The Porter Cup tournament has put Niagara Falls Country Club on the national map when it comes to the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the world. From a field of 40 mostly local players in 1959, when it had to overcome competition in its own backyard, the Porter Cup has become what some players and amateur golf officials regard as the best medal play tournament in the nation, blending a unique mix of the best collegians, mid-amateurs and senior players. From the awarding of a green blazer to the champion to the victorious drink from the big silver cup - it is a tournament rich in tradition.
The tournament was just an idea in the mind of Club member Dick Harvey and shared by his friend Alex Porter. Mr. Harvey was an avid golfer who began playing the game in 1920. He was the student representative of the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee at the University of Minnesota. He came to Niagara Falls in 1933 and became a NFCC member in 1938. Mr. Harvey was labeled the Porter Cup "master recruiter" by bringing in the best players he could find. "Someone has to do it," he would say repeatedly, downplaying his role. It was a love that would take him 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year around the United States.
Alex Porter, a cheerful man distinguished by a brisk stride, strong voice, and a well-groomed mustache, was Niagara Falls Country Club President at the time Mr. Harvey was trying to launch his tournament. Mr. Porter - the man who provided the tall silver cup - was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in the area, Judge Augustus Porter, who settled here in 1806 and represented the district in the state assembly.
Mr. Harvey knew what he wanted the Porter Cup to become, but it was a difficult start. There were two golf tournaments in town on the weekend of August 29-30, 1959. The International Invitation at the Niagara Falls Country Club, as it was called, and the only championship qualifier at Hyde Park went head-to-head for players. Such was the stature of the tournament that was to become the Porter Cup.
Mr. Harvey and Dr. William McMahon, his assistant for many years and later his sucessor as tournament director, traveled the country in pursuit of the best amateurs. It was a good time for growth, as Dr. McMahon would later say, because there weren't many amateur tournaments on the landscape in the 1960's. Other than the United States Amateur, the North and South in Pinehurst, N.C. and the relatively new Sunnehanna in Johnstown, PA, the Porter Cup had an open field. Nevertheless, it was a tough sell.
The south region brought in Bill Harvey - no relation to Dick Harvey - and he went on to win the Porter Cup in 1963 in a record 77 holes. He became the tournament's ambassador of goodwill and good times, not necessarily in that order. More southern players would follow, including Vinny Giles. The west region produced Bob E. Smith, the only back-to-back winner in Porter Cup history, along with champions Scott Simpson and Bobby Clampett. The east region was a goldmine of talent, most notably Jay Sigel, a perennial Pennsylvania champion, who would be named to the Walker Cup team a record nine times and win the Porter Cup and unprecedented three times.
If there was a turning point in the tournament's growth nationally, it was in the late 1960's. Bill Harvey, Vinny Giles and Ed Tutwiler comprised the top amateurs in the country at the time. Then the 'name' colleges started putting a push on golf programs. The college coaches became field scouts for the Porter Cup. It was then decided to mold the invitation list the same as the Masters. The winners of certain tournaments were eligible for the Porter Cup, the top-30 from the previous years Porter Cup, certain state tournaments, college All-Americans and members of the Walker Cup team.