A Club Without a Course, A Community With Purpose

How do you become one of the oldest and now largest predominantly black golf clubs in the world without owning a golf course? By building around people and purpose. 

In this episode of The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf, host Matt Considine and cohost Dr. Kevin Moore sit down with Ralph N. Paulk, president of Tire Town Golf Club in Akron, Ohio, to talk about one of the most meaningful golf stories hiding in plain sight.

Founded in 1950, Tire Town began at a time when few local clubs allowed Black golfers to play. Today, it is known as the largest predominantly Black golf club in America — but Ralph is quick to make clear that size is not the point. The real story is what the club has become: a community built through golf, service, youth development, scholarships, volunteerism, and a stubborn belief that the game can open doors when people are willing to do the work.

The conversation dives into:

• Tire Town’s origins at Good Park and Ridge Top, and why those courses matter in Akron golf history
• What it means to be a club without a course — and why that idea resonates so deeply with NewClub
• Ralph’s life in the Marine Corps, sports journalism, boxing, and covering legends like Arnold Palmer
• How Tire Town grew from a golf group into a broader civic force with junior programs, scholarships, and community partnerships
• Why representation at places like Firestone Country Club matters, and how Tire Town members are changing who feels present in golf
• The intentional growth of women’s leadership, junior involvement, volunteerism, and racial diversity inside the club
• Golf as a foundation — not the whole house — for helping young people build confidence, discipline, opportunity, and a larger sense of what is possible

Connect with our guest

🏌️ Ralph N. Paulk — Tire Town Golf Club: https://tiretowngolfclub.net/ — 🐦 X/Twitter: https://x.com/ralphpaulk_trib | 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-n-paulk-0834817/

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction, spring golf energy, and Sweetens Cove

03:11 Introducing Ralph N. Paulk and Tire Town Golf Club

10:41 Ralph joins the show

12:12 Ralph’s first introduction to Tire Town

14:40 Growing Tire Town beyond golf

17:31 Women’s leadership, diversity, and intentional growth

20:23 Ralph’s path from the Marine Corps to sports journalism

24:54 Arnold Palmer, Akron golf, and stories beyond the scoreboard

29:23 Tire Town’s 1950 origins and golf access in Akron

36:58 Tire Town colors, Goodyear roots, and the Akron identity

40:20 From golf club to community service engine

42:19 Firestone, volunteering, and changing who feels present

46:14 Why golf works as a foundation for young people

50:06 Opening the doors without losing the legacy

57:19 Service, family, and the Marine Corps

01:00:04 Ralph’s writing, Charles Follis, and untold sports history

01:03:31 What Tire Town hopes to be in 2036

01:09:01 Closing thoughts

What is The Bag Drop?

The Bag Drop features weekly stories from the culture, community, and characters shaping golf today. Produced by NewClub Golf Society, each episode blends authenticity and expert insights for passionate golfers at all levels. Special guests from clubs, courses and every corner of the changing landscape join us for thoughtful, in-depth discussions on all things golf.

What is NewClub?

Founded in 2017, NewClub is the premier private golf society in the United States. It blends the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability of public golf. Members enjoy thousands of reserved tee times, competitions and events at exceptional partner courses across our local chapters, as well as signature trips and exclusive perks. NewClub is revolutionizing golf membership, making the game more meaningful for those who love it.

Creators and Guests

Host

Matt Considine

Founder of NewClub and our resident feel player. Matt’s junior golf career led him to the University of Akron where he met our co-host. During his junior year, Matt Studied abroad in Ireland and discovered golf societies. Subsequent trips to Scotland fed his passion for the history, ideals, and culture of accessible, affordable, and sustainable golf, a concept he would later bring to the U.S. with NewClub. Known for his interviewing style, quick wit, and compelling storytelling, Matt brings thoughtful, reflective conversations to The Bag Drop. His professional journey before NewClub included multiple leadership positions in growth-stage startups, where he managed teams responsible for more than $250 million in revenue. Matt actively gives back to the game as a Board Member of the First Tee of Akron and past chair of the Evans Scholar Foundation. Proudly based in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Matt finds inspiration in family life with his wife, their three children, and their golf dog, Gypsy.

Host

The Professor

NewClub's Chief Ambassador and every golf sicko's favorite educator. Kevin is a thoughtful and deeply curious host. His studied, constructivist approach adds intellectual enrichment and balance to the show. As a professor of Math Education at the University of Georgia, Kevin's background in applied mathematics and cognitive psychology uniquely informs his insights on golf strategy and performance. Originally from Ohio, Kevin was a Division I collegiate golfer at the University of Akron, where his passion for understanding mathematical thinking began. After earning his doctorate from Arizona State University, he combined his analytical expertise with his love for golf by co-founding Golf Blueprint, an organization aimed at helping golfers optimize their games through data-driven strategies. Kevin enjoys balancing deep philosophical discussions with simple pleasures, such as indulging his sweet tooth, cheering on college football, and spending relaxed evenings with his friends, his wife, and their beloved dog, Nole.

What is The Bag Drop: Untold Stories in Golf?

Weekly stories from the communities and characters shaping the game. The Bag Drop blends thoughtful, honest perspectives of Matt Considine (Founder of NewClub) and Dr. Kevin Moore ("The Professor") with expert insights for passionate golfers at every level. Produced by NewClub and supported by our members, each episode welcomes guests from clubs, courses, and the lesser-known corners of the golf world for thoughtful discussions on all things golf and life.

Founded in 2017, NewClub is the first of its kind golf society in the United States; blending the community and access of a private club with the variety and affordability more typical of public golf. Members enjoy thousands of reserved tee times, competitions, and events at exceptional partner courses across our local chapters, along with signature trips and exclusive perks. NewClub is on a mission to revolutionize golf membership, making the game more meaningful for everyone who loves it.

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Website: https://www.newclub.golf

Matt Considine (00:03.213)
Welcome to the bag drop untold stories in golf. I'm your host Matt Cots and I'm here with my co-host the professor doctor Top of the morning. How are you?

The Professor (00:14.076)
I'm doing great. It's that time of year where everybody across the country is out of winter season and back in the golf. So the amount of energy I see if it's online with buzz, if it's at a golf course, at our spring meeting, people coming south just on their first vacation in the year to get some golf in or whatever. Everybody's full of energy. Not just it's my favorite time of year when seeing everybody just hype for golf and hype for the summer season.

Matt Considine (00:37.357)
It really is. It's like everywhere. And, you and I live it a lot of the year, think, thanks to the show and also our involvement with new club. but when you get to see everybody else along for the ride is, is, it fires you up. It gets you excited to, to get back out there, which there's no better way. I mean, we're blessed with, with new club to have our annual spring meeting. It's sweetens Cove. You mentioned.

So just a quick shout out to everyone there at Sweeten's Co. for hosting us and taking care of us. Colt, Matt Damsky, John, Finn, got my Finn cuddles, the chillest dog, golf dog in all of golf. It's just such a special place. And I said this to the group and I'll say it now to our loyal listeners on the pod. The places like Sweeten's and Sweeten's specifically for me is such an elixir for what ails us.

The Professor (01:35.306)
Thank you.

Matt Considine (01:36.269)
Those that listen know I'm going through some putting woes. I probably mentioned on too many intros this year and It just gets you out of yourself like nowhere is better to at reminding you that at the foundation of golf is a game a game that's meant to be fun and and playful and An avenue to be with people and I just I was I putted like crap as you probably saw we played together

But I still had just such a ball. I just had so much fun. It reminded me what, know, why, why we, why we talk about this game, why we play this game is it's, it's just fun. It's just fun at its core. So shout out to everybody last weekend. was great. And our winners, the Staffel brothers defended Xander Nethercutt, all of those guys. I'm not going to give everybody's name, but you did it. You went back to back. Rory did it at Augusta. You did it at Sweden's. Bravo to them.

RALPH N. PAULK (02:30.224)
you

The Professor (02:32.149)
might have to send them to the handicap committee going back to back. no, Sweetens, I tell you what, if you aren't set to get down there this year, you need to find a way that that's about the best I've seen the course in a long time. And it's really, I'm excited this summer just how crispy and firm and fast it might get because it's just in prime, prime shape right now. And I know they're gonna, they're gonna look to dial it up this summer if the weather cooperates. So you know, get down there if you can, because it's gonna play.

It always plays special, it's going to play even more special and bring out, like you said, why we love the game in terms of the creativity, the shot making and so many situations where you just want to try stuff because the ground is going to allow it.

Matt Considine (03:11.575)
Not just me, multiple new club members said it was the best they've seen it. Yeah, so kudos to everybody working on that side of it. It's looking nice. It's looking good. Hey, we got a really special guest today, Kevin. I have been chasing this gentleman for most of my year, because it's very rare that we get another Akron native or an Akron resident.

I should be doing this in person today, but we have Ralph Polk on the show. Ralph is a United States Marine Corps veteran. He's an award winning sports journalist over 30 years across, I think every sport. I was doing my research for our discussion today. I don't think there's a sport that he missed. He's just had just such an amazing career and that includes Akron and.

The Professor (03:56.703)
I'm... Yeah.

Matt Considine (04:06.924)
in our local paper, the Akron Beacon Journal, but also Detroit and Pittsburgh did a ton of work with the Steelers. But what I really want to focus today on is Tire Town Golf Club founded in 1950 in Akron, Ohio, my hometown. It is created at during a time where few local clubs allowed black golfers. Many were denied.

The Professor (04:17.974)
Hmm.

Matt Considine (04:32.84)
And and they have become the largest predominantly black golf club in the u.s and so this club without a course as anybody that listens to this show No, it's so important to me and i've kind of dedicated my life and my vocation to The ideals of that which is what the game started with To to learn later in life when I moved back home that this had been around in my childhood home for you know since 1950,

has been really meaningful. I've, so I've learned a little bit about them today. We're bringing the guy who's the president and, really just a community leader, not just with Tire Town, but across so many different avenues, golf being one of them. We're bringing him onto the show and we're going to talk about this legacy of the 70 year old society that, that has done a ton for community service, scholarships for kids. And

The Professor (05:03.872)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Considine (05:30.611)
And we're probably gonna take a couple tangents because Ralph can be a great storyteller. had breakfast with him and his wife not that long ago. But I'm really excited for you, Professor, to also be a part of this chat with him.

The Professor (05:42.879)
I mean, talk about a club that really embodies the idea of being a vehicle in the golf and having people, you know, get in the golf and be a part of golf. think this is a great example of that, you know, as opposed to a lot of the golf clubs that currently exist in the United States relative to their structure and format. yeah, it was, I mean, it's just cool that this has got a connection to Akron, right? Anything to AK Rowdy, I guess.

Matt Considine (06:02.974)
Yeah, you know, anytime I get a chance to educate our audience on the AK Rowdy, North-South Summit County, I'm going to do it. Before we get to the main event, any facts for us, Professor? Any profunications to get us going?

The Professor (06:08.886)
That's right.

The Professor (06:19.378)
Yeah, a quick one today, just circling back to, everybody's coming out of the spring. One of my favorite parts about this season, the last couple of years, we've been fortunate through Golf Blueprint to help out the FDNY, so the Fire Department of the wonderful New York City. They run a little Ryder Cup against the police department up there in New York, and they reached out to us a couple of years ago, said, hey, you know, could we get some help?

You know, we're happy to provide them some practice plans to get them, you know, trend in towards that Ryder Cup season. So I thought I'd give some FDNY facts because when I started reading about the department a few years ago, was like, wow, that's just, what an impressive operation. And so just going to through some quick numbers here. 218 firehouses across five boroughs. The busiest firehouse responds to more than 4,600 calls annually, nearly 13 calls every single day. Average response time.

Only six to seven minutes across FDNY. Think how quick that is in the city. Getting from the station to actually where the need is within six to seven minutes. Hard to match that even in an area, a small densely populated area. 11,000 uniformed firefighters and thousands more EMS professionals. We'll circle back on the EMS topic here in a second. Total call volume is due to 2018 numbers, 1.9 million.

RALPH N. PAULK (07:12.752)
you

The Professor (07:38.231)
Fire suppression of that, 620,000. Structural fires, 27,000. Non-structural fires, 13,000 or about 14,000. Non-fire emergencies, you the fire department we always associate with, you know, back draft and running in buildings and, you know, that sort of stuff. It's amazing. Non-fire emergencies, 257,000 calls, responses last year. Medical emergencies, 300,000. Sorry, 2018 numbers, 300,000.

Matt Considine (07:58.699)
Cheers.

The Professor (08:05.75)
medical emergencies and then the false alarms, know, those of us that were idiot kids doing stupid stuff that we now look back on and certainly regret and realize what a waste of time and taxpayer dollars that was. 21,500 malicious false alarms.

Matt Considine (08:21.098)
Well, my kids, don't think are malicious, but I, we have had both in Chicago and Ohio, 911 dials for kids. just somehow they find a way to pick up your phone, open it and hit those three numbers. It's incredible. We've had it happen twice. That's wild. yeah, shout out to our firefighters. That is incredible. 11,000. Do you know how many, do they have volunteer firefighters? Is that a thing in New York city? Probably not, I'd imagine.

The Professor (08:33.012)
They're fine, yeah.

The Professor (08:50.164)
No it is there there's I don't know if they have actually volunteer like dedicated buildings but they do have some volunteer firefighters throughout the boroughs. I forget the details on that.

Matt Considine (08:58.6)
I know that's a big deal in the Northeast, right? There's a lot of, you get up in Maine and Vermont, they actually predominantly, think, are volunteer firefighters, if I remember correctly. That's great.

The Professor (09:09.298)
Yeah, you see that through rural Georgia a lot too when you're driving through rural Georgia, you'll see a lot of volunteer stations.

Matt Considine (09:16.391)
Yeah, yeah. that's awesome. Well,

tell you who aren't volunteers, the designers at Titleist and the new SM11 Vokey wedges. I got to see you up close and personal with them, Professor. You're back, I think. There was a lot of close prox when the short clubs were in your hand. I imagine that has a lot to do with your SM11 Vokey wedges from Titleist. They're

Make the most of your scoring opportunities. Make sure you're getting the crisp contact, the optimal flighting. They bring the ball down while not having to sacrifice your spin. And finding that right mix for you requires getting fit by a certified Titleist fitter. Check it out at Titleist.com. Don't wait on the wedges. I think a lot of people settle in on what their...

makeup is of their wedges. If you're getting fit for your irons especially or maybe you did last year and you haven't done the same, it's time. Go get fit for your wedges. Check out the whole new line of SM11 Vokey wedges, all the different grinds and get your your short game dialed for the 2026 season at tilas.com. Professor, let's get on to the show.

