Antedating of "Eagle" (Golf)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Barry Popik shrewdly looked for the golf "eagle" in the excellent
archive of sports publications at LA84.org and found earlier evidence
which off-list he kindly shared. Garson

Replying to Queries
American Golfer, 1921, Vol. 24, Iss. 2, pgs. 22.
... Will you be good enough to en- lighten me on the meanings of the
following: "Birdie," "Eagle," "Dormie" and '"Nassau"? B EGINNER . ...
library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/AmericanGolfer/1921/ag242t.pdf
...
[PDF] Around Philadelphia
The American Golfer, by Hazard. 1909 January Vol. 1 No. 3 p. 124-128.
... Sometime after the hatching of the Birdie another fea- thered
feature was given to golf—the Eagle, which soars even higher than the
Birdie and is ...
library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/AmericanGolfer/1909/ag13j.pdf
...
PDF] Around Philadelphia
The American Golfer, by Hazard. 1909 February Vol. 1 No. 4 p. 196-200.
... At this critical point the doctor won the championship with an
"Eagle"—a wonderful 3—although a "Bird" would have sufficed. ...
library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/AmericanGolfer/1909/ag14k.pdf

On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 12:05 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> Fred Shapiro:
>> eagle (OED, 1.d., 1922)
>>
>> 1913 _L.A. Times_ 6 Feb. (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)  He made the long=
>>  hole, No. 6 -- 629 yards -- in 4 (an "eagle," messieurs).
>
> Excellent work, Fred. Here is an instance of the golf "eagle" a few
> months earlier.
>
> Newspaper: Chester Times
> Date: September 14, 1912,
> Newspaper Location: Chester, Pennsylvania
> Article: James Victor In Springhaven Golf
> Page: 1
> Column: 4
> Database: NewspaperArchive
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> On the out journey he
> was two above par, but he played
> the fourth, fifth, eighth, and ninth
> holes in par, and had an "eagle" on
> the seventh. This is a par five-hole
> and he played it in three strokes.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org