Thelma Cowans

The Story

Raised in Detroit from 1922, Thelma McTyre Cowans attended Northwestern High School — a swimmer and track athlete before a doctor's prescription of fresh air for anemia brought her to golf around 1940. She became one of the most decorated champions in the United Golfers Association's women's division, winning five UGA National Women's Open titles in the 1950s. A Chicago Women's Golf Club member, she started a golf team at Morris Brown College with her sister Theresa Howell — one of three golfing sisters. The LPGA calls her a "hidden pioneer" of the women's game.