Matt Considine (10:41.626)
Ralph Polk, welcome to the backdrop.

RALPH N. PAULK (10:47.152)
Thanks a lot, for having me, I appreciate it.

Matt Considine (10:50.409)
Appreciate you being here with us. I told the professor after you and I had breakfast with Marilyn that this guy's coming on. We got a storyteller, but we got an incredible history. So it's been in the making for a little bit here, but I really just want to say thanks for joining us this morning. You know, I grew up in this town.

of Akron, I thought I knew the golf scene quite well, but somehow, even though I maybe have heard of Tire Town, I didn't understand what it was. This club without a course might sound familiar to those listening. Turns out I didn't have to go all the way to Scotland and Ireland to be inspired. Turns out I could have just gone down the street to the place I spent a lot of time, Good Park, and started asking around. And I probably would have been

more inspired by this. Tell me about your first introduction, if you will, to Tire Town Ralph. When did you know what it was? You weren't originally from Akron, but take us back to that first introduction to Tire Town Golf Club.

RALPH N. PAULK (12:12.528)
But I was introduced to Tire Town many years ago by a gentleman named Roland Queen, who was the University of Akron beat writer for the Beacon Journal. We both worked at the Beacon Journal at the same time. He told me, hey, man, we need to go out and play golf. I said, no, it's not happening. I'm not chasing a white golf ball across the ground. That's just not gonna happen. So he convinced me to do it. We ended up going out to a good part of the Cajun. They walk at nine, it's six o'clock in the morning.

And then a few years later, this had to be in 1988, 89, somewhere in there. About 95, I heard this group, know, Tire Town Golf Club. I actually had a few friends who had played with them. And around about the time I started covering Ohio State in 1997 is when I joined the club. You know, so it was a group of, know, men, a few women.

playing the game and I started learning more about the club. And they start playing 1950, partly because Good Park and Ridgetop in Medina were the only courses that allowed black folks to play golf. And that's how it was created in 1950. So in many ways, it was a social club, trying to get things done. And I think there's members, probably as many as 40 or 50. And then some years later,

I finally left the Beacon Journal in 2001 and I joined the club and the next thing I know I find myself working in Florida covering politics, then I went to Richmond to cover NASCAR, I was back in Pittsburgh to cover the Steelers, and yet I still remain a member of the club because the men and women that played, they were just great people. I have an opportunity to come back and play with them.

So when I returned to Akron permanently in 2016, I retired from the newspaper business, someone asked me, said, hey, maybe you want to be president. I said, I don't know anything about being president. But someone nominated me anyway, and they're saying I was president of the club that I've been a part of for many years. I'm very thankful, really. woman named Sarita Stewart.

RALPH N. PAULK (14:40.432)
asked me to be president and I was like taken away by it because I knew everybody but I understood what the club was about. We had spent some time doing, giving scholarships. But when I became president, I started thinking in terms of growing the organization to be more than just about golf. And when you transition in the organization from that to something else, that can be a little challenging.

So I think our members accepted the challenge of being more than an organization about golf. And we didn't have a golf course that we could call our own. And it was an exciting time, really, just to watch it grow. And I will say this before I get too deep into this, is that when we took over, my wife and I essentially, we took over as president in 2017, there were four women in our golf.

We weren't very diverse either. So we've accomplished all those things. We're more diverse and we're also, we have now 50 women in our organization and become the largest predominantly black golf club in the country. But it's more than just about being the largest anything. We're more proud of the work that we do actually do in this community. With this community service, we a youth program of our 50 kids. The kids go to first tee.

We sponsored the book, the golf team, different things like that, having the kids, take the kids to DC to visit the Smithsonian Institute, we took them to Indy car race, those kinds of things, experiences in life of the kids. This year, we're gonna have a Tire Town sponsored Soaksbox Derby car, for the Soaksbox Derby. just, we find really just the experience, not members.

The Professor (16:32.478)
nice.

Matt Considine (16:33.251)
Alright.

RALPH N. PAULK (16:38.518)
We kind of made the adjustment about who we are as an organization. So our commitment to different organizations as well, know, actually in HCP, Northern High Golf Charities Foundation, the first T organization clearly. And then, you know, we have a lot of different partners do a lot of different things for us. it's our members really drive the really drive the wheel here. They're just tremendous people.

And now we've, I think back when we had maybe a little less than 40 members, have 170. So it's an exciting time for us to be doing as much we can in the community. And I want to say probably so that in 2024, we will be the PGA Tourist Charity Year. And that says a lot about the hard work that that members put into the community.

The Professor (17:31.351)
Well, congratulations, Ralph on the charity of year. I know that's a huge accomplishment. And I have to say this was one of the harder interviews to prepare for because of the amount of things you've done in your life, the amount of service you've dedicated yourself, the different places you've been as Matt alluded to the different sports you've covered. You just gave me an owl in terms of the first place to dive into. I know with the new club, we're investing this in me personally. I always think hard about, you know, ways to

just grow access to the game, right? To just give paths into the game to people that might be seeking but are often excluded intentionally or unintentionally. I do wanna dive just a little bit deeper on, you said you took what, the women membership thing from four to 50? What were some of the mechanisms doing that? Was that just the members getting out there and making a push? What were some of the intentional things done that makes such a profound impact in such a short period of time?

RALPH N. PAULK (18:23.822)
Well, one the things, know, I have a very simple philosophy. You know, I spent time as a drill instructor in the United States Marine Corps. And part of that is you tell people, this is we want to do. And you have two choices. You can do it or you don't do it. You know, we want to be able to do the things we talk about and not talk about the things we want to do. So that was a challenge to our members about, hey, we need to improve who we are. And part of that is being more diverse.

Because to us to appeal to the business community and different organizations, you gotta do more than just one thing. And you gotta have a greater sense of community within your organization as well. So we'll find that and I gotta say, the women who are in our club have done a tremendous job. They're driving the car, they're the leaders. We went as I mentioned before, we had four women in the club.

Now we have six women who serve in our executive board. So it's an amazing thing to see. those things are by design. You can make those things happen. And we wanted to get different people from different aspects and different areas of the community. They all have different expertise. They have different motivations. And now we find ourselves with a lot of men in the club. I think, hey, we've got to be able to

keep up to that standard that's been set. So we continue to grow, but really it's not just about that. It's about finding people who are committed to get a game of golf on one hand, but really committed to this town as a whole. So that's kind of where we are. think it's getting people appealing to people who want to do some of the things we set out to do. And I'm very, very proud of

Matt Considine (20:23.458)
Ralph, you made a joke before we got on about hard stops that we have and you're no stranger to deadlines after 30 years in your career as a journalist. I'm curious, know, before you were a community leader leading these incredible efforts, Tire Town, Northern Ohio Golf Charities, the list is long. Were you always drawn to sports and

Because you've obviously, like I said in your introduction, is there a sport you haven't covered? But is this something that was deep in you from childhood? Was it always going to be writing about sports for you?

RALPH N. PAULK (21:08.016)
Yeah, pretty much. I gotta tell you, I grew up in Pueblo Beach, Florida. I was born in Georgia, actually. And you guys talked earlier about these volunteer firemen. I was born in Ambrose, Georgia. And all they have are volunteer firemen. But anyway, let's get sidetracked with that. when I grew up in Pueblo Beach, Florida, I was a huge fan of NFL today.

Matt Considine (21:26.324)
Ha

RALPH N. PAULK (21:35.377)
the NFL highlights on the weekend with Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshire and watching Jennifer Cena do the NFL highlights. I to tell my brothers, hey man, this is some cool stuff they're talking about. I loved the language they were using to describe the football game. And I thought to myself, my brother and would go on top of the house and act like we were sportscasters or something. You know what mean? And I've been...

kind of really, and that had to be, I was in seventh grade maybe. But I've always knew I was gonna be a writer. That was pretty clear to me early on. I didn't wanna be a cop, didn't wanna be a fireman. It was always about writing about sports. But I just wanted to be a journalist at some point. So when I joined the Marine Corps, I became a military correspondent. But I didn't have to write about myself. I was on a Marine Corps boxing team.

Uh, just a little side note, Leon Spinks and I were teammates, you know, together on Marine Corps, on the Marine Corps boxing team. And, uh, and, uh, it was, uh, we sparred a few times and, he threw a lot of punches and I took them. Uh, but, uh, it was, it was a great time in my life, you know, to be a part of, to be a part of a very special team in the Marine Corps. Uh, you know, so that, I think being a boxer, uh, kind of really led me to thinking, Hey, I'm going to really be a sports writer, man. That's.

I want to be able to write about that kind of thing. So boxing was really my forte. That's where boxing and track and field, I love covering those. You that was a big deal. You know, I think the first boxing match I ever covered was Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali at Cesar's Palace in Las Vegas. And I was still in Marine Corps at the time. So I really enjoyed that. you know, so yeah, there was no doubt about what I wanted to do as a career.

And I did it for a long time and I really enjoyed it. I worked with some great people. I got to cover some great people. And I think I was sending you guys earlier, I have a long list of people who are my favorite athletes of all time. And a couple of them are golfers. And top that list is Honorable.

Matt Considine (23:53.91)
I was going to ask you about golfers, but I'm going to double click on one thing you just said real quick. Make sure I heard this right. We're talking about Leon Spinks. Did you just say you beat Leon Spinks in the boxing?

RALPH N. PAULK (24:04.194)
No,

Matt Considine (24:07.601)
Okay, all right. I thought I heard you beat him. We're talking about the guy Kevin. My grandfather was a big Baxham fan. He's the guy that beat Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title, right?

RALPH N. PAULK (24:16.75)
Yeah, he's also a guy who was not smart enough to give Ali another, give Ali a rematch. That was a bad idea. Yeah, so yeah.

Matt Considine (24:26.108)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, anyways, back to golf, because when I was doing my research, Ralph, saw, I mean, you've covered Tiger, Jack, Arnie. Like you've covered this huge spread of, you know, the greats, but, and all of them coming through Akron, Ohio, because of the tournament that used to be here. Do you have a favorite story or favorite memory from those?

The Professor (24:27.04)
Yeah.

RALPH N. PAULK (24:47.705)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (24:54.32)
Well, know, it's not so much an event as it was a personality. I thought Arnold Palmer was truly a great gentleman. had an opportunity when I worked in Pittsburgh to interview him for his 80th birthday story. And we sat in his office, which is kind of like a museum, really. We had a long conversation, talked to him a couple of hours, and we talked about a lot of different things.

The Professor (25:04.266)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (25:22.088)
And the story I tell a lot of folks, my wife likes this story more than anything, is that I'm sitting there and Arnold Palmer says to me, hey, you want a drink? And I'm thinking, shoot, Mr. Palmer, I have something. He came back and he gave me this drink, mix of lemonade and tea, and said, you want this drink? I said, finally. He said, Arnold Palmer. And I think I had a nerve to tell him that, hey, wait a minute. I never heard of this drink before.

The first time I had Arnold Palmer, Arnold Palmer gave it to me. It's like one of the greatest moments of my life, you know, but so he didn't, had no idea I never had Arnold Palmer, but you we played nine holes together and we had a great time. And I think he's one of well, not just the greatest golfers to play the game, but one of the great men's of any sport and the way he cared about people. you know, it's always a pleasure to write about him.

I remember when he died, I was covering a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia game and I had already written one O-bit because I knew it was coming. But when someone called me, I was in the press box in Philadelphia to say, you know, Arnold Palmer just passed. We may need you to introduce himself. So I got on my computer and wrote a second story. And it was easy to write about Arnold Palmer at that point.

So when the paper came out of Pittsburgh Tribune Review, had two stories, two obit stories on all forward in the next day. And they were vastly different stories, which kind of, you couldn't have enough to talk about the depth of this man who did so much for so many people. So it was very easy to write about. And I think throughout my career, I've been, I like writing about people who...

they kind of pretty much overshadowed the sport that played. And as a classic example, someone like Arthur Ashe, who I really admired. I worked in Richmond. You know, was, you I learned so much about him. A great, great person. you know, when it came to auto racing, I had an opportunity to sit down and have a really good conversation with Mario Andretti, who I think was probably one of the most underrated, you know, drivers out there. A guy who

The Professor (27:22.922)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (27:44.891)
He wanted Formula One, wanted Daytona 500, he the Indy 500. But beyond that, he raised some great kids and had a great career and a great person. So it's been a long career, but I tell you, I've found that the folks in the entire town that I work with, they have great stories too. And they're great people and you can't do the work they do.

The Professor (27:47.732)
Nothing.

RALPH N. PAULK (28:13.36)
without having commitment, they can't do the work they do without really caring about it. I'm just really appreciative to be able to lead the charge for those folks.

Matt Considine (28:27.38)
Yeah, it's so well aligned with this conversation, Ralph, is the honor of Palmers of the world are revered for a good reason. I mean, the accomplishments, but also the way he carried himself. How did a man make such an impact on so many people, even without giving them his signature drink in his office? That is a really cool story. I'm with Marilyn. That's a winner.

RALPH N. PAULK (28:45.679)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (28:50.416)
Yeah.

Matt Considine (28:54.751)
Um, but what we love on this show is telling the story of those that folks don't know, you know, and, don't have an appreciation for it. Cause there are incredible groups like tire town out there with this, this legacy, this history. And, if you, if, if you'll allow me, wanted to kind of dig into, uh, the history of tire town for just a bit. Um, you know, take us back to, uh, 1950, I believe when things started, you know, uh,

RALPH N. PAULK (29:15.161)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Considine (29:23.217)
what, what was it like for black golfers at the time? what were those early members thinking and discussing and, the decisions that created this club without a course, you know, that was really rare, in, in the U S but it wasn't a rare overseas, but you know, they did, they did it. They created this club without a course and they played at good park and ridge top, that were.

Just give us, us the, put us in the time and place. What was it like for them and what discussions were they having that led to the creation of their club?

RALPH N. PAULK (30:01.488)
Well, I think you look back in 1950, it was a year, a kind of discovery for a lot of folks. You know, when I look back at the history, it was, was a tough time, I think for not just black golfers, but for black folks in America, period. You know, having, you know, certain rights that you had to fight for and having a right to play golf was a small thing, a minor thing, comparatively speaking. You know, so, you know, when you look at the history of this country,

you have to reflect on the different challenges that you face. I think the biggest challenge for black folks in America wasn't so much about playing golf, it was everything else involved. But it was a step forward. It's another opportunity to exercise certain talents that maybe you couldn't. I think in doing that era, there was a lot of great jazz musicians back in the day.

The Professor (30:43.082)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (30:59.066)
who couldn't play lot of vignes in America. As a result, they played in Paris and in London, and in Germany. So they really had an opportunity to fine tune their crafts in Europe. But as a golfer, as an amateur, you don't have those kinds of opportunities. You gotta deal with what you got. And so you gotta try to make things happen. And I think fortunately, one of reasons why,

Good Park golf course is our home course is for that reason, because it did allow blacks to play in this course. And Mayor of Oregon a few years ago in 2022 had a plan and he agreed with that, that would be our home course for Tarantyne Golf Club. And now we play, generally speaking, we play both rounds our club championships.

at those two courses. We played first round at Ridge Top, we played the second round at Good Park. We may alternate occasionally for the first round, but always now that the club championship, the second round is at Good Park. I think I'm a member, we lived back in 1850. I have a great appreciation for how they were able to accomplish that. It's one of the reasons why.

We respect and we acknowledge those men back in the day and we do our scholarship event, a scholarship banquet. Distinguished Service Award winners named after the first founder, founder and the first president of the organization. So that's our way of giving back to that history. Tire Town really can reflect the entire overall

environment at the time, 1950. As you know, know, blacks couldn't play on the PGA tour. You know, I'm still amazed at the fact that it was 1972 before Leel was actually able to play at the Masters, you know, at Augusta. In 1972, I thought it was, you know, the dawn of the modern era and then, we kind of don't pass all those things. But there were a lot of great golfers who played entire town.

The Professor (33:12.234)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (33:26.544)
who were just as good as Lee Elder. They were great golfers. Charlie Seifert was in Cleveland and they played with Tire Town members. A lot of them did, you know, and so they never had an opportunity to play professionally. know, so, and again, we talked about Arnold Palmer earlier and Arnold Palmer had a great deal to do with folks like Jim Dent and Lee Elder and Charlie Seifert.

The Professor (33:34.08)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (33:55.857)
have an opportunity to play professional golf. So, Tire Town, the club itself gave other golfers an opportunity to believe in their game, to believe in what they can do, opportunity they got to play. I don't wanna overstate its role in golf, but I would say that to some degree, I think our history as an organization really is about

opportunity and paving the way for the folks who play this game in later years.

Matt Considine (34:33.437)
it and pave the way you have. You know, I even think about these connections that might appear loose to some. But if you're a fan of professional golf, you don't see as many black professional golfers today. And, and that's, you know, you do have to ask the questions of history, why that might be. But I'll tell you our hometown, who he moved away quite young, but Harold Varner is one that's had

tremendous success and has become an acquaintance through some things in the golf world for me. But his uncles grew up playing entire town. He was probably introduced to golf because he grew up learning it at Good Park. I just think about those, someone has to blaze that trail. Someone has to open those doors to both what the professor said and you, Ralph. I did read some history on it and

RALPH N. PAULK (35:22.832)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Considine (35:30.53)
that the parallels and this is going to be some golf nerdery for, for our listeners that they they're, they're well accustomed to by now. I'm reading about the oldest golf clubs in the world, Ralph and, and they had, uniforms that they'd play in. They had a red coats as you'll see in kind of the, Scottish red coats. don't know how they swing a club in these things, but you know, they, they, they wore those and it hit some believe it was a partially.

you know, there'd be military training on the golf courses. And so they, they went with the red code to make sure they weren't confused with the guys that were doing their military duties out there. And, they thought it was so they wouldn't get hit by certain things, horses and other carriages coming across. was kind of chaos back then, but, but a lot of historians point to the early documentation that it was a, it was a level of respect and, and a sign of cohesion between a community.

that was playing the game together. And that if you were a part of that club, you wore something that represented that. I read similarly, the early Tire Town wore matching caps. And I believe it was yellow shirts as a sign of respect for each other and the places that they went. And that had a lot to do with doors opening to other courses, I guess. Do you?

RALPH N. PAULK (36:30.788)
Hmm.

Matt Considine (36:54.836)
know much about that and is that still kind of a tradition that you guys uphold today?

RALPH N. PAULK (36:58.926)
Well, I think a lot of it, let me say this first, know, Harold Vaughnard III, his dad was a Tire Time member, you know, and so they moved to North Carolina so he could learn more about the game. So, you know, that's how he ended up. But Harold Vaughnard Sr. was a Tire Time member, you know, for a long time before they moved to Carolina. Yeah, the thing about Tire Time is that the colors basically, a lot of those former Tire those early years in Tire Time members,

Matt Considine (37:06.967)
there you go.

RALPH N. PAULK (37:27.312)
they worked in a rubber company. It worked for a good year, for the most part. And that's why the colors were blue and yellow, blue and gold. So it reflect that just like Akron U or a kid's state, they're the kind of same thing. our colors represent part of the heritage and also the community. mean, was, the year was it. That builds those colors. And the history that I remember is actually worked there.

But that's where that actually started from. But I would say that I think our members, we respect that history about not just our members, but this is their hometown. This is where they're from. So, Tire Town is what it is. That's what it says. It's from the rubber capital of world. And it's a big deal when folks say we're the largest golf club in the country.

And then say, in the Sacra, Ohio. There's a lot going on here and we're very proud of that for sure. But yeah, that's where they actually started.

The Professor (38:39.081)
Ralph, it's

Matt Considine (38:39.234)
Yeah, if Akron was a fighter, Ralph, who would it be? It's well above its weight class. I know that. We punch well above our weight class.

RALPH N. PAULK (38:48.816)
If I could retire, you say it a fighter. Yeah. Right.

Matt Considine (38:52.399)
Both. mean, one and the same, right? Like, I just, think we're, we have this, this something. There's something about that.

RALPH N. PAULK (38:59.088)
Well, you know, I like like to think when I think of that time is always fighting and punching and you you somehow you make your way. You're successful, but it doesn't look like you might. think of guys like Tommy Hearns, know, Thomas Hearns was a great middleweight, weatherweight fighter, you know, who just kept scratching and scratching and fighting his way to the top. It didn't look like it didn't look like a whole lot, but either day he was always winning, you know, and yeah, so I would call Akron.

The Professor (39:12.8)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (39:29.008)
He retired time with a tummy herds of boxing. yeah, yeah, yeah. Who, the way, beat Sugar Ray Leonard in the last fight, even though he was robbed in that fight?

Matt Considine (39:32.089)
Tommy Hearns of golf. love it.

The Professor (39:35.35)
great comparison.

