Billy Maxwell, Jacksonville, Florida. He played on three of North Texas’ national collegiate championship teams in the 1950s before pursuing his own successful career as a professional golfer – which included seven PGA championships.
Golf had been a lifelong passion for Billy, who grew up near the fourth hole of a golf course in Abilene. While at North Texas, he played with the legendary lineup of Don January, Buster Reed and Joe Conrad. He also captured the 1951 U.S. Amateur — the first Texan to achieve that honor. He won the professional championships from 1955 to 1962 and also served as a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup. He retired in the early 1970s and began operating Hyde Park Golf Club in 1971 in Jacksonville.
In a 1980 article, the North Texan said he was “still the devilish little redhead he was in the early 1950s” who was “known for telling it like it is.” He was inducted into the UNT Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1982. He was married to Mary Maxwell (’59), who died in 1999.
Read Yucca articles about Billy Maxwell and the golf team:
