Ben Davis honored with historic marker at Rackham Golf Course

(CBS DETROIT) – Since 1923, the Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods has been the epitome of specialty and loyalty.

The course came as part of a land donation from Horace and Mary Rackham and was the first 18-hole course constructed in Michigan.

While the two gave the land to the city of Detroit specifically to build the course in 1923, it wasn’t open to the public until 1925. It was also one of the few integrated golf courses in the nation at the time.

The course where one of the first African-American golfers to ever play the game, Erellon Ben Davis, honed his craft and taught other African-American golfers how to play.

Students that learned under Davis included a wide array of Motown artists, including the Four Tops, the Temptations and the Supremes, as well as legendary boxer Joe Louis.

On Friday, the city raised a marker on the course, commemorating what Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist says is the course’s contribution to opening the game of golf to more minority communities.

“To have this marker represent both Mr. Davis and the Rackham family, for the establishment of this course, them coming together, I think it’s really quite innovative,” Gilchrist told CBS News Detroit. “I really want to thank the folks in the commission and the local leadership, who fought to make that happen because hearing both of those stories together is really what makes that transformation [possible].”

The commemoration also means a lot to Davis’s descendants.

His great-nephew, Shawn Thomas, was at the ceremony Friday and says he hopes it will be a symbol of pride for future generations of his family.

“Having a historical marker, it’s really a lasting memory,” Thomas said. “And it’s something that will always be here. I have a six-year-old granddaughter now. So, maybe one day, she’s taking golf and drives up here, she’ll be able to say, ‘Oh yeah, that was one of my uncles.’”