The Professor (39:40.31)
He was robbed.

Ralph, it's very clear with you, with Tire Town, that service and mission are just a guiding light. And before I dive a little bit more about that in terms of, you you being such an inspiring individual relative that, just specific to Tire Town, was that something that was there from the beginning when they formed the club that they had this broader vision?

of mission and contributing to the local community and bringing people in, or is that something that developed along the way as the club evolved from just being, okay, we want to just get together and golf in the places that we can get access to and, now we can do something bigger. So let's make that pivot.

RALPH N. PAULK (40:20.4)
Yeah, I think in the beginning it was about an opportunity to really play golf. And I think secondly, it may have had an opportunity to say, look, we can get in and get younger kids to participate. And then maybe as it continued to grow, there's an opportunity to be more involved, to have more influence within the community. And I think maybe 10 years ago, we took a different perspective, not so much a different, but we wanted to expand on that a little bit.

you know, by really being involved, you know, in the community and more involved with our youth program. It's about, we see all the things that happen in this country. We understand the needs of young people. Number one, they need to get an education. They also need support to make that happen. They need experiences in their lives to make that happen. So it's why our enrichment programs with our young kids mean a great deal to us. You know, that's, it's one thing for a kid to go off to college.

The Professor (40:59.401)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (41:18.896)
There's another thing to prepare them for that, know, all the things that happens. know, so life experiences mean something. And as a whole organization, we felt it very important to bring other people, organizations, businesses, into our, you know, into our sphere, see how we live, how we do things. You know, I have been at Firestone Country Club many years, know, covering the Bristol Invitational, you know, for the Beacon Journal.

And I would be one of the few Black supporters coming in, if not the only one. But also going out watching tournaments, my wife and I would go out and watch a tournament when we retired. And there weren't a whole lot of folks of color even watching the tournament, yet alone volunteering out there. So we decided it was an opportunity for Dirt Town to change the way things look on the face of the tournament.

The Professor (41:54.282)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (42:19.184)
is one of the reasons why our members, we had 55 Tire Time members volunteer at Firestone last year. That's a large contention of volunteers with any organization. And that, I think you can't change things unless you're in place to make it happen. gotta, someday I had a full show weekend, in a lot of ways. And so our members, now they look forward to volunteering at Firestone. And I think from a...

I've been on the board now, is my fourth year on the North High Golf Charities Foundation board. But we also have other members who are intimately involved within the charity wing and organization and also the tournament. Those things mean something because now our members feel invested. And I think other folks that are in the community, there's still work to be done, let me catch it. I think we need to think in terms of how we expand the game, we expand charitable opportunities.

You know, how we expand with volunteerism. You we have members, juniors, volunteers, so many different events. You know, a couple years in the last couple years, the Fire Center hosted the APGA event, you know, where young, you know, Black golfers looking to, you know, aspire to make the tour have played. So it's been a great opportunity for our juniors to go out and play in a practice round with them, but also to have our members out there.

The Professor (43:31.86)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (43:44.869)
you know, encouraging those players to keep up the charge to make the tour. And as Matt said, that's a fundamental reason or reasons why there aren't more black golfers on tour. You know, ironically, know, two kids are on the tour actually, know, playing professional golf of an acronym. You know, Chase Johnson's from Barberton and, you know, and Harold Vaughn III. So this is...

The Professor (44:03.156)
Yeah.

RALPH N. PAULK (44:11.76)
We look at trying to, in many ways, from the game itself, trying to find young kids that aspire to be a part of it. It's just why our junior program means a lot to us, why the scholarship means a lot to us. Our goal at some point to have it situated where kids can actually participate and get HBCU scholarships. It just as a quick fact, of all the historical black colleges and universities in the country, most of them have golf programs.

The Professor (44:34.058)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (44:41.488)
But very few of them offer scholarships to kids of color. And that's because what happens in the environment we're living in now, most kids don't have high school teams. They don't play high school golf. So it's a tough environment. Most of those scholarships go to Europeans or other kids in the States. So can we solve that problem by ourselves? There's no way. So you have to have willing partners.

The Professor (44:48.726)
Hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (45:11.364)
They're trying to make these things happen. And that's the impact on talk to them. And I think that Tire Time is more proud of those kind of things. We're trying to build the future, but also being a part of the community. Not just community service, but they're giving back. They're giving back in a big way to the community.

The Professor (45:29.43)
Yeah, I'll tell you what, Ralph, it's very clear that there's nothing that you do that's unintentional. And I think people looking from the outside and thinking about the history of golf in the United States, and especially the classes aspect of it, my son, they're like, wait, why use golf as the vehicle by which to increase participation and focus all of your service efforts relative to growing access and just supporting people, not just in terms of a sport, but obviously you have this bigger picture of just helping them.

become contributing citizens in life, right? And having a fulfilled life that's successful. you know, I guess my question is why golf? You know, being that vehicle that you're using to do so much good and just try to give people a path by which to walk life through.

RALPH N. PAULK (46:14.608)
Well, golf is a foundation, you know, and then things kind of take off after that. I'll give you good example. Yesterday, you know, my wife and I both worked for actual public schools and we try to, you know, shine a light on a very positive thing that happened in the public school system. But I was out at Ellent High School yesterday watching girls flag football. And just kind of interesting to see how that sport is growing. You know, so.

The Professor (46:40.331)
Yeah.

RALPH N. PAULK (46:41.712)
But what we've done with our kids is try to encourage them to participate in different things, experience life in different ways. So when I walked on the football field, a couple of young ladies, a young lady by name, and I turned around, I'm very excited to find that they're both playing flag football, but they're Tine Town Junior Golf Club members. So these two kids, they're twins. They play golf on high school golf team.

They play basketball. They do missionary work for the church. And here I play in flat football. The lesson to all the kids is to stay busy. And to the parents, the same charge is to make sure the kids are involved, number one, and that they have something they feel passionate about. So I'm watching these kids, and I'm as proud of them as their parents are. They're doing their work. And those same two kids, those same two twins,

There'd be at Firestone Country Club, know, standing bears and volunteering and doing all that work for your three or four days in the tournament and doing it with a smile. You know, so I'm taking back by a couple of years ago. We asked our kids a lot of things, just like we asked our members to. We had seven kids who were asked two years ago to go out and help fix divots before the tournament started, before the color company championship started.

And one of our kids had a really bad back injury, but she was out there doing divas and fixing the golf course and that one complaint. And the folks at the PGA Tour were so thrilled about that. They donated money to our charities, just out on the whim because they were impressed with the kids' efforts. And you can't beat that. And you're talking about a larger picture also. I would say this, Mr. Professor, you're the professor.

professor to say to you, I feel like I've learned something you guys, the, yeah. So we had, I'll say this, we had a kid who, this is what I'm so proud of, our junior members. We give our scholarships every year, but this kid is a student at Ohio State University.

Matt Considine (48:44.892)
Every week, Ralph, really why this podcast exists. So I don't live a life of idiocy. The professor keeps me smart.

RALPH N. PAULK (49:08.15)
And she's so committed and so thankful, I think, for her experience in Tire Town. She created a Tire Town chapter at Ohio State University. And that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I think the programs have developed leadership. And with that, that's a commitment, I think, from my members. A lot of members, let's be honest.

