Francis Ouimet Collection

No single person has had a greater impact on the game of golf in America than Francis Ouimet. Though gaining in popularity, golf was still a fringe sport until a 20 year old Francis Ouimet shocked the world by winning the 1913 US Open. It was front page news throughout the country. Ten years after Ouimet’s surprise victory, the number of golfers in the United States had tripled, and hundreds of new courses had been built. 

All it took was a largely unknown caddie from Brookline, Massachusetts defeating the greatest golfers in the world. 

Ouimet’s collection of golf medals, trophies, and memorabilia was acquired by the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund after Ouimet’s death in 1967. The collection has remained in the Ouimet Fund’s possession ever since – some relics displayed, but many others simply sitting in storage for decades. Collectors often point to the dearth of quality Ouimet memorabilia in the collecting market. Well, that’s about to change...

Now, approximately 50 years after it first took possession, the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund has chosen to auction a few select pieces of memorabilia from its vast collection. Francis Ouimet himself often said “…of all the things I have accomplished, I am proudest of the establishment of the Ouimet Scholarship Fund.” Money raised by this sale will go towards the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund’s primary objective - providing scholarships so that deserving young men and women who have worked at golf courses can obtain a college education.

Since the Ouimet Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, a portion of each winning bid may be eligible for a tax write-off. So bid often and let’s raise money for the largest independent scholarship fund in New England.

Francis Ouimet's Personal Copy of Bobby Jones Down the Fairway Limited Edition

This book has been called one of golf book collecting’s most prized possessions. As far as modern (post-1900) golf books go, there is arguably no finer book than the offered example.

Offered here is Francis Ouimet’s personal copy of the famous Limited Edition of Bobby Jones’ autobiography Down the Fairway. Only 300 of these books were produced in 1927, this being book #148. Inside are two of the finest autographs that you will ever see of Bobby Jones and O.B. Keeler. Though we tend to be tough on grading autographs, Jones’ signature easily grades a 9+. Jones’ autograph changed a great deal over the years, but a 1927 full name autograph is as good as it gets.

Letter of Provenance from the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund