Ed 'Porky' Oliver
Inducted in 2022
Former PGA TOUR player and longtime youth caddie Ed “Porky” Oliver was posthumously inducted into the Caddie Hall of Fame on Aug. 16, 2022.
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Oliver began caddying at age 11 at DuPont Country Club before being recruited to caddie at Wilmington Country Club. As a caddie, he learned the game by observing his players and credited his caddie manager for helping correct his swing as a young man.
“We are honored to welcome Ed ‘Porky’ Oliver as the newest member of the Caddie Hall of Fame,” said Jeff Harrison, senior vice president of advisory and special initiatives for the Western Golf Association, which conducts the BMW Championship and manages the Caddie Hall of Fame. “From his early days as a youth caddie to the success he found as a player, Oliver embodied the definition of hard work and professionalism. It’s only fitting to honor his legacy here in Wilmington, where it all began.”
Oliver won back-to-back Philadelphia caddie championships in 1933 and 1934 before turning pro at age 18. He excelled at several major championships – finishing second at the 1952 U.S. Open, 1953 Masters and 1946 PGA Championship – and ultimately secured eight PGA TOUR victories, including the 1941 Western Open at Phoenix Country Club, where he defeated Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.
He was a member of three Ryder Cup teams in 1947, 1951 and 1953, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Oliver passed away from cancer in 1961. That year, he was named honorary captain of the U.S. Ryder cup team, and in 1967, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum’s Hall of Fame. In addition, when the original site of Wilmington Country Club was redesigned, it was named the Ed Oliver Golf Club.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the game of golf and society through caddying and using caddying as a steppingstone to professional success, Porky Oliver was inducted during BMW Championship week at the Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am Pairings Party at Longwood Gardens.