The Professor (49:27.712)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (49:36.163)
Everybody wants to go with they start changing. Everybody wants to do this or do that. But for the most part, when they see our kids doing these kind of things, it changes your whole attitude about your experience and what you might want to do. And no one's more committed than my wife and some other members. They poured their hearts into this. And it's exactly when we see our kids doing the same thing. They're very committed.

Matt Considine (50:06.42)
Ralph, the story has resonated with me, you know, these last three years moving back to Ohio. And, and the more I, I, you know, friends of mine at the gym who are members of tower town and just hearing their experience, uh, uh, the more I've in everyday life run into it or seeing yourself out at the first tee with, with the littlest of littles. Cause I got one involved now too, with that program. And, and it's just, uh, uh, there's so many elements, but I,

I wanted to admit today on the show that when you and I had breakfast with Marilyn and I just came in so excited saying, you know, I want to support, I want to do what I can to share this legacy, this story that is truly remarkable in so many ways and such a good thing for communities beyond Akron even. just want people to hear this. What you said did catch me off guard. was...

Well, why don't you just come out and join us? Why don't you come play? Why don't you come to a meeting? Why don't you come? Never did it really occur to me, Ralph, because it's a predominantly black golf club, that that would be an option for me before we chatted. And I just wanted to say it because it really broke me out of my own line of thinking, which is that there's nothing different about this. This is...

These guys love the game of golf. are the same in every way, right? And that invitation meant a lot to me. And I am going to take you up on it, by the way. We're going to be playing for sure. But can you tell me about the diversifying the membership? You talked about women early on and how that has grown. That is a remarkable thing, which I think all golf needs to work on and could learn a lot from.

that others join in outside of just a black golfers diversifying the membership. It seems like you guys have various races involved now. You know, how is that important to you? And and where does that come from? And how do you do that while still protecting, you know, this this rich heritage, this this story that we just talked about from from the early origins?

RALPH N. PAULK (52:30.064)
When I grew up down south and where, you know, segregation was kind of accepted, you know, so I grew up, I went to an all black high school, you know, and, you know, but I think being in that high school, I understood that, you know, the teachers, everybody else, they wanted us to share the experience of everybody else in the city.

That was always possible, but you couldn't try. So we think in terms of, I mentioned the fact that one of reasons why I wanted us to be involved at Firestone Country Club with the Color Company Championship is for our members to think in terms of, you do belong out there. There's an opportunity for you to go out and experience something that everybody else experienced. And then let's see what happens after that.

The Professor (53:21.023)
Hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (53:29.264)
Well, you know, there's two phases they record. You know, so if as a black organization, predominant organization, you know, I've told I remember as many times that so we have to look at things from a different prison. Is that if you really want to be serious about what you're doing, you got to include everybody. Everybody has to be a part of what you're trying to do. You know, we go out and we try to get, you know, business assistance support when we do our charities.

It would make a lot of hard sense if we don't open our door. We don't do it because of that. I feel because our members are very accepting. We want everybody to be a part of it, what we're trying to do. You can't grow just being, just doing your thing, trying to do it alone. It's just impossible. It's just never gonna happen. So it's important us to have diversity whether it's with gender equity or...

race or whatever it may be. I look at our executive board, we have a very diverse board with our charities, our members now. But we still aren't there yet, quite honestly. I'd for our organization to have more racial diversity within it. And I think a lot of that is, we open our doors. So I think other folks have to look at it time the way I look at the Call of Company Championship.

Hey, I don't mind stepping through that door where they are and then just make it happen. We don't wanna force anything, but let's be honest, man. I think we can get a lot of things done together. And I don't care what people in politics are, don't care what the other stuff. My bottle is what can we do to help our kids? What can we do to help the community as a whole?

The Professor (54:56.726)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (55:24.241)
We can do those things, then we're okay. I think more and more people look at not just Tire Town, but I think folks are starting to understand the big picture. The big picture is what can we do together? So I appreciate all the small businesses that donate $100 for a whole sign, or the big businesses like one of my presenting sponsors, Topaz Credit Union.

I appreciate the work they do. it's, I'm not trying to give a cheap plug to our sponsors, that they, yeah. So we're very, I'm excited to work that we do with people. When our members decide we're going to go out and work with others, automatically brings in different people. It just happens. If you're working with First T and Northern High Golf Charities and

Matt Considine (56:03.493)
Hey, we're here for it. That's all right. It's good. We need to give them shout outs. have our own.

The Professor (56:19.232)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (56:23.965)
NAACP, the Golf Galaxy, the Toe Path, Acoma Public Schools. know, we do after school programs with different schools like the Manning Christian Academy. We're doing some work with the golf clinics with Helen Arnold and different schools. That means we're out. We're out meeting people. And sometimes we meet people maybe not like you or maybe don't agree with you.

The Professor (56:44.106)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (56:51.409)
You know, so I've learned in the Marine Corps that you don't have any kind of success at all. You got to pull everybody together to make it happen. You can't charge the hill alone, That's just the reality. When I was a drill instructor, I was down on black recruits and white ones. So it didn't make no difference. Everybody was a maggot until they became a Marine. So that's just how it happens.

The Professor (57:19.222)
think there's a lot of people listening to this podcast, including several board presidents of clubs and owners of clubs. I think they're going to take a lot of advice from you on this in terms of how to move duty forward in their club. Ralph, I want to rewind back on you personally. Service is obviously a clear mission of you, even all the way going back to when you decided to be a United States Marine Corps veteran or pursue the Marine Corps.

does that sense of service and mission come from? Why is that such a fabric of who you are as a person?

RALPH N. PAULK (57:55.058)
Well, I'm glad you asked. You know, I have five brothers and they were all in the Army. know, three of my brothers served in Vietnam. You know, so I forego, you know, I said I had a number of football and baseball scholarship offers just like my brothers did. And, you know, we all made the same commitment. Once my older brother, know, James went off to Vietnam. We all said, hey, that's, we're all going to do it. You know, so, you know, I ended up going.

Going to Michigan State by the I got out of service, I wasn't going to play football. I was a football and baseball guy. I loved the sport. so, yeah, all my brothers pretty much, my brother Clarence was a tremendous athlete, a tremendous athlete. And I think at some point his commitment was, my big brother went, I'm going to do it too. So he passed on a number of basketball scholarship offers. So who was I not to do the same thing? our commitment.

As a family, as our grandfathers, uncles, and they were all in the military at some point, I'll commit with a service in that way. So I would say this, I'm proud of the I spent in the Corps, I'm proud of my brothers. And I don't want anybody to question anybody's patriotism, because I tell you what, you serve your country.

that is commitment, that should never be questioned. So I'm very proud of the fact that here at Tire Town, we have a number of veterans and that's why we celebrate them to Veterans Day weekend. We have a big dinner for them, the whole nine yards that show our appreciation. So that's, really, it was a famous thing to answer your question. But at some point I decided to go to Marine Corps. My brothers, I love them, they're the Army.

They wouldn't deal as tough as me, but so they decided on the army. Now those guys that got home, man, they're just outstanding.

