History of SAPS Oregon
"I was a member of the SAPS golf league from 1973 thru 1985. I served as Handicap Chairman from 1975 to 1978 and President from 1979 thru 1985. In early 1986 I got relocated to Irvine, CA and Tom Callin took over.
"It was Shipper And Peddler Swingers. Founded at Rock Creek GC in 1972, primarily by Bill Wakeling of the MKT RR. He was a master organizer and got people who shipped building products (the Shippers) and people who provided rail and trucking services (the Peddlers) together for some golf (the Swingers). The league had 70 members – 14 teams of five players each. We had the golf course from 4:00 to 6:00 PM on Mondays. One & two men played one nine, three & four men played the other nine, alternating each week, and five men played whichever nine they wanted. During the years I was a member there were no substitutes --- if you didn’t show you forfeited your match, rain or shine.
"Bill Wakeling ran the league from 1972 until he got a promotion to Regional VP in 1978 and relocated to the Bay Area.
"Rock Creek went private in 1975 and we moved to Meriwether GC for 1976-77, then to Colwood GC for 1978-80, back to Rock Creek for 1981, then back to Colwood for a number of years.
"In 1975 a number of members who lived on the east side wanted to play closer to home and form their own SAPS League at Broadmoor GC. Bill Wakeling and Bob Lahatt of the MILW RR met with them and showed them how to organize it. When we moved to Meriwether in 1976 we had 50 members -- 10 teams of five players each. Around 1980 the membership was reduced to 40 -- 10 teams of 4 players each.
"Around 1980 the number of freight peddlers was reduced dramatically when the industry was deregulated. Before that every railroad had umpteen salesmen wining and dining shippers to route railcars over to their line. After that there was less need for that selling because if the railcar started on BN tracks at a mill it stayed on BN tracks for as far as BN tracks went.
"Starting in 1974 we had a tournament annually up at Mt Hood with 24 players on the weekend between Father’s Day and the fourth of July. In 1980 we started having another tournament at Salishan the middle weekend in August called the Chuckles Open. The organizer of it was Chuck Fisher, an affable fellow the ladies at the office were known to call “Chuckles”.
"Of your 2016 members I remember George Zelznak, Al Zimmer and, of course, your member Emeritus Tom Callin. Not long ago you also had Pete White and Steve Hamilton, who I also knew.
"Hope this information tidies up your history."
Jerry Burden