BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
During the segregation era, African Americans in Tampa gathered at a park at the dead end of N. 30th Street for their outdoor activities. Named in honor of businessman, G. D. Rogers (pictured), it was the only place in East Tampa where they could socialize, picnic, and even fish off the dam.
In 1952, the group of African Americans who had mastered the game of golf sought permission to build a 9-hole golf course on the property. Then Mayor Curtis Hixon gave the players permission and they constructed the Rogers Park Golf Course.
Rogers Park Golf Club became the only African American golf course in Tampa.
Recently, Barbara E. Mattick, Ph.D., Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer contacted Mayor Bob Buckhorn and informed him that the Rogers Park Golf Course has been nominated as a listing in the Register of Historic Places.
“The nomination proposal will be reviewed by the Florida National Register Review Board on July 16th. If the Review Board determines that the property meets the criteria, a formal nomination will be submitted to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D. C., and that organization will make the final determination,” she wrote.
James Ransom, grandson of G. D. Rogers said, “We would like to especially thank Dennis Fernandez, Historic Preservation & Urban Design Manager, for his professionalism, diligence, dedication, and commitment to shepherd the process along to help us preserve the history and legacy of Rogers Park Golf Course as part of the fabric of history of the city, county, state, and nation.
“There are too many others unnamed who lived through that era and know the story of Rogers Park when part of it was transformed from a public park to a 9-hole golf course. “… Rogers Park must be remembered as a place where African American men who worked as caddies at the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club, but could not play golf there, so they cleared the land and hand shaped a challenging and beautiful golf course.”
Ransom named some of the greats who have played on the course such as Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder, Jim Thorpe, Charlie Owens, and other legends.
He further stated, “The time has come for the community to take action by supporting the historic preservation of Rogers Park Golf Course.”
Upgrades for the golf course were in 1976, when the City of Tampa gave management rights to the then-newly formed Tampa Sports Authority, championed by TSA Vice Chairman, C. Blythe Andrews, Jr.
Once the Authority took the course over, a $400,000 renovation project began that included a new irrigation system installation and expansion to another city-owned property across the street.
In 2000, the Authority renovated the course again by replacing the nearly 30-year-old irrigation system, rebuilding the greens to USGA specifications, landscaping and reshaping holes.
In 2001, a new maintenance compound was completed, and in 2002, a new clubhouse was constructed.
