club, founded in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. Its private golf course has hosted the U.S. Open on five occasions. San Francisco hosted the 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition.[310]
With an ideal climate for outdoor activities, San Francisco has ample resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. There are more than 200 miles (320 km) of bicycle paths, lanes and bike routes in the city.[311] San Francisco residents have often ranked among the fittest in the country.[312] Golden Gate Park has miles of paved and unpaved running trails as well as a golf course and disc golf course. Boating, sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing are among the popular activities on San Francisco Bay, and the city maintains a yacht harbor in the Marina District.
San Francisco also has had Esports teams, such as the Overwatch League's San Francisco Shock. Established in 2017,[313] they won two back-to-back championship titles in 2019 and 2020.[314][315]
Parks and recreation
See also: List of parks in San Francisco
Golden Gate Park is the 3rd most-visited city park in the U.S., after Central Park and the National Mall.[316]
Several of San Francisco's parks and nearly all of its beaches form part of the regional Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States with over 13 million visitors a year. Among the GGNRA's attractions within the city are Ocean Beach, which runs along the Pacific Ocean shoreline and is frequented by a vibrant surfing community, and Baker Beach, which is located in a cove west of the Golden Gate.
The Presidio of San Francisco is the former 18th century Spanish military base, which today is one of the city's largest parks and home to numerous museums and institutions. Also within the Presidio is Crissy Field, a former airfield that was restored to its natural salt marsh ecosystem. The GGNRA also administers Fort Funston, Lands End, Fort Mason, and Alcatraz. The National Park Service separately administers the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park – a fleet of historic ships and waterfront property around Aquatic Park.[citation needed]
Painted Ladies on Alamo Square.
The Cliff House over Ocean Beach
There are more than 220 parks maintained by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department.[317] The largest and best-known city park is Golden Gate Park,[318] which stretches from the center of the city west to the Pacific Ocean. Once covered in native grasses and sand dunes, the park was conceived in the 1860s and was created by the extensive planting of thousands of non-native trees and plants. The large park is rich with cultural and natural attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden.[citation needed]
Lake Merced is a fresh-water lake surrounded by parkland[citation needed] and near the San Francisco Zoo, a city-owned park that houses more than 250 animal species, many of which are endangered.[319] The only park managed by the California State Park system located principally in San Francisco, Candlestick Point was the state's first urban recreation area.[320]
Most of San Francisco's islands are protected as parkland or nature reserves. Alcatraz Island, operated by the National Park Service, is open to the public. The Farallon Islands are protected wildlife refuges. The Seal Rocks are protected as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Red Rock Island is the only privately-owned island in San Francisco Bay, but is uninhabited. Yerba Buena Island is largely utilized by the military.
San Francisco is the first city in the U.S. to have a park within a 10-Minute Walk of every resident.[321][322] It also ranks fifth in the U.S. for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the top 100 park systems across the United States, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.[323]
Government
Main articles: Government of San Francisco, Politics of San Francisco, and Mayors of San Francisco
See also: San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall, built 1913–16 and designed by Arthur Brown Jr.
The mayor is also the county executive, and the county Board of Supervisors acts as the city council. The government of San Francisco is a charter city and is constituted of two co-equal branches: the executive branch is headed by the mayor and includes other citywide elected and appointed officials as well as the civil service; the 11-member Board of Supervisors, the legislative branch, is headed by a president and is responsible for passing laws and budgets, though San Franciscans also make use of direct ballot initiatives to pass legislation.[324]
Because of its unique city-county status, the local government is able to exercise jurisdiction over certain property outside city limits. San Francisco International Airport, though located in San Mateo County, is owned and operated by the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco's largest jail complex (County Jail No. 5) is located in San Mateo County, in an unincorporated area adjacent to San Bruno. San Francisco was also granted a perpetual leasehold over the Hetch Hetchy Valley and watershed in Yosemite National Park by the Raker Act in 1913.[325]
The Supreme Court of California is based in the Earl Warren Building.
The members of the Board of Supervisors are elected as representatives of specific districts within the city.[326] Upon the death or resignation of the mayor, the President of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until the full Board elects an interim replacement for the remainder of the term. In 1978, Dianne Feinstein assumed the office following the assassination of George Moscone and was later selected by the board to finish the term.[citation needed] In 2011, Ed Lee was selected by the board to finish the term of Gavin Newsom, who resigned to take office as Lieutenant Governor of California.[327] Lee (who won two elections to remain mayor) was temporarily replaced by San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed after he died on December 12, 2017. Supervisor Mark Farrell was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to finish Lee's term on January 23, 2018.
Most local offices in San Francisco are elected using ranked choice voting.[328]
San Francisco Federal Building
San Francisco serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the U.S. Court of Appeals, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Mint. Until decommissioning in the early 1990s, the city had major military installations at the Presidio, Treasure Island, and Hunters Point—a legacy still reflected in the annual celebration of Fleet Week. The State of California uses San Francisco as the home of the state supreme court and other state agencies. Foreign governments maintain more than seventy consulates in San Francisco.[329]
The municipal budget for fiscal year 2015–16 was $8.99 billion,[330] and is one of the largest city budgets in the United States.[331] The City of San Francisco spends more per resident than any city other than Washington, D.C., over $10,000 in FY 2015–2016.[331] The city employs around 27,000 workers.[332]
The historic Browning Courthouse
In the California State Senate, San Francisco is in the 11th Senate District, represented by Democrat Scott Wiener. In the California State Assembly, it is split between the 17th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Matt Haney, and the 19th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Phil Ting.[333]
In the United States House of Representatives, San Francisco is split between two congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 11th District, represented by Nancy Pelosi (D–San Francisco). A sliver in the southwest is part of the 15th District represented by Kevin Mullin (D–South San Francisco).[334] Pelosi served as the House Speaker from January 3, 2019 to January 3, 2023, a post she also held from 2007 through 2011. She has also held the post of House Minority Leader, from 2003 to 2007 and 2011 to 2019.
Education
University of San Francisco
Colleges and universities
See also: List of colleges and universities in San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is the sole campus of the University of California system entirely dedicated to graduate education in health and biomedical sciences. It is ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States[335] and operates the UCSF Medical Center, which ranks as the number one hospital in California and the number 5 in the country.[336] UCSF is a major local employer, second in size only to the city and county government.[337][338][339] A 43-acre (17 ha) Mission Bay campus was opened in 2003, complementing its original facility in Parnassus Heights. It contains research space and facilities to foster biotechnology and life sciences entrepreneurship and will double the size of UCSF's research enterprise.[340] All in all, UCSF operates more than 20 facilities across San Francisco.[341]
The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, founded in Civic Center in 1878, is the oldest law school in California and claims more judges on the state bench than any other institution.[342] San Francisco's two University of California institutions have recently formed an official affiliation in the UCSF/UC Law SF Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy.[343]
San Francisco Art Institute is the oldest art school in the Western U.S.
San Francisco State University is part of the California State University system and is located near Lake Merced.[344] The school has approximately 30,000 students and awards undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 100 disciplines.[344] The City College of San Francisco, with its main facility in the Ingleside district, is one of the largest two-year community colleges in the country. It has an enrollment of about 100,000 students and offers an extensive continuing education program.[345]
University of California College of the Law
Founded in 1855, the University of San Francisco, a private Jesuit university located on Lone Mountain, is the oldest institution of higher education in San Francisco and one of the oldest universities established west of the Mississippi River.[346] Golden Gate University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university formed in 1901 and located in the Financial District.
With an enrollment of 13,000 students, the Academy of Art University is the largest institute of art and design in the nation.[347] Founded in 1871, the San Francisco Art Institute is the oldest art school west of the Mississippi.[348] The California College of the Arts, located north of Potrero Hill, has programs in architecture, fine arts, design, and writing.[349] The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the only independent music school on the West Coast, grants degrees in orchestral instruments, chamber music, composition, and conducting.
The California Culinary Academy, associated with the Le Cordon Bleu program, offers programs in the culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality and restaurant management. California Institute of Integral Studies, founded in 1968, offers a variety of graduate programs in its Schools of Professional Psychology & Health, and Consciousness and Transformation.
Primary and secondary schools
See also: San Francisco public grammar schools and List of high schools in California § San Francisco County
The San Francisco Unified School District operates 114 schools and is the oldest school district in California.
Public schools are run by the San Francisco Unified School District, which covers the entire city and county,[350] as well as the California State Board of Education for some charter schools. Lowell High School, the oldest public high school in the U.S. west of the Mississippi,[351] and the smaller School of the Arts High School are two of San Francisco's magnet schools at the secondary level. Public school students attend schools based on an assignment system rather than neighborhood proximity.[352]
Just under 30% of the city's school-age population attends one of San Francisco's more than 100 private or parochial schools, compared to a 10% rate nationwide.[353] Nearly 40 of those schools are Catholic schools managed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.[354]
San Francisco has nearly 300 preschool programs primarily operated by Head Start, San Francisco Unified School District, private for-profit, private non-profit and family child care providers.[355] All 4-year-old children living in San Francisco are offered universal access to preschool through the Preschool for All program.[356]
Media
Further information: Media in the San Francisco Bay Area
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San Francisco Chronicle building
The major daily newspaper in San Francisco is the San Francisco Chronicle, which is currently Northern California's most widely circulated newspaper.[357] The Chronicle is most famous for a former columnist, the late Herb Caen, whose daily musings attracted critical acclaim and represented the "voice of San Francisco". The San Francisco Examiner, once the cornerstone of William Randolph Hearst's media empire and the home of Ambrose Bierce, declined in circulation over the years and now takes the form of a free daily tabloid, under new ownership.[358][359]
Sing Tao Daily claims to be the largest of several Chinese language dailies that serve the Bay Area.[360] SF Weekly is the city's alternative weekly newspaper. San Francisco and 7x7 are major glossy magazines about San Francisco. The national newsmagazine Mother Jones is also based in San Francisco. San Francisco is home to online-only media publications such as SFist, and AsianWeek.