Matt Considine (01:00:04.961)
Ralph, you're an accomplished writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, journalist, a lot of accolades there. Marilyn as well. Follis, Charles Follis book you wrote on his incredible story as the first black professional football player. Recommend people interested, you know, pick it up. I did and just...

him through the first couple chapters, but it's just great. What an incredible story from his family fleeing the Ku Klux Klan to his, well, everything he had to overcome. I'm just curious what other projects you're working on that, anything in that vein. feel like there's a lot in golf history, black golf history, that there's some great books out there, Uneven Lies and some others that I've read, but I feel like there's specific stories like Charles that

RALPH N. PAULK (01:00:44.155)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:00:57.765)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Considine (01:01:03.279)
could be told. Do you have any interest in that and writing a book about golf?

RALPH N. PAULK (01:01:07.793)
Sure. and I think, you know, I talked about Arnold Palmer earlier. There's a number of Arnold Palmer books. But one of the things I thought about doing is there's another book about Arnold Palmer about the life that people don't know about Arnold Palmer. know, how he helped other people, you know, more than anything. His influence on Black offers. You know, I thought that was pretty significant, you know, from that standpoint. You know, the the following spoke to me. I just want people to understand.

You know, I'm a journalism and history major. I love history. And the Fallows book is really more of a Black history book than it is anything. You know, so because it's kind of like weaving our way through time through his life. In his short life, he was 34 years old. But his story is compelling. But I also wrote a book on Jim O'Brien, who was a former high-stake basketball coach at Boston College.

The Professor (01:01:49.205)
Mm-hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:02:07.387)
basketball coach. And I think again, it tells a life that's more than about the game. I talk about tired time being more than about golf. Well, I thought his story is the same way. He lost his wife, Laquemia, when she was 38, and it raises two kids. I think those stories that people can connect themselves to on a human level. So yeah, as far as golf stories go, I think

Arnold Palmer story is a great story. There's some other stories out there too, but like the office who I think could have been at the top of their game, could have been as good as anybody, those lost opportunities, you can't get those back. When I think about that, I think about what we try to do for our kids. It's like, here's an opportunity for you to do this. This is 1950, and this is 2026. Here's an opportunity to take advantage of it.

and see what you can do, see what you can make of it. Because the Abitunas are far greater now than they were 76 years ago. But convincing kids to take advantage of that is over doing ball game. And that may be a book in itself, just kind of getting kids to really believe in themselves more than anything.

Matt Considine (01:03:31.893)
Amen to that. And if you don't write the book on Tire Town, I might. I'm not as good a writer as you, Ralph, but I feel like it is one of those stories in sport, in society, just as you said, walking through the fabric of time and history that is really compelling. And this is only scratching the surface for me. I want to know more about the people.

that have been involved with this for 70 years, you're shining a light on it in the community. I wanna continue doing that. And in 10 years time, if you hadn't read the book, I'm gonna put a draft together. But in 10 years time, Ralph, my last question for you, what do you hope we're saying about Tire Town if we're doing this conversation again 10 years from now, 2036, what are you hoping people...

are saying about Tire Town and also just the evolution of golf.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:04:33.817)
Well, one, a life of us to at least say that we've made a difference in the lives of young people. A lot of people say that. lot of people don't necessarily accomplish it. So we're hoping that we continue to help kids and continue to inspire kids. Like I mentioned before, the kid Ohio State has a great aspiration by expanding what Tire Town does. That's how much she believes in it. So we do want people to...

believe in what we do. But I hope, 10 years from now, that we believe in more than what we're as an organization. So if we're doing that, we can accomplish a lot more. And also, as I tell our members many times, there are a lot of organizations out there that can do the same things that we're doing. We're hoping that

someone else comes along, some other things come along and aspire to be bigger than we are. We hope that they do more than we're doing, and to get out in the community, to help kids through college, help kids with little things that matter. And when I say little things, like our organization, we have two separate entities. We have a club, we have the charities. So the charities, we give money to kids trying to get through a pharmaceutical school. We gave money to a 10-year-old boxer so he could compete in national championships.

We gave money to a school so they can make sure they can get office furniture. So these little things that you do go a long way. And you can't do that if you have people who really don't care about people in general. So at the end of the day, I hope people know that 10 years from now, 100 years from now, the entire town cares about the people who care about the community. we gotta keep growing though.

We don't want to make a mistake that we arrived at a certain position because look, I see the organizations over the years, they look like they're going to accomplish something. The next thing you know, they're falling off the face of the earth because people don't think they have to work at it. Even though we're the largest black dog club in the country, we still got to work at getting members. We still have to work at raising money. So that's kind of our charge, man. You got to keep working.

The Professor (01:06:46.068)
Mm-hmm.

Matt Considine (01:06:58.294)
Yeah. Yeah. And on the note on inspiring other organizations, you certainly have, I've, I've shared this with our, our team. were small team at new club, you know, this, podcast is my, area for exploration and hanging out with my buddy, the professor here and, talking to cool people like you, but, that, that work, that dedication, that commitment in my world has always been around this.

The Professor (01:06:59.371)
Hear, hear.

Matt Considine (01:07:26.998)
this idea of a club without a course that we call New Club. And I just, gotta tell you, once again, Ralph, the inspiration I'm gathering from this is fuel for that hard work to build a community without having a course, which you guys have done immensely well. And so I'll be asking you.

This ain't our last chat. I'm going be asking a lot of questions, looking for advice from you and others at Tire Town because you guys have just such a great community around this great game of golf that has done so many for so many people and really changed lives. So just commend you again and want to thank you for being with us. We'll have you back to talk about anything. Maybe Zipp's basketball, because I know you're writing a book with Keith Danbrot and my Akron Zipps, baby.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:08:13.713)
Yeah, but... yeah.

Yeah.

Matt Considine (01:08:21.705)
That's what I, we got to do maybe a separate show for that one.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:08:25.423)
Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you that that'd be all right. But I want to say to I want to say, Matt, that it takes a certain kind of commitment. And I appreciate the fact that you're starting a new club and the way you're doing it. takes a lot. You know, it like it feels like the same. It takes a lot of guts to start something new and to see it through. You know, so I appreciate that. Anytime I see people, you know, daring to be great, daring to do something different.

The Professor (01:08:45.632)
Hmm.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:08:54.874)
So, tops are hats off to you, man. And I'm sure that New Club's gonna do great things.

Matt Considine (01:09:01.067)
Cheers, Ralph. Thank you. And thank you everybody for listening. If you're not a subscriber to the show, please subscribe. The professor and I do weekly episodes. We have our deeper dives that are coming up. We're really excited about, but you won't know unless you subscribe. So give us a like, a rating, review, wherever you're listening to the backdrop. And thank you for supporting the Mission and New Club by listening and helping make this game.

RALPH N. PAULK (01:09:02.875)
Yes.

Matt Considine (01:09:29.95)
more meaningful for those that love it. If you do want to connect with us or any of our guests, we'll have Ralph's information in the show notes. You can send him an email. You can reach out to the professor or I and all the other links we talked about in this show will be there in the show notes. The backdrop is in partnership with Titleist, the number one ball in golf and the all new SM 11 wedges. Go see your certified fitter today over at Titleist.com.

Thanks y'all for listening. We'll catch you on the next one.