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Buffalo Bill was introduced to golf by his father at age 5 and began his career on the PGA Tour in 1955 at the age of 24, which could be considered a late start compared to today’s standards. Even with this late start, he finished with 51 wins on the PGA Tour, sixth on the all-time win list. Included in those 51 victories are two US Open and one Masters. He has also won nine Senior Tour Championships, including two Senior Majors, one of them the USGA Senior Open in 1983.
Buffalo Bill was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978 and into the PGA Hall of Fame in 1982. He played on eight Ryder Cup teams and was captain of the 1979 Ryder Cup. He won five Vardon Trophies , awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average of the year, and was a two-time Player of the Year winner. In 1968 he was the first player to exceed $ 200,000 in one-season earnings and won his second monetary title. He was also the second player in history to hit the $ 1 million profit mark in his career, with Arnold Palmer being the first.
These are the highlights of Buffalo Bill’s golfing career. Only five people in the history of the game have accomplished more on the PGA Tour. Sam Snead leads the all-time win list with 81 wins, followed by Jack Nicklaus with 73 and Ben Hogan with 64, “The King,” Arnold Palmer, has 62 and Byron Nelson has 52, to complete the top five. These five great champions are talked about all the time, as well as the less accomplished pros, but not Buffalo Bill. For whatever reason, his name only appears occasionally. You’d think with credentials like these, his name would be a household word at least throughout the golf world. However, for whatever reason, that is not the case.
Hell, his name hasn’t even appeared here yet! Who is Buffalo Bill?
Well, for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, it’s none other than San Diego native son Billy Casper.
Why Buffalo Bill?
When Billy Casper began a strict diet of buffalo meat, he followed a winning streak (51 PGA Tour victories in total) that secured him legendary golf status. This culinary quirk earned Casper the nickname “Buffalo Bill.” The rest, including the aforementioned Masters championship and two US Open titles, is history.
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