John Weitzel

Starting to play golf at the age of 10, Johnny played out of the Manor Golf Club. At Wilson High School, he won the Berks County Amateur, the District III Golf Tournament and the P.I.A.A. Golf Tournament (1942). He later won his second District III Golf Tournament (1943) before entering the Army and becoming a Purple Heart recipient with 2½ years of service in Italy. John turned professional at the age of 21, at the Manor Golf Club (1946). The next year, he played in his first Manor tournament – The Inquirer Open – and finished in the money (1947). Johnny set a new record of 62 at the Manor (1948), became the professional at the Colonial Country Club (1949) and then played the Winter Tour (1950). He won $2,910.33 on the Winter Tour and missed a first-place tie by one stroke at Phoenix. He became the professional at the Hershey Country Club and finished in the money at the National Open (1952). He qualified for the National Open and the P.G.A., being the top qualifier of all golfers from Pennsylvania and registering a hole-in-one at the U.S. Open in Baltusrol, NJ (1953 & 1954). He won the Pennsylvania Open Championship (1955 & 1956) and many local and Philadelphia tournaments. John was considered one of the brightest golf prospects in the state. He died on September 18, 1956, as a result of an automobile accident in Elizabethtown at the age of 31.

Deceased