The Julia Morgan-designed Hearst Building, the western headquarters of the Hearst Corporation
The San Francisco Bay Area is the sixth-largest television market.[361] It is the fourth-largest radio market after that of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.[362] in the U.S.
All major U.S. television networks have affiliates serving the region, with most of them based in the city. CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Russia Today, and CCTV America also have regional news bureaus in San Francisco. Bloomberg West was launched in 2011 from a studio on the Embarcadero and CNBC broadcasts from One Market Plaza since 2015. ESPN uses the local ABC studio for their broadcasting. The regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and its sister station Comcast SportsNet California, are both located in San Francisco. The Pac-12 Network is also based in San Francisco.
Sutro Tower is a broadcast tower and local landmark.
Public broadcasting outlets include both a television station and a radio station, both broadcasting under the call letters KQED from a facility near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. KQED-FM is the most-listened-to National Public Radio affiliate in the country.[363]
KUSF is a student-run radio station by college students from the University of San Francisco.[364] Another local broadcaster, KPOO, is an independent, African-American owned and operated noncommercial radio station established in 1971.[365] CNET, founded 1994, and Salon.com, 1995, are based in San Francisco. Sutro Tower is an important broadcast tower located between Mount Sutro and the Twin Peaks, built in 1973 for KTVU, KRON, and KPIX.
Infrastructure
Transportation
See also: Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area
Public transportation
See also: San Francisco Municipal Railway
A San Francisco cable car with Alcatraz seen behind
Transit is the most used form of transportation every day in San Francisco. Every weekday, more than 560,000 people travel on Muni's 69 bus routes and more than 140,000 customers ride the Muni Metro light rail system.[366] 32% of San Francisco residents use public transportation for their daily commute to work, ranking it fourth in the United States and first on the West Coast.[367] The San Francisco Municipal Railway, primarily known as Muni, is the primary public transit system of San Francisco. Muni is the seventh-largest transit system in the United States, with 210,848,310 rides in 2006.[368] The system operates a combined light rail and subway system, the Muni Metro, as well as large bus and trolley coach networks.[369] Additionally, it runs a historic streetcar line, which runs on Market Street from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf.[369] It also operates the famous cable cars,[369] which have been designated as a National Historic Landmark and are a major tourist attraction.[370]
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a regional Rapid Transit system, connects San Francisco with the East Bay and San Jose through the underwater Transbay Tube. The line runs under Market Street to Civic Center where it turns south to the Mission District, the southern part of the city, and through northern San Mateo County, to the San Francisco International Airport, and Millbrae.[369]
Muni Metro, run by SF Muni
Another commuter rail system, Caltrain, runs from San Francisco along the San Francisco Peninsula to San Jose.[369] Historically, trains operated by Southern Pacific Lines ran from San Francisco to Los Angeles, via Palo Alto and San Jose.
Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach runs a shuttle bus from three locations in San Francisco to its station across the bay in Emeryville.[371] Additionally, BART offers connections to San Francisco from Amtrak's stations in Emeryville, Oakland and Richmond, and Caltrain offers connections in San Jose and Santa Clara. Thruway service also runs south to San Luis Obispo with connection to the Pacific Surfliner.
San Francisco was an early adopter of carsharing in America. The non-profit City CarShare opened in 2001[372] and Zipcar closely followed.[373]
Golden Gate Ferries connect the city to North Bay communities, while San Francisco Bay Ferry connects the city to both the North and East Bay.
San Francisco Bay Ferry operates from the Ferry Building and Pier 39 to points in Oakland, Alameda, Bay Farm Island, South San Francisco, Richmond, and north to Vallejo in Solano County.[374] The Golden Gate Ferry is the other ferry operator with service between San Francisco and Marin County.[375] SolTrans runs supplemental bus service between the Ferry Building and Vallejo.
To accommodate the large amount of San Francisco citizens who commute to the Silicon Valley daily, employers like Genentech, Google, and Apple have begun to provide private bus transportation for their employees, from San Francisco locations. These buses have quickly become a heated topic of debate within the city, as protesters claim they block bus lanes and delay public buses.[376]
Freeways and roads
Further information: List of streets in San Francisco
The Bay Bridge connects the city to Oakland and the East Bay.
In 2014, only 41.3% of residents commuted by driving alone or carpooling in private vehicles in San Francisco, a decline from 48.6% in 2000.[377] There are 1,088 miles of streets in San Francisco with 946 miles of these streets being surface streets, and 59 miles of freeways.[377] Due to its unique geography, and the freeway revolts of the late 1950s,[378] Interstate 80 begins at the approach to the Bay Bridge and is the only direct automobile link to the East Bay. U.S. Route 101 connects to the western terminus of Interstate 80 and provides access to the south of the city along San Francisco Bay toward Silicon Valley. Northward, the routing for U.S. 101 uses arterial streets to connect to the Golden Gate Bridge, the only direct automobile link to Marin County and the North Bay.
As part of the retrofitting of the Golden Gate Bridge and installation of a suicide barrier, starting in 2019 the railings on the west side of the pedestrian walkway were replaced with thinner, more flexible slats in order to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to 100 mph (161 km/h). Starting in June 2020, reports were received of a loud hum produced by the new railing slats, heard across the city when a strong west wind was blowing.[379]
Lombard Street in Russian Hill is famed as "the most crooked street in the world".
State Route 1 also enters San Francisco from the north via the Golden Gate Bridge and bisects the city as the 19th Avenue arterial thoroughfare, joining with Interstate 280 at the city's southern border. Interstate 280 continues south from San Francisco, and also turns to the east along the southern edge of the city, terminating just south of the Bay Bridge in the South of Market neighborhood. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, city leaders demolished the Embarcadero Freeway and a portion of the Central Freeway, converting them into street-level boulevards.[378]
State Route 35 enters the city from the south as Skyline Boulevard and terminates at its intersection with Highway 1. State Route 82 enters San Francisco from the south as Mission Street, and terminates shortly thereafter at its junction with 280. The western terminus of the historic transcontinental Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, is in San Francisco's Lincoln Park.
Vision Zero
In 2014, San Francisco committed to Vision Zero, with the goal of ending all traffic fatalities caused by motor vehicles within the city by 2024.[380] San Francisco's Vision Zero plan calls for investing in engineering, enforcement, and education, and focusing on dangerous intersections. In 2013, 25 people were killed by car and truck drivers while walking and biking in the city and 9 car drivers and passengers were killed in collisions. In 2019, 42 people were killed in traffic collisions in San Francisco.[381]
Airports
Main article: San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the world
Though located 13 miles (21 km) south of downtown in unincorporated San Mateo County, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco. SFO is a hub for United Airlines[382] and Alaska Airlines.[383] SFO is a major international gateway to Asia and Europe, with the largest international terminal in North America.[384] In 2011, SFO was the eighth-busiest airport in the U.S. and the 22nd-busiest in the world, handling over 40.9 million passengers.[385]
Located in the South Bay, the San Jose International Airport (SJC) is the second-busiest airport in the Bay Area, followed by Oakland International Airport, which is a popular, low-cost alternative to SFO. Geographically, Oakland Airport is approximately the same distance from downtown San Francisco as SFO, but due to its location across San Francisco Bay, it is greater driving distance from San Francisco.[citation needed]
Cycling and walking
Main article: Cycling in San Francisco
Bay Wheels station on Market St.
Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in San Francisco, with 75,000 residents commuting by bicycle each day.[386] In recent years, the city has installed better cycling infrastructure such as protected bike lanes and parking racks.[387] Bay Wheels, previously named Bay Area Bike Share at inception, launched in August 2013 with 700 bikes in downtown San Francisco, selected cities in the East Bay, and San Jose. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District are responsible for the operation with management provided by Motivate.[388] A major expansion started in 2017, along with a rebranding as Ford GoBike; the company received its current name in 2019.[389] Pedestrian traffic is also widespread. In 2015, Walk Score ranked San Francisco the second-most walkable city in the United States.[390][391][392]
San Francisco has significantly higher rates of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic deaths than the United States on average. In 2013, 21 pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the highest since 2001,[393] which is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population – 70% higher than the national average of 1.5.[394]
San Francisco cycling event
Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in the city. The 2010 Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) annual bicycle count showed the number of cyclists at 33 locations had increased 58% from the 2006 baseline counts.[395] In 2008, the MTA estimated that about 128,000 trips were made by bicycle each day in the city, or 6% of total trips.[396] As of 2019, 2.6% of the city's streets have protected bike lanes, with 28 miles of protected bike lanes in the city.[366] Since 2006, San Francisco has received a Bicycle Friendly Community status of "Gold" from the League of American Bicyclists.[397] In 2022 a measure on the ballot passed to protect JFK drive in Golden Gate Park as a pedestrian and biking space with 59% of voters in favor.[398]