Making a career for yourself in either Major League Baseball or professional golf is an extremely difficult thing to do.
However, to move on from a five-year spell with the New York Yankees and to earn a PGA Tour card is unheard of … almost.
How about going on to win six events on the PGA Tour? Well, that’s quite frankly absurd, but one man did manage to do exactly that.
In what was an example of genuinely extraordinary talent, one man played over 500 major league games for the New York Yankees before turning his hand to professional golf.
He joined the PGA Tour in the 1940s as his career in the world of sport took a completely different turn.
Who do you think is the most influential golfer of all-time?
However, he didn’t just make up the numbers.
This legend went on to win an incredible six tournaments while finishing inside the top-10 in almost half of the events that he competed in.
He played for the New York Yankees before winning six PGA Tour events
Back in 1929, Sammy Byrd began what would end up being a seven-year career in Major League Baseball.
He spent five years with the New York Yankees, playing 566 games in total and earning the nickname of ‘Babe Ruth’s legs’ due to the fact that he regularly pinch-ran for the aging power-hitter during the latter stages of his career.
He then moved on to the Cincinnati Reds in 1935 for two years before making the switch to professional golf.
The late great Bobby Jones played a round of golf with Byrd while he was still playing for the Yankees in 1930, and the seven-time major champion labeled his playing partner as ‘the very best man with a driver I ever saw‘.
In 1937, Byrd became the assistant pro at Philadelphia Country Club before becoming the head pro at Merion in 1940.
He recorded PGA Tour wins for four consecutive years in the mid-1940s with his victories coming at the Greater Greensboro Open in 1942, the Chicago Victory Open in 1943, the New Orleans Open and the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1944 and the Texas Open and the Mobile Open in 1945.
Aside from his six wins, Byrd’s record in the major championships was pretty impressive as well.
Byrd recorded back-to-back top-5 finishes at The Masters in 1941 and 1942 and was the runner-up at the 1945 PGA Championship, losing out to the legendary Byron Nelson.
What a fantastic career Byrd ended up enjoying on the PGA Tour. Can you imagine someone playing for the Yankees today before switching to golf and actually winning multiple times on the PGA Tour?
It just wouldn’t happen, would it?
Sammy Byrd’s PGA Tour record
With six wins on the PGA Tour, Byrd proved that perhaps he should have chosen golf as his main sport as soon as he left school!
Here are his career stats on the PGA Tour, and they really do make for very impressive reading indeed.
| Achievements | Byrd’s totals |
| Events played | 145 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Top-5s | 43 |
| Top-10s | 71 |
| Cuts made | 141 |
The fact that Byrd made 141 cuts out of the 145 PGA Tour events that he competed in is hugely impressive.
He also recorded top-10 finishes in almost half of the tournaments he entered – a remarkable record indeed.
Sadly, Byrd passed away in Mesa, Arizona, back in 1981.
However, he will be forever remembered by both baseball and golf fans for his tremendous achievements in both sports throughout his lifetime.
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