Edward Stewart "Porky" Oliver, Jr. was a professional golfer from the United States. He played on what is now known as the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Oliver started as a caddy at age 11 at Wilmington Country Club and turned pro at age 18. He earned his nickname because he stood but weighed. He won eight times on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. Oliver was well known for finishing second in several major championships, but not letting it get him down. He lost to Ben Hogan in the finals of the 1946 PGA Championship, was runner-up to Julius Boros in the 1952 U.S. Open, and to Hogan at the 1953 Masters. Oliver also finished in a tie with Lawson Little and Gene Sarazen at the 1940 U.S. Open, but was disqualified for teeing off 30 minutes early over weather concerns. He was the medalist in the stroke play qualifier of the PGA Championship in 1954, but lost in the third round to eventual champion Chick Harbert. Because of his positive attitude, Oliver was a popular player on tour. Oliver played on three Ryder Cup teams. He lost several years of playing time while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, and suffered from the after effects of a 1948 automobile accident that injured a kidney.
Cancer
Oliver was diagnosed with cancer in 1960 and had part of a lung removed in late May in Denver. Remarkably, he played a tour event that September in Utah, but missed the cut by two strokes. Oliver was an advocate for cancer research, traveling the banquet circuit while battling the disease. He died the following September at age 46 at Memorial Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.
Legacy
In 1976, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. The course of the Wilmington Country Club where he caddied as a teenager has been redesigned and is now the Ed Oliver Golf Club. He and his wife Clara are buried in All Saints Cemetery in Wilmington; they had three sons and a daughter.
Note: Oliver never played in The Open Championship. NT = no tournament DQ = disqualified CUT = missed the half-way cut R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "T" indicates a tie for a place
